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日本語担当者多忙のため英語のみとなっております。あしからずご了承ください。
T'was in the year of 'sixty-two as near as I
can guess,
I left my dear old home town in trouble and distress.
My family didn't want me. I was left out in the cold,
Until I started searching for the Tuapeka gold.
The day I left Dunedin, I could not help but
cry.
Not a single person came to say goodbye.
I set off on my journey, and soon I did behold
The hills that were covered with the Tuapeka gold.
In May 1861, Gabriel Read discovered a large deposit of
alluvial gold, while prospecting along the Tuapeka River in New Zealand's Otago region,
and reported his find to the authorities in Dunedin.
The rush was on!
Within a week, cities of tents sprung up for miles along the Tuapeka River. Fortunes were
made and lives were lost. From this and other rushes, towns such as Alexandra, Clyde,
Cromwell and Queenstown grew.
The easy gold was taken during the first few weeks after which heavy equipment and water sluices were needed. During the 1870's and 1880's all but the hardy had left or taken up other work. Then dredges were developed which extracted gold from the river beds and a new gold boom started. By 1900 there were over 150 dredges working the rivers but this also became unprofitable and by the 1920's they disappeared.
Some of the water sluices were later used for irrigation; and fruit growing as well as farming, kept the area prosperous. In recent times a new boom has started... tourism.
The Railway
The Otago Central Railway branched from the South Island Main trunk 12 kilometres south of Dunedin, and ran 235 kilometres to Cromwell.
Construction of the Railway began in June 1879, but within a year it had become a victim of the economic depression that persisted through the 1880s. It was 10 years before the first 27km section was opened and it was not until 1921 that the line to Cromwell was completed.
Although delayed, the railway still played a major part in the development of Central Otago with thousands of tons of livestock and farm produce being transported. The line eventually became unprofitable and was closed in 1990 a fate of many New Zealand branch lines. The section to Cromwell had closed in 1980 due to the construction of the Clyde dam.
In 1987 a 60km section (Dunedin end) through the historic and scenic Taieri Gorge was opened - to become one of Dunedins leading tourist attractions: The Taieri Gorge Limited.
The Display
This Sn 31/2 diorama was built in the early 1970's by Mr Jack Raffells of Christchurch. It depicts Cromwell station as it may have looked during the period 1921 - 1935.
The area depicted by the diorama is today under water... Lake Dunstan, formed by the Clyde hydro-electric power project which also drowned part of Cromwell's township.
The station officially opened in July 1921 and consisted of a station building, a 60ft x 30ft goods shed, a loading bank, and cattle / sheep loading yards. Being a terminal station it also had an engine shed, turntable and coal & watering facilities. Station sidings could accommodate nearly 100 wagons.
In 1942 the station burnt down and a new station was built. The fire was later believed to have been started by a leakage of science chemicals awaiting delivery to the local school. In 1976, with a fall-off in trade and the pending flooding, the replacement station was closed and this section of the line four years later.
A variety of locomotives serviced the station over the years, including a 37 ton E class Double Fairlie named "Josephine". This locomotive is presently on display in Dunedin City. Other steam locomotives which used the line included the articulated 30 ton R class Single Fairlie; 57 ton UB, 78 ton A; and 87 ton Ab. In addition various railcars and diesel locomotives used the line.
The diorama is also used to display a loco(s) and rolling stock of the period.
1999年02月1日よりの 訪問者数
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