Lawrence (New Zealand)
| Lawrence | ||
| Geographical location | ||
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| Coordinates | 45 ° 55 ′ S , 169 ° 41 ′ E | |
| Region ISO | NZ-OTA | |
| Country |
 New Zealand
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| region | Otago | |
| District | Clutha District | |
| Ward | Lawrence - Tuapeka Ward | |
| Residents | 414 (2013) | |
| height | 114 m | |
| Post Code | 9532 | |
| Telephone code | +64 (0) 3 | |
| Photography of the place | ||
 Main street in Lawrence |
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Lawrence is a small town in the Clutha District of the Otago regionon the South Island of New Zealand .
geography
Lawrence is about 63 km west of Dunedin on New Zealand State Highway 8 . The Tuapeka Creek flows through the village and joins the Tuapeka River 3 km to the west .
history
The founding, rise and fall of Lawrence are closely linked to the Otago gold rush (1861–1863). After the Australian prospector Thomas Gabriel Read found large quantities of gold east of the Tuapeka River on May 25, 1861, over 11,000 prospectors came to the area in just two months . Read's site, henceforth Gabriel's Gully , allowed the production of around 200,000 ounces of gold in 1862 . The camp at the end of the valley was named Blue Spur .
Although the peak of gold discoveries had already passed , a post office was opened on April 1, 1863 at a fork, a mile south of Gabriel's Gully , and the settlement there was officially named Tuapeka . On November 6, 1866, the settlement was in honor of the British General Henry Montgomery Lawrence in Lawrence renamed. The settlement received on July 20, 1866 the status of a "city with self-administration".
In 1874, work began on the Lawrence Branch , which should connect the place with the rail network of the Main South Line . The connection was completed in 1877 and later expanded into the Roxburgh Branch (closed in 1968). The gold rush did not last long and so the masses of prospectors moved on. Almost 28,000 ounces of gold were still being mined each year, but the trend is decreasing. With the shrinking gold discoveries, the area around Lawrence sank back into insignificance, which was also reflected in the rapidly falling population. What remained were a few hundred inhabitants and a landscape plowed by thousands of gold prospectors, which at the time resembled a lunar landscape .
The place today
With its small population, the place now lives mainly from through tourism on the Dunedin - Queenstown route and from agriculture . The landscape has largely regenerated and gold is no longer searched for today. Since the prospect of gold has been left to the Queenstown region as a tourist attraction , Lawrence only has memories of turbulent times and the hope that on May 25, 2011 and the associated 150th anniversary celebrations, the place will have its old splendor revived.
In addition to the history-laden soil, Lawrence can also visit the Anthem House . John Joseph Woods (1849–1934) lived in this house and composed the melody for the New Zealand national anthem God Defend New Zealand there in 1876 .
population
In the 2013 census, the town had 414 inhabitants, 4.2% less than in the 2006 census.
See also
literature
- Brian Newton Davis : Lawrenz . In: Alexander Hare McLintock (Ed.): An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand . Wellington 1966 ( online [accessed December 14, 2015]).
Web links
- Our Town History . Tuapeka Lawrence Community Company, archived from the original on March22, 2007; accessed on August 28, 2014(English, original website no longer available).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b 2013 Census QuickStats about a place: Lawrence . Statistics New Zealand , accessed August 28, 2014 .
- ↑ Topo250 maps . Land Information New Zealand , accessed July 5, 2017 .
- ^ Lawrence 2011 Celebrations Home . Clutha District Council , March 18, 2011, archived from the original May 8, 2012 ; accessed on January 14, 2016 (English, original website no longer available).
- ^ Ministry for Culture & Heritage History of New Zealand's National Anthems