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Arrowtown

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Darth Xenu (talk | contribs) at 05:19, 18 May 2006 (Added details about gold rush population growth and nearby ghost towns.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Arrowtown is a historic gold mining town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. Arrowtown is located on the banks of the Arrow River approximately 5 km from State Highway 6. There is also road access directly to Queenstown via the Shotover Gorge and a third route via the picturesque Lake Hayes.

During the high point of the gold rush the population of Arrowtown rose to over 7,000 and became the center of a larger municipality, which covered the new settlements of Macetown, Skippers and Bullendale (today only ghost towns).

According to the 2001 New Zealand census, the usually-resident population of Arrowtown was 1,692, an 18.2% increase since 1996. The town has seen considerable growth and construction, but it falls under strict appearance covenants applied by the local authority that aim to preserve the appearance of the town.

There are many well preserved buildings used by European and Chinese immigrants dating from the gold mining days of the town.