It was while admiring the lovely sights of Butcher’s Dam that I decided it’s a shame it’s there at all. I’m not opposed to the dam, and the area is very nice. Not only is there a dam and lake to enjoy, but it also contains a historic hut, a multitude of tracks to walk and even a conservation area above it at a place called Flat Top Hill. However, before the dam was built between 1935 and 1937 during the great depression, the area was filled with all sorts of buildings and structures from the gold mining years of the 1860’s. Once gold was discovered there in 1862, miners from everywhere flocked to the area and a town quickly sprung up. The town included a Hotel, a store, butchers shop and market gardens that were owned by Chinese prospectors. As I walked along the dam I imagined how wonderful it would be to see the remains of the historic town that would have stretched through the valley and what a shame it is that those remains are lost forever. Still, the lake is very nice! Check out my daily blog from a small city. https://fromasmallcity.nz/ To purchase email john@caswellimages.com
I was heading for Lake Pukaki, a large alpine lake on the northern edge of the MacKenzie Basin near the township of Tekapo. On the way, I passed through Burkes Pass, named after Dublin University graduate Michael John Burke who drove a team of bullocks through the passageway which leads up into the Mackenzie Country in 1855. Check out my daily blog from a small city. https://fromasmallcity.nz/ To purchase email john@caswellimages.com
