Arrowtown is a well-known incorporated town in Lake district, twelve miles from Queenstown, and 172 miles north-west of Dunedin. It has had an eventful history as a goldfield, and is close to the Shotover and Arrow rivers, famous for their rich discoveries. The nearest point of railway communication with Dunedin is Lawrence, with which there is regular contact by means of a line of coaches. Coaches also run to Queenstown, and connect with the Government steamers for Kingston, and thence with Invercargill by rail. Further coach services are maintained with Pembroke and Lake Wanaka, via Cromwell and Cardrona. Arrowtown has, practically, daily mail communication with Dunedin and Invercargill, and there are the usual telegraph facilities. The district supports its own newspaper, “The Lake County Press,” published twice a week. Fine crops are grown in the neighbourhood, and Hour mills are in active operation. Arrowtown is within the boundaries of the Arrow riding of Lake county, and in the electoral district of Wakatipu. The entire population of the riding is 674, exclusive of the population of the borough, 410. There is a population of 150 at Arrow Flat and vicinity; 194 at Lake Hayes Village and vicinity; and 158 at Gibbs-town, nine miles to the south-east towards Cromwell. The township of Arrowtown stands on a rich flat, amidst bleak, gaunt, wild and precipitous hills, and appears a very oasis in that wild country. The junction of Bush creek with the Arrow river is near the township. page 1031

Arrowtown In 1897.

Gold was discovered in the district in 1863 by the original prospectors, Messrs McGregor and Low. The place was named Fox's, because a man named Fox took the news of the discovery of gold to other mining settlements, and it was in consequence of this news that the “rush” took place. In the winter of 1903 the weather at Arrowtown was of a very severe type, and the temperature is said to have receded to a point 28 degrees below zero. This extreme cold resulted in the destruction of the whole of the gum trees, and a considerable number of pine trees; a loss experienced generally throughout the Lake district, where the ruin of so many groves of handsome trees very much modified the picturesqueness, not only of Arrowtown, but also of Queenstown, and the scenery on the roads in the district. In the summer time, however, the weather is frequently extremely hot and dry. The Crown range is not far from the township of Arrow, and has attained celebrity for its magnificent crops of cereals. Arrowtown has three hotels, four stores, two tailors' shops, three blacksmiths' shops, bootmakers and saddlers' establishments, churches belonging to the Anglicans, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics and Methodists, a public school, a Roman Catholic Convent school, a district hospital, and a branch of the Bank of New Zealand.

The Borough Of Arrowtown has an area of 390 acres, with a population of over 400, of whom 298 are ratepayers possessing 298 rateable properties. A general rate of one shilling in the £ is raised, besides a special water rate of sixpence. There is a water-works loan of £900. The water supply is obtained from Bush creek by means of an open race and pipes of a total length of about one mile and a-half. From the point where the water is taken, the fall to the borough is 168 feet. A sanitary rate of ten shillings for each resident, and a special charge for public institutions and hotels is made in connection with a lighting rate. The revenue of the borough from general rates amounts to £143, and the total annual rateable value is £1,908. The local library and Athenaeum, which is supported by voluntary subscriptions, is under the management of the Council. The borough is lighted by fifteen lamps, three of which burn acetelyne gas, and twelve kerosene. The drainage of the borough is by pipe and open drains into the Arrow river. Members of the Council for 1904–5: Mr D. Richardson, Mayor, and Messrs G. H. Romans, S. McSkimming, J. Cotter, H. McKibbin, H. Graham, R. Pritchard, and J. Jenkins, councillors. Mr L. H. Preston is Town Clerk, and Mr F. Smith, Collector and Valuer.

Councillor Joseph Jenkins was elected to a seat on the Arrowtown Borough Council in 1897. He is the second son of Mr. William Jenkins, J.P., and was born at Macetown. Mr. Jenkins was educated at Arrowtown public school, and was afterwards employed in his father's store, also engaging in the business of a butcher. He is a good rifle shot and a cricketer, being also treasurer of the local cricket club.

Mr. William Jenkins , J.P., who has been twice Mayor of the borough of Arrowtown, was born at Narveny, County Donegal, Ireland, where his father was a well - known farmer, and was educated at Stranorlar, in the same county, afterwards working on his father's farm. In 1855, he sailed for Victoria by the ship “Montmorency.” On his arrival in Melbourne, he was smitten with the “gold fever,” and worked on various diggings in Victoria. Mr. Jenkins came over to Otago in the great “rush” of 1862, and was at Nokomal field, and later at the Lake diggings. In 1866, he started store-keeping at Macetown, and, later on, at Arrowtown, where he now carries on a large business as general merchant, trading under the name of Messrs. Jenkins and Co. Mr. Jenkins has always taken a keen interest in local self-government and volunteering, having served in the municipal and county councils for several years, and been twice elected Mayor of Arrowtown. He joined the local volunteer force at its inception, and eventually received the rank of major-commandant of the Lakes district. Mr. Jenkins has been chairman of the school committee for a number of years; has been a member of Lodge Arrow Kilwinning, Scottish Constitution; and is a churchwarden of St. Paul's church.

Mr. Richard Joseph Cotter , who was for some time a Member of the Borough Council of Arrowtown, is a young man imbued with thorough colonial energy. He is the third son of Mr. Richard Cotter, who was one of the pioneer diggers at the Arrow “rush.” Mr. Cotter carries on an extensive storekeeping and butchering business at the Arrow and at Bullendale. He is a large buyer of fat stock from the Hawea and Southland districts, and supplies the bulk of the mining population at Bullendale, Skipper's Point, with stores and meat.

Mr. R. J. Cotter.

Arrowtown Hospital . This institution was established in 1880, on the cottage principle, and contains male, female, and isolation wards, with accommodation for sixteen patients. It is fully equipped with the latest surgical and other medical appliances. The hospital grounds and medical superintendent's residence cover an area of five acres, a portion of which is planted with trees and shrubs, which afford an agreeable shelter for the convalescents.

The Arrowtown Public School , which stands on an acre and a-half of land, is a stone building containing two class-rooms and two porches; and there is a school residence of seven rooms, standing on two acres on the opposite side of the road. The roll number is seventy and the average attendance is sixty, but there is accommodation for 120 pupils. A large level playground surrounds the school. The headmaster is assisted by an infant mistress.

Mr. James Orr , who has been Headmaster of the Arrowtown school since 1900, was born in 1843, in Sutherlandshire, Scotland, and was educated there and in Melbourne. He came to Port Chalmers by the ship “Henrietta,” in 1860, and in 1864 commenced teaching at Otepopo, in the Oamaru district. In 1868, he went to Melbourne, where he studied for his profession for a year. On returning to Otago, Mr Orr was teaching at Roxburgh for a time, and was subsequently appointed headmaster of the Park School, Invercargill. He held this position for twenty-two years, before receiving his present appointment. Mr Orr is a member of the local Presbyterian church, in which he often acts as lay preacher. He was married, in 1869, to a daughter of the late Mr Ewen McKenzie, of Glasgow, and has one son and four daughters.

Mr. J. Orr.

The Arrowtown Presbyterian Church dates from 1900. The charge includes the districts of Gibbstown, Macetown, Crown Terrace, and Skippers. Arrowtown was formerly a portion of the Queenstown charge. The church, known as St. John's, occupies a section of two acres on the Terrace. It is a stone building, with a bell turret, and is seated for 180 worshippers. A Sunday school is held in the church, and there are thirty-five scholars, under the charge of four teachers. The manse is a commodious ten-roomed stone building, in the suburbs of Arrow, and has a glebe of five acres and a-half. Some very handsome trees grow on the property. The resident minister holds services periodically at the various settlements surrounding Arrowtown.

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church at Arrow was completed and opened for divine worship on the 18th of May, 1902, when the occasional sermon was preached by the Rev. Father Murphy, Administrator of St. Joseph's Cathedral, Dunedin. The church, which stands on part of a section of three acres of land, is a stone and iron building with accommodation for 200 worshippers. The Rev. Father O'Donnell, of Queenstown, is the priest in charge.

“Lake County Press” (Mr P. de la Perrelle, proprietor and editor), Arrowtown. This paper was founded in 1872, to succeed one named “The Arrow Observer,” which had been started by Mr S. M. Brown, and Mr H. J. Cope. Mr Warren, afterwards proprietor of the “Lake Wakatipu Mail,” for some time owned the “Observer.” The “Lake County Press” was started by Mr J. T. M. Hornsby, and Mr E. Sandford. In 1886, it was taken over by Mr W. J. Marsh, now of the “Wyndham Herald,” from whom it was bought by the present owner in 1895. It is an eight-page weekly, published on Thursday, and circulates widely in the district surrounding Arrowtown. There is a very good jobbing plant; indeed, the poster printing plant is one of the best outside Dunedin.

Webb, James , Carpenter and Undertaker, Arrowtown. Mr Webb was born at Kenilworth, England, in 1844, and attended school, and learned the grocery trade, in his native place. He arrived in Lyttelton, in 1874, by the ship “Lady Jocelyn,” and shortly afterwards settled at Arrow. For some time he was employed in local stores, but ultimately commenced business as a carpenter and undertaker. Mr Webb is of an inventive turn of mind, and has recently taken out a patent for the destruction of small birds. A cage with a canary or some other bird in it, is suspended from the roof of the destroyer, which is a frame enclosed in wire netting. This serves as an attraction to the sparrows. The ground below is spread with poisoned grain, which the sparrows take greedily. Thus the poison is kept from domestic fowls, and the destroyer may, with safety, be planted in the centre of poultry or stock yards. It is said to have proved very effective for its purpose. Mr Webb served for about fourteen years in the Arrow Rifles. He was married, in 1876, to Miss Cowan, of Edinburgh, and has four sons and seven daughters.

Ballarat Hotel (D. Richardson, proprietor), Arrowtown. This hotel, which was established in the early gold digging days, contains nineteen rooms, and a good table is kept. The tariff is moderate, and the choicest brands of liquors, including all the best Otago beers, are stocked. There are good stables connected with the hotel.

Mr. David Richardson , the Proprietor, is further referred to as Mayor of Arrowtown.

Mcmaster, John , Farmer, Arrow Junction Farm, Arrowtown. Mr McMaster was born in 1856, in Dunedin, attended school at Brighton, and was brought up to farming. He worked for eighteen months in the Oamaru district, before going to Lake Wakatipu, and shortly after his arrival there, bought a threshing mill, which he has worked since 1884. In 1897, Mr McMaster purchased his present farm of 392 acres of freehold, which he has greatly improved. Mr McMaster was married, in September, 1887, to a daughter of Mr Stewart Stevenson, farmer, Crown Terrace, and has eight daughters.

Shaw, William , Farmer, Lake Hayes Farm, Arrow. Mr Shaw was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1854, and when eight years of age came out to New Zealand with his parents by the ship “Mataura.” He was brought up on his father's farm at the Taieri and afterwards removed to the Lakes district, where he worked on a small station for three years. In 1889, Mr Shaw bought his present farm of 200 acres, and he also owns the Arrow Junction Farm of 336 acres. Mixed farming is carried on, on both properties, and particular attention is devoted to horses. Mr Shaw served on the Lower Shotover school committee for several years, and is now a member of the Arrow Presbyterian church committee. He was married, in 1882, to the eldest daughter of the late Mr Robert Frew, farmer, Taieri, and has seven sons and one daughter.

Mr. And Mrs W. Shaw.

Bracken's Gully Sluicing Claim (Stevenson, Dakers and Party), Bracken's Gully, from three to four miles from Arrow. This claim was started in 1904, and consists of a holding of four acres, and there are eight heads of water available. The party has about 600 feet of piping, with 180 pounds pressure, and is working in a forty-feet face of good ground. At one time there were 150 men employed in Bracken's Gully.