Discovery of Gold collage timeline

As part of 'Our Golden Past' inquiry topic, we created a class timeline to show the main events in the discovery of gold in our local area. Mrs O gave the students a partner to work with and we had to create a paper collage picture in pairs to represent one part of the timeline. These photos show us working with our buddies, sharing ideas and listening to each others' suggestions, collaborating and co-operating as we worked.

Dewald and Fraser, Rylee and ..... Alex (the next day)

Emma and Jess, Jaxon and Mac

Blaize and Izack, Samantha and Georgia

Adam and Regen, Joshua and Elliot

Lucy and Chaleece

AND OUR FINAL PRODUCTS........ Come and check out the complete timeline in Room 4.

Edward Peters (Black Peter), an Indian who arrived in N.Z in 1853 is believed to be the first person to discover gold in the Tuapeka district.

Created by Joshua and Elliot

George and Helen Munro were the earliest known settlers in the Tuapeka area. They sailed to N.Z from Scotland, and after arriving at Port Chalmers in Dunedin, they made their way to the Tuapeka area.

Created by Jaxon and Mac

George Munro was a shepherd who worked hard on the farm, while Mrs Munro took care of the house and family. The gully that they lived in was named after them and is what we know today as Munros Gully.

Created by Izack and Blaize

Gabriel Read, an Australian prospector, arrived in Port Chalmers in February 1861 after hearing reports of gold being found in the Tuapeka district. In May 1861, Gabriel Read appeared when Mr Munro was working on his farm. They talked about where gold might be found.

Created by Dewald and Fraser

George Munro invited Gabriel Read to spend the night with him and his wife at their hut. Mr Munro took Gabriel Read to the back gully and showed him where gold might be found.

Created by Jess and Emma

Gabriel Read returned to the Munros and told of finding lots of gold in the back gully. Mr Munro was not interested in prospecting so he continued farming. Helen Munro was interested and she took her butchers knife and went out to the small creek which ran in front of her home and she found lots of gold. Helen Munro was the first woman that we know of to make her fortune mining gold in N.Z.

Created by Lucy and Chaleece

Meanwhile, Gabriel Read wanted to claim the reward that was offered for the discovery of a payable goldfield, so he wrote a letter to The Otago Witness.

As he made his way back to Dunedin he also told everybody that he met along the way about the gold at Tuapeka.

Created by Samantha and Georgia

And so the goldrush began! Thousands of miners rushed to the area from around the world to seek their fortune. By 1862 the population of Lawrence had grown to 11,500 which was more than double that of Dunedin at the time. Our population of 550 today is very small compared to the goldrush days.

Created by Adam and Regen

The chinese miners joined the goldrush around 1867. They were not allowed to live in the same area as the Europeans so settled in a special camp on the edge of town and had to walk to the goldfields every day. The chinese miners often had to re-work the claims of the Europeans. They worked very hard and only a few made it rich.

Created by Mac and Jaxon

From 1864-1868 as the population boomed, the settlement at Blue Spur grew to provide for the needs of the miners. There were two types of every store - 2 bakeries, 2 butchers, 2 hotels, 2 churches and a school with 226 students.

The goldrush in Lawrence didn't last very long, with many miners leaving the Tuapeka District to follow the rush throughout Otago.

Created by Rylee and Alex