New Zealand Walk
Gabriels Gully interpretation walk
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(an exposed fault line unearthed by mining in the gully) and follow several water races uphill. You will pass the site of a raceman’s cottage, Pollands Dam and a rusty sluice pipe. Water was piped in from as far afield as Waipori and stored in the many dams in the area to rush through the water races and sluice pipes operated by the racemen to blast the rock faces for gold. The track then descends the face providing views across the gully, to the elevator pond and beyond to the tent sites of hundreds of miners
during the rush and later of the mine office. You will then enter the regenerated manuka forest and wander amongst remnant stacks of conglomerate (gold bearing) rock before crossing an open paddock to an intersection. From here you can turn right to visit the remains of the North of Ireland stamper battery or turn left to visit another dam and walk through the forest to the Great Extended Mine shaft. After seeing the mine shaft wan-
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abriel’s Gully is a locality in Otago, New Zealand, three kilometres from Lawrence township and close to the Tuapeka River. It was the site of New Zealand’s first major gold rush. The discovery of gold at Gabriel’s Gully by Gabriel Read on 25 May 1861 led to the Central Otago goldrush. Today you can explore Gabriels Gully and the stories of goldfield occupants with a series of interpretation panels as your guide, and picnic at Greys Dam. From the carpark follow the track up the hill to traverse a fault scarp
Below left: A commemorate plaque.:
24 Walking New Zealand, issue no 279 - 2021
www.walkingnewzealand.co.nz
