Lauder Homestead (Woolshed; Woolshed Creek), St. Bathans, Central Otago District, Otago Region, New Zealandi

Regional Level Types
Lauder Homestead (Woolshed; Woolshed Creek)	Homestead
St. Bathans	- not defined -
Central Otago District	District
Otago Region	Region
New Zealand	Country

Old alluvial gold workings, and coal mine pits.

Access to the Lauder homestead is from the St. Bathans Loop Road. At the homestead some historic buildings like the woolshed can be viewed from the outside. An easement can be used to walk into the Lauder Conservation Area in the hills behind, but is little visited due to the limited access, and lack of promotion. The old gold sluicing sites can be seen north of the access road, now overgrown, and on private property. More workings are south of the homestead, and a coal pit is in the area, with races, winch pump machinery remains, a ruined iron corrugated hut, but may also not be accessible.

The pastoral station was established in 1858 by William Davy and Edmund Bowler.

The gold workings represent an outlier of the St. Bathans goldfield, and was only mentioned three times by the mining warden between the 1860's to 1907, indicating small scale activity at the site. In 1873, it is mentioned mining is being restricted by a lack of water to sluice. In 1904 and 1905, R. Jones and Morgan is sluicing at the site, the remains of their sod hut apparently still evident at the location. The site footprint may indicate greater activity than this.

Coal mining could date from the 1870's, but is mentioned in 1890 with a coal lease application by W. McArthur.

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References