Strohles Flat, Skippers, Queenstown-Lakes District, Otago Region, New Zealandi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Strohles Flat | Flat |
| Skippers | - not defined - |
| Queenstown-Lakes District | District |
| Otago Region | Region |
| New Zealand | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
44° 47' 40'' South , 168° 44' 23'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Arrowtown | 2,151 (2011) | 16.9km |
| Queenstown | 10,442 (2018) | 26.9km |
| Wanaka | 4,428 (2011) | 34.0km |
Gold found in alluvial gravels.
Otto Strohle was of Swedish origin who emigrated to New Zealand to join the Otago gold rushes. Described as an 'unmarried straightforward quiet and inoffensive man' we do not have any background information on him.
The first notice is 1881, when he is declared bankrupt with his mining partner Theodore Landsberg. It would have been of little consequence as he lived a frugal life in the Upper Shotover valley in a stone hut, at what is now called Strohles Flat by the Shotover River. This is 10 kilometres north of Skippers on The Branches pastoral station road.
The hut is extremely picturesque, especially in autumn when the introduced trees turn a golden colour. The hut was rebuilt by Jimmy McLean in the 1930's, Jimmy re-naming the hut 'Tawhiti. It was used as a mustering camp until 1955, then restored in the 1960's by the Wrights from Dunedin.
Alluvial gold mining on the flat by Strohle was helped by a water race from the nearby Stoney Creek. Thomas Hardy owned half the race, which he tried to sell in 1904. In 1902, Elizabeth Borrie Ryley, Thomas Brown, and John Mitchell of Dundein tried to declare the water race abandoned in the Warden's Court, so the water could be diverted to their own claim. Considering Hardy still owned part of the race after this date, it is assumed the attempt was unsuccessful.
Otto died at his cottage the 21 June 1906, suffering from influenza in the depths of the snow covered upper Shotover valley winter. Nearby miners Arthur Campbell and J. Mills had cared for him in his last days, but to no avail. He was 57 years of age.
The flats were later worked by Alf and Jim Smith, and then finally the Anderson brothers. Just north of the flat is a group of workings called Coolgardie.
List of minerals for each chemical element
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Australian Plate
- Haast SchistAccretionary Complex
New Zealand
- South IslandIsland
- Southern AlpsMountain Range
Pacific PlateTectonic Plate
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