Sandhill Cut, Skippers, Queenstown-Lakes District, Otago Region, New Zealandi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Sandhill Cut | - not defined - |
| Skippers | - not defined - |
| Queenstown-Lakes District | District |
| Otago Region | Region |
| New Zealand | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
44° 49' 14'' South , 168° 43' 26'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Arrowtown | 2,151 (2011) | 14.7km |
| Queenstown | 10,442 (2018) | 23.8km |
| Wanaka | 4,428 (2011) | 36.2km |
Sandhill Cut is 5 kilometres north of Skippers, along the Mount Branches pastoral station road. The large chasm through the hill is man-made, designed to divert the Shotover River, and allowing the river bed to be accessed for gold.
The cut was created by the Sandhills Gold Mining Company between 1926 to 1931. It is 580 metres long, 30 metres wide at the bottom, and 60 metres deep. In 1935 a coffer dam was built across the river to divert it through the channel. Only 600 ounces of gold was recovered from the exposed river bed, and the company went into liquidation in 1941.
The carbide store is at the southern end of the cut used to store calcium carbide for night-time working digging the cut. When water drips on calcium carbide, it produces acetylene to power carbide lamps.
The nearby Sandhill Creek has 1920's piping, and a hut ruin. The Sandhills dredge is one of several claiming to be the first electric dredge in New Zealand, worked the Shotover River around the turn of the 20th Century. It was built by David Hazeel, and Gemmel (surname), and decommissioned in 1902.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsGallery:
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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