Monks Terrace, Skippers, Queenstown-Lakes District, Otago Region, New Zealandi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Monks Terrace | - not defined - |
| Skippers | - not defined - |
| Queenstown-Lakes District | District |
| Otago Region | Region |
| New Zealand | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
44° 49' 21'' South , 168° 43' 14'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Arrowtown | 2,151 (2011) | 14.7km |
| Queenstown | 10,442 (2018) | 23.5km |
| Wanaka | 4,428 (2011) | 36.5km |
Alluvial gold in gravels. Stony.
Monks Terrace is perched above the Shotover River, 5 kilometres north of Skippers, and diagonally opposite the Sandhills Cut. Being on the western side of the river, it is not easily reached, with The Branches pastoral station road on the eastern side.
Thomas P. Monk left his family farm in Ireland aged 25 in 1859, after seeing a friend return from Australia loaded with gold. In what could amount to a bad joke involving a bar, he teamed up with Jones, a Welshman, McAlpine a Scot, and Desmond, another Irishman, and took out a claim at Stiglitz Ballarat. They did well for two years at the claim.
On hearing of the Otago gold rush, Monk left for New Zealand, and proceeded to Gabriels Gully. Again he found enough gold to be successful. But Monk was fleet of foot, and was always looking for something better. With each new rush he would arrive soon after. He went to Alexandra and found little, then to Arrowtown to find he was too late and all the leases were pegged.
In 1863 he joined the rush to the upper Shotover, pegged a claim, but had to leave to get provisions, and found his claim jumped when he returned. He joined 35 other men who were building a wall of scrub, stones and wooden crates down the centre of the Shotover River for 500 yards, with the intention to divert the river. Half the river bed would then be exposed to access gold, however after eight weeks work, and the project nearing completion a flood wiped away all their work. The next day Monk found the bodies of eleven drowned miners downstream.
In 1865, he joined with Scot McInnes, and for the next 35 years worked the terrace that now bears Monk's name. They retired and sold the claim in 1900, and he passed away in his cottage above Lake Wakapitu in 1929.
The lease was sold to Robert Lee, who farmed out the work to P.J. Lynch. He worked the lease sluicing until around 1912.
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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