The Otago Gold Rush started in 1861, when a young Australian prospector, Gabriel Read, found gold at Lawrence. And so gold fever began. Thousands of prospectors flooded in, from the British Isles, America, China and Europe, travelling on from the exhausted Californian and Victorian rushes.

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Rich alluvial gold deposits were discovered at Bendigo Creek in 1862. These deposits were soon played out.  More gold was discovered by Thomas Logan in 1863 in the quartz reefs, but reaching this gold was more of a challenge. Impressive stamper batteries were constructed to blast the schist, crush it and mix it with mercury or cyanide to release the fine gold. Shafts were sunk and, by the mid 1870s, the reef was considered New Zealand richest gold mining area.

 

Gold fever continues...

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In 2020, Australian Santana Minerals were granted a five-year exploratory drilling permit at four Bendigo-Ophir sites. In 2024, the company reported the discovery of the biggest gold deposit in New Zealand in the last four decades and listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange. The project has been selected under the current government Fast-track Approvals Act 2024, allowing for faster approval of certain infrastructure and development projects. Development is being opposed by Sustainable Tarras, a locally-based environmental group.

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In May 2023, Cold Gold Clutha Ltd applied for Resource Consent to undertake suction dredge gold mining along the Māta Au Clutha River near Tarras and for spot mining Sandy Point to the confluence with the Lindis River. Their application was declined.