13,000 BC

FORMATION

The spectacular Remarkables mountain range (Kawarau) runs exactly north south, and was formed by the pressures of tectonic plates moving along the fault line that runs the length of the Southern Alps. The faulting and folding of schist rock has created the awesome near vertical rock faces that dramatically surround Jack’s Point.

During the last ice age glaciers covered most of this region. A glacier from the north-west was responsible for gouging out the deep Whakatipu lakebed to a depth of 380 metres (1247 feet). Evidence of the glacial action can be seen on Cecil Peak in the form of deep 'scratches' (striations), along the mountain slopes.

800–1100 AD

WHAKATIPU-WAI-MĀORI 

According to legendary tradition the first visitors to the Lakes District area were the Kati Waitaha. Their chief, Rakaihautu traversed the South Island in his waka (canoe), Uruao and “carved out its lakes with his magical digging stick”.   

Initially the explorers thought that Lake Whakatipu was part of the sea but when they reached it they discovered it was fresh water and named it Whakatipu-wai-maori (fresh water Whakatipu). 

There is still debate about when the first Māori came to the area. However umu ti (ovens) at what is now Dart river bridge beyond the north-western end of Lake Whakatipu have been radiocarbon dated to AD 1227, 1363, 1508 and 1613. 

The first Māori came to the region via the valley systems of Southland and Otago. They hunted the large, flightless moa bird, which provided a rich source of protein, bones for ornaments and fishhooks and feathers for use in cloaks. The period during which moa were hunted to the point of extinction lasted for 100 -150 years.  

Māori in the Central Otago region, generally visitors, were coming from coastal areas to hunt moa, catch eels in Lake Wakatipu and to use the precious pounamu (greenstone) for tool making.  Due to the smaller populations and less competition for the natural resources the people remained nomadic for longer than Māori further north. The emergence of classic or tribal Māori society by the 16th century excluded the south of the South Island.

1350–1550 AD

ECONOMIC RECESSION

This period was marked by the decline of moa and the onset of the first economic recession.  Māori coped with this change in circumstances by replacing moa meat mainly with fish and also a wide range of open country and coastal birds, especially ducks. Another important food source at this time was ti (cabbage tree) roots, a staple of Māori diets in this region. 

The harder economic circumstances combined with the mobile lifestyle probably caused the population to decline slightly.  There were probably no more than 1500 people in southern New Zealand by the early 16th century.

1853

SURVEY

Nathaniel Chalmers, on a mission to survey the region, was the first European to see Lake Whakatipu.  He was led to the area by two Māori guides, Reko and Kaikoura.

1860–1862 

EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT

William Gilbert Rees and Nicholas Von Tunzelman successfully reached the Whakatipu Basin via the Cardrona Valley.  After lodging an application for a pasturage licence in March, Rees had 3000 sheep on the move to the Whakatipu by December of the same year.  

Rees built a homestead at Queenstown Bay known as The Camp, and by 1862 his property covered a large area including the Shotover, the Buckleburn, the staircase and the peninsula runs – a huge pastoral empire.

1862

MĀORI JACK

On 9 August 1862 local Māori man, Jack Tewa (known as “Māori Jack”), was sailing to Kingston from Queenstown with two Europeans by the name of Rogers and Mitchell. Approximately an hour after starting out from Queenstown on Lake Whakatipu, opposite Cecil Peak, a squall capsized the boat.  Amazingly Jack Tewa managed to right the boat and pull Mitchell aboard. He landed the boat at what became known as Refuge Point on the southern side of the Lake.  

After Jack had pulled Mitchell into a protected area and covered him with bracken, he set off on foot to find help at Nicholas Von Tunzelmann’s station 30 miles away.  Jack and Von Tunzelmann then rowed across to Queenstown to get help.  

On August 12 a rescue party headed by Rees rowed out from Queenstown to rescue Mitchell. Apparently Mitchell survived the ordeal largely due to a mysterious collie dog who had kept him warm by lying on him through the night.

Jack Tewa was awarded a medal from the Royal Humane Society and Mitchell gave him a silver hunting watch in appreciation for his incredible feat.  

Jack's Point was named after Jack Tewa and his feat of strength and courage. Lake Tewa within Jack's Point, the site of the Village, is also named after Jack Tewa.

1862–1865

GOLD RUSH

It was Jack Tewa who is also credited with the first discovery of gold in the Arrow River, Arrowtown, in 1862.  He told William Fox, Thomas Low and John MacGregor and this led to further discoveries in the Shotover River. The gold rush peaked in 1863 with the pastoral lease of W.G. Rees being cancelled and a goldfield declared for which he received £10,000 compensation. 

Rees moved his pastoral activities from the Shotover Run to his southern runs. He had a difficult time attracting shepherds and shearers during this period as they preferred to try their luck with gold digging. 

There was a gradual decline in the number of miners in the Lakes District  over the course of the 1860s, and particularly after 1865 when gold was discovered in Westland.  During its peak month in April 1863, 59,308 ounces of gold worth a quarter of a million pounds was exported.  After 1867 the amount exported declined steadily.  

The Staircase and Shotover runs were combined after this period and named Kawarau Falls by Rees.