Goldfields Mining Centre

IT was the lure of GOLD that brought the first settlers into Central Otago and paved the way for today’s tourist towns of Queenstown and Wanaka. Today there are few reminders of this early history.

The Goldfields Mining Centre is a special place where visitors can gain an appreciation of the life and working environment of those early miners who struggled against the harsh and sometimes dangerous conditions along Central Otago’s famed Kawarau Gorge.

Located on the banks of the spectacular Kawarau River, the Goldfields Mining Centre is an historic reserve which has been set aside by New Zealand’s Department of Conservation to preserve an authentic mining site where gold has been mined for over 100 years and can still be found in the rocks & gravels of this unique area.