Queenstown and District Historical
 Society Incorporated
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Activities for Members


For reports and photos of past years’ activities, use the drop-down arrow.


Spring 2025 - Autumn 2026


17 May: 2pm at St John’s Presbyterian Church, Arrowtown.


Launch of Courier 115 and talks ‘Recalling the 1950s’:

Jenny Howitt: The Story behind the propeller in the Museum’

And Ray O’Callghan’s memories of growing up in Arrowtown.



12 April 2026: Visit to Blanket Bay Luxury Lodge, Glenorchy


Andrew Patterson invited 30 members of the Society to come for a tour of the lodge. He presented the history of the area and of the lodge which was opened in 1999.

















15 March 2026: From Mill Farm to Millbrook


Colleen Bergin, great-great-granddaughter of pioneer John Butel and author of From Farmlands to Fairways, and Graham Smolenski, promoter and original driver of the Millbrook development, gave fascinating accounts of the history. Afterwards, some members toured the buildings with them. 50 people attended.

                 




   


               



      


                                  Mill Farm in about the 1970s



AGM Queenstown & District Historical Society


This was held on Sunday the 23rd of November at the Whakatipu Rowing Club Centre beside Lake Hayes. A talk by the club president Amy Wilson-White about the history of rowing and the building of the centre was well received.


Marion Borrell received Life Membership and fittingly a painting of Lake Hayes.
















Coxed Fours in Queenstown Bay c1908 (LDM EL2111)



2 November 2025: 'People From Our Past' at Arrowtown Cemetery.


The Society's contribution to QLDC's Cemeteries and Crematoria Week. 25 people visited the graves and heard the stories of Elizabeth Goodwin, Anna Catherine Neilson, James Reid and John Augustus Miller.














Day trip to Clyde - 19th of October


Andrea Ritchie, an owner of the Olivers complex guided us through Olivers and her sister Victoria showed us the beautifully refurbished Lord Clyde Hotel over the road.

The Council Chambers/Clyde Historical Museum was next and then St Dunstan’s Catholic Church in Fraser Street. We finished at the Clyde Railway Station which is now used as a bike business. About 30 members attended.














The Lord Clyde hotel (built in 1903)                              St Dunstan's Church



Medical People From Our Past - Sunday 14 September, 2-4pm


We had a keen audience for 'Medical People From Our Past', learning about some surprising substances used by the chemist, Lewis Hotop; some changes in maternity care in the early 20th century involving Nurse Lizzie White; the strenuous life of longtime local doctor Bill,Anderson; and the dedication and forthrightness of hospital matron Isobel Bremner.