Location | Otago |
---|---|
Also known as | Goldfields cavalcade Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust Cavalcade |
Organized by | Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust |
Website | https://cavalcade.co.nz/ |
The Otago Goldfields Cavalcade (officially the Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust Cavalcade) is an annual event in Otago, New Zealand. The cavalcade has run annually since its inception in 1991, and retraces the routes of wagons across country to the Dunstan goldfields around Cromwell. The original route, which established Cobb & Co.'s coach service, left Dunedin's Provincial Hotel on 22 November 1862. Present-day cavalcade routes vary each year in late February so as to finish in a different host town.
The original idea to recreate the wagon route as an annual cavalcade came from Fleur Sullivan, who wanted to boost tourism to small Otago towns. [1] Sullivan and Roberta Laraman, who co-ordinated the event for seventeen years, were honoured at the 25th anniversary cavalcade in 2017. [2]
The first cavalcade in 1991 attracted 220 people and 240 horses, and retraced the route from Dunedin's Provincial Hotel to Dunstan goldfields. [3] Later events have allowed for horse-drawn wagons, coaches, walkers and cyclists to participate. [3] The 2017 anniversary cavalcade attracted 500 participants. [2]
The event originally took place in November, but was changed to February and March to take account of better weather. [4] In 2022 the event was cancelled due to COVID-19. [5]
Alexandra is a town in the Central Otago district of the South Island of New Zealand. It is on the banks of the Clutha River, on State Highway 8, 188 kilometres (117 mi) by road from Dunedin and 33 kilometres (21 mi) south of Cromwell. The nearest towns to Alexandra via state highway 8 are Clyde seven kilometres to the northwest and Roxburgh forty kilometres to the south. State highway 85 also connects Alexandra to Omakau, Lauder, Oturehua, Ranfurly and on to Palmerston on the East Otago coast.
Cromwell is a town in Central Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. Cromwell is located on the shores of Lake Dunstan where the Kawarau river joins Lake Dunstan. Cromwell was established during the Otago gold rush and is now more known as one of the sub regions of the Central Otago wine region. In 2018, the town of Cromwell was home to a population of 5610 people.
The Cromwell Gorge is a steep gorge cut by the former Clutha River in the Central Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It winds 19 km (12 mi) between the Dunstan and Cairnmuir Mountains, linking the townships of Cromwell and Clyde. It is one of three substantial river gorges in Central Otago, the others being the Kawarau Gorge to the west of Cromwell, and the Roxburgh Gorge south of Alexandra.
The Otago gold rush was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area – many of them veterans of other hunts for the precious metal in California and Victoria, Australia. The number of miners reached its maximum of 18,000 in February 1864.
Paerau is a small settlement in inland Central Otago in New Zealand's South Island. It is located in the Strath Taieri, the upper valley of the Taieri River, at the foot of the Rock and Pillar Range. "Paerau" is a Māori-language name meaning "one hundred ridges".
Sir George Fenwick was a New Zealand newspaper proprietor and editor. He is best known for his time as manager and editor of the Otago Daily Times, during which time he supported the campaign initiated by Rutherford Waddell against sweat shops.
Hyde is a locality in Otago, New Zealand, located in the Strath-Taieri. It is close to the northern end of the Rock and Pillar Range on State Highway 87 between Middlemarch and Ranfurly. Hyde is best known as the site of the Hyde railway disaster of 4 June 1943, in which 21 people were killed when an express train on the Otago Central Railway derailed at high speed in a cutting near the town. At the time, it was the worst railway accident in New Zealand's history; it has only been passed by the Tangiwai disaster of 24 December 1953, which claimed the lives of 151 people. The site of the Hyde disaster can now be walked as part of the Otago Central Rail Trail and a monument, a 2.5 m high cairn, stands as a memorial to the victims.
Cobb & Co. is the name of a company that operated a fleet of stagecoaches in Australia in the late 19th century. Cobb & Co. itself did not operate in New Zealand officially but its name was used by many private stage coach operators.
A cavalcade is a procession or parade on horseback, or a mass distance ride by a company of riders.
Otago University NORML is a pro-cannabis law reform student club at the University of Otago, affiliated to the Otago University Students Association. It is not affiliated to the national New Zealand cannabis law reform organisation NORML New Zealand, an affiliate of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
Styx Creek is a small to medium-sized natural stream in the Central Otago region of New Zealand. It flows into the Taieri River in the valley near Paerau, about 70 kilometres (43 mi) northwest of Dunedin.
Otautau is a small farming, forestry and milling town located inland on the western edge of the Southland Plains of New Zealand on the banks of the Aparima River. Otautau is located approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) north west of Invercargill. The average elevation of Otautau is 60 metres.
Horatio Hartley (1826–1903) was an American gold prospector who participated in the Otago gold rush in New Zealand in the 1860s.
Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics' Institute is an adult education institute based in a heritage building in Dunedin, New Zealand. The private organisation provided classes and a library for members. Presently it operates a subscription lending library, and includes a basement theatre that has been operated by the Dunedin Collaborative Theatre Trust since 2016. The Athenaeum building is one of the oldest athenaeums in New Zealand still used for its original purpose, and is classified as a "Category I" historic place by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, previously known as the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
Clarks Junction, also known simply as Clarks, is a locality in the Otago Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located at the junction of State Highway 87 and the Old Dunstan Road, approximately halfway between Outram and Middlemarch.
The Bendigo Goldfields region of Central Otago is an historic area comprising several former mining settlements in the southern South Island of New Zealand. It was part of the Otago gold rush that occurred during the 1860s, leading to an influx of miners from rushes in California and Victoria, Australia. These miners brought with them a rich diversity of cultures from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Sweden, China, Australia, Canada, and the United States. The area was named after the goldfield by the same name in Victoria.
Christopher Reilly was an Irish gold prospector who participated in the Otago gold rush in New Zealand in the 1860s.
Edward Peters, otherwise known as Black Peter, was a farm hand and pioneer gold prospector who first reported finding gold in the Tokomairaro River which would later become part of New Zealand's first workable goldfield: the Tuapeka Goldfield, including Gabriel's Gully.
Fleur De Lyse Ross Sullivan is a New Zealand restaurateur and author. In 1999, Sullivan was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to tourism, and in 2013 she was promoted to Companion of the same order, for services to the food industry.