Established to protect local heritage back in 1948, Lakes District Museum was housed in the Ballarat Hotel’s Billards Room, close to the site of the Arrowtown Bakery. Seven years later, the museum moved to its current site on the corner of Buckingham and Wiltshire Streets, the former home of the…
Read More
Visit the Lakes District Museum Travel back in time at the Lakes District Museum. Displays explore Māori history in the region, European colonisation, and the gold rush. The museum complex is built around the town’s original bank, old stables, and an 1875 bakery with a brick oven. The basement has…
Read More
A dream 20 years in the making, Te Atamira - Queenstown’s multi-purpose arts and cultural space - is now in its third year of operation and boasts more than 82,000 visitors each year. Each week, this thriving arts hub fosters countless community connections for all ages and creative interests. At…
Read More
The Queenstown Lakes region has a rich and vibrant cultural calendar. There’s a huge variety of arts and cultural events every year, and the 2024 -2025 line up is bigger than ever. No matter the season, there’s plenty for art lovers to see, do and get involved in. With many events hosted over public…
Read More
Beautiful places have attracted and inspired artists for centuries, and Queenstown on New Zealand’s South Island is no different. Many of New Zealand’s best-known artists are based in Queenstown or have been influenced by its landscapes, alongside local painters, sculptors and photographers who…
Read More
There’s more natural beauty to explore around Queenstown than you can shake your Camelbak at. With a variety of history-rich heritage walking tracks, there are plenty of ways to connect with both world-class scenery and stories of the past. Some are a stone’s throw from town, some are a little…
Read More
Arrowtown is a scenic 20 minute drive from Queenstown and the route has many hidden artist’s studios dotted along the way. Stop in and explore the studio of Angus Watson on Littles Road, a riot of abstract, colourful figures and landscape paintings. Take a scenic detour to the lanes around…
Read More
Combine a Queenstown cycling adventure with unique Kiwi culture and heritage. A variety of early adventurers including Māori in search of pounamu (jade), gold miners from across the globe and pastoral pioneers have left lasting legacies. Some of those legacies are Queenstown heritage sites that you…
Read More
PIONEERING THE FUTURE In 1860 William Gilbert Rees and Nicholas Von Tunzelman came to Queenstown to develop its pastoral potential. They burned much of the beech forest and shrubland to open up grazing land. However, development of Queenstown changed forever when in 1862 Jack Tewa, a Māori shearer…
Read More
The TSS Earnslaw is one of the world’s oldest and largest remaining coal-fired steamships and has graced Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown since 1912. She is the last of a long line of coal-burning steamers used on the lake to ferry people and goods to inaccessible areas on the shores of Lake Whakatipu…
Read More
