St Bathans village lies at the end of the Manuherikia Valley
and is renowned for its heritage, which includes gold-mining
relics, historic buildings and the Blue Lake.
Gold mining was a significant industry in the 1860s, at its
peak St Bathans was a booming town with two banks and a
police station, 15 pubs, a cottage hospital, courthouse, two
churches and two schools. Miners sluiced away a 120m hill,
leaving a 69m-deep hole which is today known as the Blue
Lake.
Today St Bathans has a handful of permanent residents,
holiday cribs and one pub. The surrounding area, including
Cambrian and St Bathans Downs, is characterised by high
country pastoral farming - particularly of merino sheep,
cattle and deer. Every year in summer the village hosts
the St Bathans Village Fete featuring a good variety of art,
crafts and food stalls.
Now its its ninth year, the fete is organised by Cambrian St
Bathans Rural Women and is the only annual event based in the
village. It was such a hot day at the 2011 event that many of
the family groups at the fete headed down to the lake
afterwards for a swim.
Organisers have their fingers crossed for another scorching
summer's day.
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