Lawrence, where the 1861 Otago gold rush began following the discovery of the precious metal by Gabriel Read, holds its annual heritage day on Sunday, and the town’s Chinese Camp is using the event as a springboard for two projects.
Lawrence Chinese Camp Charitable Trust chairwoman Denise Ng said the event was an appropriate setting to announce the trust’s plans for a $3.5million development of the camp on the edge of Lawrence, and a new tour-guiding app for visitors to the region’s historic goldfields.
She said the trust would be building the country’s first Chinese gold-mining museum in the former Empire Hotel, and a virtual reality walk-through of the original settlement, as it was in its late 1800s heyday.
A "Golden Highway" app would also be developed, guiding visitors through Central Otago’s network of Chinese goldfields, sites and museums, and following the trails of the 19th century Chinese goldminers.
"Technology will play a large part in the visitor experience at the camp. Virtual recreation of the original streets, dwellings, meeting halls, hotels and stores will bring the settlement to life, along with recordings of true stories of the residents through their descendants."
She said the museum would be a resource for schools, as New Zealand Chinese stories were now included in history curricula.
"This is a staged project and the trust is committed to continually upgrading the site.
"Our first focus is to restore the historic Empire Hotel, stables and Joss House; to construct the museum, develop the grounds and create an amazing visitor experience."
She said resource consent was imminent, and construction was expected to begin next year.
A further $30,000 was required to complete designs, which would be funded by a Buy a Brick campaign.
The new app arose from a project initiated by Ms Ng’s father, Dr James Ng, in 2009.
Originally dubbed the "Otago Chinese Heritage Touring Route", Ms Ng said the Golden Highway app would guide users through the Chinese gold mining trails into the Otago goldfields via Lawrence and the Pig Route, while providing historical context and other information.
Ms Ng said she would be working on the app with Dunedin tourism operator Neil Harraway, of Monarch Cruises, the Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust, and Doc.
"[There is a] need to restore pre-Covid level tourism in NZ, [and] there is strong interest from regional councils and support from regional museums and heritage organisations to push this project forward."
Lawrence Heritage Day runs from 10am to 4pm, on Sunday.
