Resort town in New Zealand's South Island
About Queenstown, New Zealand
Queenstown is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It is the largest town in the Queenstown-Lakes District, and the primary administrative centre.
Toponymy
Tāhuna, the Māori-language name for Queenstown, means 'shallow bay'. Queenstown was initially just known as 'The Station' after William Gilbert Rees' station, as the settlement existed on his run holding. The settlement was also known as 'The Camp' and 'Canvastown'. On 5 January 1863 the name Queenstown was adopted, likely after Queenstown, Ireland, which had been recently renamed following a visit by Queen Victoria.
History
The area was discovered and first settled by Māori. Kāi Tahu say that the lake was dug by the Waitaha ancestor, Rākaihautū, with his kō (digging stick) named Tūwhakaroria. After arriving at Whakatū Nelson in the waka Uruao, Rākaihautū divided his crew into two. He led one group through the interior of Te Waipounamu, digging the freshwater lakes of the island. After digging the lakes Hāwea, Wānaka, and Whakatipu Waimāori, he travelled through the Greenstone and Hollyford valleys before finally digging Whakatipu Waitai (Lake McKerrow). The first non-Māori to see Lake Wakatipu was European Nathanael Chalmers who was guided by Reko, the chief of the Tuturau, over the Waimea Plains and up the Mataura River in September 1853. Evidence of stake nets, baskets for catching eels, spears and ashes indicated the Glenorchy area was visited by Māori. …
Geography
Queenstown is on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand's third-largest lake by surface area. The town is close to the lake's northeastern bend, at which point a small arm, the Frankton Arm, joins the lake with its principal outflow, the Kawarau River. The centre of the town is on the north shore at the point where the Frankton Arm links with the main body of the lake, but also extends to the major suburb of Frankton at the eastern end of the arm, and across to Kelvin Heights on the Kelvin Peninsula, which forms the Frankton Arm's southern shore. The town is at a relatively low altitude for a ski and snowboarding centre, at 310 metres (1,020 ft) above sea level at the lake shore, but is nestled among mountains, most notably the scenic attraction of The Remarkables, to the town's southeast. …
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