Goldfield's Mining Chinese Village

ABOUT US

The Goldfields Mining Centre is a well-known visitor attraction on the main road to New Zealand's premier resort town of Queenstown. The site is some 25 hectares in size spread-out along the banks of the Kawarau River in its spectacular gorge.

Its visitor centre, in a beautiful garden setting offers "home-cooked" morning and afternoon teas and a wide range of luncheon menus. A gold gallery featuring jewellery from local craftsmen provides the opportunity to take home a souvenir of your visit. Relax with coffee in the gardens after visiting this historic site, or book a thrilling jet boat trip onboard Goldfields Jet to "experience the rush and discover more of the history of this unique site".

As the main demonstration site for gold mining, Goldfields depicts a wide range of machinery and mining techniques to show how the early miners extracted gold from this rich field. The extraordinary stamper battery linked to the goldmine; the California sluice guns and numerous examples of hand operated tools combine to provide a complete picture of goldmining as it was carried out in Southern New Zealand.

And there is still gold to be found. It is estimated that less than a third of the gold has been taken from the site. While commercial mining is no longer permitted, the Centre is licensed for gold fossicking and many visitors find and take home with them gold they have found in the virgin soils. Our "rogues gallery" which continues to grow, depicts those lucky ones who found valuable nuggets during their visit to the site.

Knowledgeable and friendly staff will make sure your visit is both interesting and enjoyable. We love our gold mine. Let us share our enthusiasm with you.