Cromwell, New Zealand

Cromwell was originally known as "The Junction", being at the confluence of the Clutha / Mata-Au and Kawarau Rivers. In 1862, gold was discovered below the Junction by two miners, Hartley and Reilly. Once the word of a gold strike was out, there was an influx of several thousand miners to the area. Its newspaper, The Cromwell Argus, was established in 1869.[3]

As gold ran out, Cromwell became the service centre for an extensive farming and stone fruit growing area. It has a strategic location between the Lindis and the Haast passes, and acts as a hub between the towns of Wanaka, Queenstown and Alexandra. The former is commemorated with the giant sculpture of stone fruit which stands outside the northern end of the town.

Cromwell lay at the confluence of the [[Clutha River / Mata-Au and Kawarau River, which was noted for the difference between the colours of the waters of the two rivers and also for the historic bridge at the convergence of the two. Since the construction of the Clyde Dam and the filling of Lake Dunstan in the early 1990s the river confluence was drowned, as was the old town centre.

The decision to build Clyde Dam and use Cromwell as the accommodation base brought many changes to the town. Approximately one-third of the town was rebuilt on higher ground. The changes included the doubling of the residential area, relocation of the old town centre (now called "Old Cromwell Town"), upgrading of services, and the provision of modern educational and sports facilities, and a new bridge. The relocated town centre, or "The Mall," now houses the main retail, service and civic buildings in Cromwell. Several of the old buildings of the town which escaped the flooding have been retained as a historic precinct close to the shore of the Kawarau.

The town was named after Oliver Cromwell and, as well as "The Junction", the town was previously known as "The Point" and "Kawarau".

Cromwell is nicknamed the "Fruit Bowl of the South".

Cromwell receives around 400 mm of rain a year due to its inland location. Although it is widely believed to have a continental climate, the town officially has an oceanic climate (Cfb) with rainfall just enough to escape the semi-arid climate (Bsk) classification.

The Cromwell urban area had a usual resident population of 5,610 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 1,269 people (29.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 1,866 people (49.8%) since the 2006 census. There were 2,898 males and 2,709 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.07 males per female. Of the total population, 1,044 people (18.6%) were aged up to 15 years, 909 (16.2%) were 15 to 29, 2,604 (46.4%) were 30 to 64, and 1,050 (18.7%) were 65 or older.[5]

Ethnicities were 90.1% European/Pākehā, 9.1% Māori, 2.0% Pacific peoples, 3.9% Asian, and 2.5% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).[5]

Former mayors of the Borough of Cromwell were as follows

Cromwell Primary School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 6 students,[7][8] with a roll of 336 as of March 2020.[9]

Goldfields School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 6 students,[10][11] with a roll of 270.[12]

Cromwell College is a co-educational state secondary school for Year 7 to 13 students,[13][14] with a roll of 520.[15]

Otago Polytechnic has a campus in Cromwell specialising in horticulture, catering and tourism. Its crop centre provides advisory services to horticulturalists on commercially viable new crops.[16]

Notes

Sources

• Reed, A.W. (2002) The Reed dictionary of New Zealand place names. Auckland: Reed Books. ISBN 0-790-00761-4.
• An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, 1966, A. H. McLintock (editor)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cromwell, New Zealand.

• Cromwell – promotional site