Naseby Gold

From July of 1863 through to September of that year, much of the Central Otago region was ravaged by some of the worst floods and blizzards on record, and countless numbers of miners were killed.  Escaping from the Dunstan diggings, the Parker brothers found their way to the edge of the Maniototo basin. There they found gold, and the township of Naseby was born.

On the 8th of July, 1863, a report was filed in the Otago Daily Times that gold had been found in a shallow alpine valley on the edge of the Maniototo district by the Parker Brothers. It was claimed they had removed a foot of topsoil and washed only 3 pans of dirt to find fifteen pennyweight of gold (roughly 3/4 of an ounce).

As gold mining towns do, a township of canvas and rough-sawn timber and tin shacks sprung up almost overnight. Originally named Parkers, the name changed several times over the ensuing years - but finally settled on Naseby in 1874. The name is believed to be in honour of the birthplace in England of John Hyde Harris, who was the superintendent of Otago at the time.

At the time of this final name change the town consisted of, according to one report, "a funny collection of small sheet-iron shanties including 18 publicans". By 1880 things had changed dramatically and Naseby was one of the strongest and largest towns in the district, if not the entire colony. It had a racecourse, County Council Chambers, Town Hall, Courthouse, Wardens Office, Masonic Hall, Athenaeum, a district hospital, several churches and schools and many hotels (a trait which survives to this day, with two reasonably sized hotels to service a total population that barely numbers over 100 permanent residents).

By the 1920's gold mining had all but disappeared from the region, and with the Central Otago railway line passing some 15km from the town (a very unpopular decision by the government), a new centre for the district sprang up beside that line - Ranfurly.

Today, Naseby is a small and very picturesque forestry town with many outdoor tourism activities including curling, mountain biking, 4WD (4x4) adventuring, trail bike riding, swimming, fishing, ice skating and tramping.

This brief history has been compiled from various sources. Much of the history of the town is public record, some is based on popular belief. The above is compiled as an overview of the most likely course of events.