Wānaka History

Home
New Zealand
Wanaka
Wānaka History

Wānaka History promotes stories of Wānaka and the surrounding areas in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Wānaka History is a project of the Upper Clutha History Society, using records from their archive.

15/09/2026

Scotts Beach, Lake Hāwea. c.1960s.

According to Barbara Chinn in her book ‘A Pretty Good Place to Live’, Scotts Beach was named after the grandson of the Gilkison family from Dunedin.

To learn more about Hāwea, head to our website here: www.wanakahistory.org/stories/history-of-lake-hwea-township

08/09/2026

Dance tickets from days gone by.

The first ticket is for a dance at the Olympic Hall on 15 October 1897, held by the Bachelors of Pembroke. The second is for the Education Centenary Ball in the Wanaka Hall on 12 October 1956, which included ‘Excellent supper’ and ‘Good music.’
NB: The Olympic Hall was replaced by a new Wanaka Hall in 1924. Both were at the same location on Ardmore Street.

To learn more about community dances in early Wānaka, read our story, “Where did they meet and dance?”, found here at: www.wanakahistory.org/stories/where-did-they-meet-and-dance

01/09/2026

Lake Wānaka, c.1911

This photo shows Beach St (now known as Lakeside Rd) running towards Pembroke township (now Wānaka). The remains of the famous Paddle Steamer, the ‘Theodore’ can be seen on the shore.

To learn more about local Wānaka history, head to our website here: www.wanakahistory.org

25/08/2026

Pembroke (now Wānaka), c.1907

This image shows the mail coach to Cromwell in the first Wanaka Hotel backyard. We can identify the driver Bob Walker, Mr Marsh, the local policeman with a dog at his feet, and Teddy Grogan, the local baker in the white apron.

To read about the history of Post Offices in Wānaka, head to our website here: www.wanakahistory.org/stories/post-offices

18/08/2026

Wānaka, c.1940-50s.

This image shows a view of Wānaka, likely taken from the hill above Hedditch Street.

To learn more about Wānaka’s history, head to our website here: www.wanakahistory.org

11/08/2026

Stan Kane at Luggate Memorial Hall

On 21 June 1997 Stan Kane made a speech at the Luggate Memorial Hall, 43 years since the hall opened. Stan Kane was a local resident and Chairman of the hall committee, as well as the President and a founder of the Upper Clutha Historical Records Society (now UCHS).

The Luggate Memorial Hall was decommissioned in 2017 because of seismic concerns. It was demolished in July 2021 and was replaced by the Luggate Memorial Centre the following year.

To read his speech about the Luggate Memorial Hall, including information on how it was built, head to our website here: www.wanakahistory.org/stories/speech-by-stan-kane-at-luggate-hall-1997

04/08/2026

The Motatapu Hydraulic Sluicing and Elevating Co sluicing the tailings on Motatapu River claim, 1897-8.

Hydraulic sluicing is a gold prospecting method that blasted fine gravels and the gold out of the ground before recovering the gold in sluice boxes.

To view more photos from our history, head to our website here: www.wanakahistory.org/maps-images

28/07/2026

Wānaka floods, 1999

Anne MacDonald moved to Wānaka in 1994 not knowing anyone but her sister, who had just bought Wānaka Wines and Spirits. In her Oral History interviews, Anne talks about the 1999 Wanaka floods which removed the labels from all the w**e bottles in the shop.

To listen to her interviews, including clips about volunteering at Warbirds Over Wānaka, head to our website here: www.wanakahistory.org/our-storytellers/anne-macdonald

21/07/2026

Yachts racing on Lake Wānaka, c.1990s

In his interviews, Carrick Jones discusses the formation of the Wānaka Yacht club. He says there were about 6 or 7 who would meet on Thursday nights around 5.30 to have a race around the lake.

To listen to the clip and Carrick’s other interviews, head to our website here: www.wanakahistory.org/our-storytellers/carrick-jones

14/07/2026

Cardrona ski field, August 1978.

A survey by the Mt. Cook Co. in 1954 found that Mount Cardrona had potential as a commercial ski field. The land was being farmed but was proving to be unproductive and unprofitable. John Lee purchased the land for the ski field in 1970.

One of John’s motivations was to encourage a tourist village around the original goldmining township of Cardrona, which had been seeing a declining population. He was not a skier himself, and relied on his wife, Mary Lee, and others to explore the terrain in winter. The original access road formed in 1972 proved too steep, so they relied on walking and helicopters for transportation.

In 1977, a 200m rope tow driven by a seven horse power motor was installed in the main basin. It could be moved around the mountain to test different locations. During the weekends, 30-40 people would drive to Helicopter Flat to be lifted to the tow by chopper.

If you'd like to learn more about the history of the area, head to our website here: www.wanakahistory.org

Cardrona Alpine Resort, NZ

Address

Wanaka
9305

Website

https://www.wanakahistory.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Wānaka History posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to Wānaka History:

Want your museum to be the top-listed Museum in Wanaka?