
FIRST European Settler in the Queenstown District
S 45° 01.958 E 168° 39.618
59G E 315700 N 5010761
A waterfront statue commemorates the arrival of the first European settler in the region.
Waymark Code: WM8R2A
Location: New Zealand
Date Posted: 05/05/2010
Views: 11
WILLIAM GILBERT REES
1827 - 1898
Explorer, Runholder and First European Settler
"I saw an open country, not perfectly level but broken by small hills and terraces; whilst a large lake or arm of a lake, stretched away in the distance, almost as far as the eye could reach."
Founder of Queenstown, who with his wife Frances settled near this point in 1861 and built the first buildings by the lake. When gold was discovered in 1862, Rees was paid compensation of 10,000 pounds for the part of his farm that included Queenstown and he moved to Kawarau Falls.
Sculptor: Minhal al-Halbi
Casting by: Monument, March 2001
(thanks to Dunbar Loop for posting this in other categories so that this could be posted)
FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group
 Date of FIRST: 01/01/1861
 More Information - Web URL: Not listed

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