Our history

Arrowtown wasn’t originally called Arrowtown. In fact, in the gold rush’s early days Arrowtown was initially called ‘Fox’s’ after William Fox. He led a group of miners who used simple tools to secretly mine gold along the Arrow River. Despite efforts to keep their discovery under wraps, rumours spread, coining the phrase “Seeking the Fox’. Fox was so determined to conceal his lucrative spot that it’s rumoured he would abandon his camp and gear to evade followers under the cover of night.

The origin of the name ‘Arrowtown’ remains uncertain, but it is likely it comes from the River Arrow in the Welsh Marches and was named by the district’s first runholder William Rees who emigrated from Wales. The township gradually became known as The Arrow, and by around 1866, the bustling business centre was known as Arrowtown.

Arrowtown is also known by local Māori as Kā-Muriwai, a name which references the three waterways, one of which is the Arrow River or Haehaenui. Haehaenui means ‘big scratches’ and this refer to the marks left by weka as they fossicked for food.