St Bathans, formerly named Dunstan Creek,[1] is a former gold and coal mining town in Central Otago, New Zealand. The settlement was a centre of the Otago gold rush, but mining has since long ceased. It is now largely a holiday retreat due to the preservation of many of its historic buildings.
St Bathans is well known for Blue Lake, a small man-made lake created by gold-sluicing that transformed the 120-metre high Kildare Hill into a 168-metre deep pit. After mining stopped in 1934, the hole accumulated water, which turned a distinctive blue hue due to minerals from the surrounding rocks.[2] It is currently a camping spot, and swimming is allowed in the lake.
The town was named for the Scottish Borders village of Abbey St Bathans by early surveyor John Turnbull Thomson; the Scottish village was the birthplace of Thomson's maternal grandfather. It is 40 kilometres northwest of Ranfurly and 60 kilometres northeast of Alexandra, near the Dunstan Creek, beneath the St Bathans Range and Dunstan mountains.
The area attracts many visitors intent on gold-prospecting.
- ^ Reed, A.W. (1975) Place names of New Zealand. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed. p. 371
- ^ "St Bathans | Central Otago, New Zealand". www.newzealand.com. Retrieved 2022-07-31.