Queenstown ( mi, Tāhuna) is a

resort town A resort town, often called a resort city or resort destination, is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding ...

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

in the south-west of New Zealand's

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. It has an urban population of The town is built around an

inlet An inlet is a (usually long and narrow) indentation of a shoreline, such as a small arm, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In marine geogra ...

called Queenstown Bay on

Lake Wakatipu Lake Wakatipu ( mi, Whakatipu Waimāori) is an inland lake ( finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland. ''Lake Wakatipu'' comes from the original Māori n ...

, a long, thin, Z-shaped lake formed by glacial processes, and has views of nearby mountains such as

The Remarkables The Remarkables ( mi, Kawarau) are a mountain range and skifield in Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. Located on the southeastern shore of Lake Wakatipu, the range lives up to its name by rising sharply to create a remarkable backdrop ...

, Cecil Peak, Walter Peak and just above the town,

Ben Lomond Ben Lomond (Scottish Gaelic: Beinn Laomainn, 'Beacon Mountain'), , is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros. Ben Lomond lies within the Ben Lomond National Me ...

and

Queenstown Hill Queenstown Hill, also known by its Māori name of Te Tapu-nui (mountain of intense sacredness), is a small mountain near Queenstown, New Zealand in the South Island. The lower levels of the hill contain housing especially near Queenstown, Fra ...

. The

Queenstown-Lakes District Queenstown-Lakes District, a local government district, is in the Otago Region of New Zealand that was formed in 1986. It is surrounded by the districts of Central Otago, Southland, Westland and Waitaki. Much of the area is often referred to a ...

has a land area of not counting its inland lakes Hāwea, Wakatipu, and

Wānaka Wānaka () is a popular ski and summer resort town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. At the southern end of Lake Wānaka, it is at the start of the Clutha River/Mata-Au and is the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park. ...

. The region has an estimated resident population of Neighbouring towns include

Arrowtown Arrowtown (Māori: ''Haehaenui'') is a historic gold mining town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. Arrowtown is located on the banks of the Arrow River approximately 7.5 km from State Highway 6. Arrowtown is located ...

, Glenorchy, Kingston,

Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

, and

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

. The nearest cities are

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

and

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

. Queenstown is known for its commerce-oriented tourism, especially adventure and ski tourism.

History

Māori settlement and presence

The area was discovered and first settled by

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

. Kāi Tahu say that the lake was dug by the Waitaha ancestor, Rākaihautū, with his kō (digging stick) named Tūwhakaroria. After arriving at Whakatū

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

in the waka Uruao, Rākaihautū divided his crew into two. He led one group through the interior of Te Waipounamu, digging the freshwater lakes of the island. After digging the lakes Hāwea, Wānaka, and Whakatipu Waimāori, he travelled through the Greenstone and Hollyford valleys before finally digging Whakatipu Waitai (Lake McKerrow). The first non-Māori to see

was European Nathanael Chalmers who was guided by Reko, the chief of the Tuturau, over the Waimea Plains and up the

Mataura River The Mataura River is in the Southland Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is long. Description The river's headwaters are located in the Eyre Mountains to the south of Lake Wakatipu. From there it flows southeast towards Gore, whe ...

in September 1853. Evidence of stake nets, baskets for catching eels, spears and ashes indicated the Glenorchy area was visited by Māori. It is likely

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Point ...

Māori visited Queenstown en route to collect

Pounamu Pounamu is a term for several types of hard and durable stone found in southern New Zealand. They are highly valued in New Zealand, and carvings made from pounamu play an important role in Māori culture. Name The Māori word , also used ...

(greenstone). A settlement called Te Kirikiri Pa was occupied by the tribe of

Kāti Māmoe Kāti Māmoe (also spelled Ngāti Māmoe but not by the tribe themselves) is a historic Māori iwi. Originally from the Hastings area, they moved in the 16th century to the South Island which at the time was already occupied by the Waitaha. ...

which was situated where the Queenstown Gardens are today, but by the time European migrants arrived in the 1860s this settlement was no longer being used.

European settlement c. 1860

European explorers

William Gilbert Rees William Gilbert Rees (6 April 1827 — 31 October 1898) was an explorer, surveyor, and early settler in Central Otago, New Zealand. He and fellow explorer Nicholas von Tunzelmann were the first Europeans to settle the Wakatipu basin. Rees is re ...

and

Nicholas von Tunzelmann Nicholas von Tunzelmann (also known as Nicholas Paul Balthasar Tunzelmann von Alderflug or Paul Nicholai Balthasar Tunzelmann von Alderflug, with his surnames often Anglicised as Tunzelman, 1828 – 31 July 1900) is famous as one of the first two E ...

were the first non-Māori to settle the area. Rees established a high country farm in the location of Queenstown's current town centre in 1860, but the discovery of gold in the Arrow River in 1862 encouraged Rees to convert his wool shed into a hotel named the Queen's Arms, now known as Eichardt's. Many Queenstown streets bear names from the gold mining era (such as Camp Street) and some historic buildings remain. William's Cottage, the Lake

Lodge Lodge is originally a term for a relatively small building, often associated with a larger one. Lodge or The Lodge may refer to: Buildings and structures Specific * The Lodge (Australia), the official Canberra residence of the Prime Ministe ...

of Ophir (now Artbay Gallery),

Queenstown Police Station Queenstown Police Station is the largest police station in the Otago Lakes Central Area which is one of three policing areas in the Southern District of the New Zealand Police. The Otago Lakes Central Area headquarters has returned to Queenstown P ...

, and St Peter's Anglican Church lie close together in a designated historic precinct.

Naming

''Tāhuna'', the te reo name for Queenstown, means "shallow bay". There are various apocryphal accounts of how Queenstown gained its name, of which the following appears to be the most likely: ''"When William Rees first arrived in the area and built his homestead, the area was known as The Station although miners soon referred to it as The Camp from 1860 to 1862. The miners, and especially the Irish, had taken an interest in the ceremony held for a town called

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of around 13,000 inhabitants, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home to Ireland's ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

(then part of the United Kingdom) which was renamed Queenstown in honour of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

in 1850. There was then a public meeting to name the ''township on the lake'' in January 1863 (probably the weekend of the 3rd and 4th) in which the town was officially given the name of ''Queenstown'' in reference to Ireland's Queenstown. By 9–10 January 1863, the town was being reported with the name of Queenstown in several reports written by a correspondent in the ''Otago Witness'' on 5 and 6 January.

Geography

Queenstown is situated on the shore of

, the third largest lake by surface area in New Zealand. The town is located close to the lake's northeastern bend, at which point a small arm, the

Frankton Arm Lake Wakatipu ( mi, Whakatipu Waimāori) is an inland lake (finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland, New Zealand, Southland. ''Lake Wakatipu'' comes from ...

, joins the lake with its principal outflow, the

Kawarau River The Kawarau River is a river in the South Island of New Zealand. It drains Lake Wakatipu in northwestern Otago via the lake's Frankton Arm. The river flows generally eastwards for about and passes through the steep Kawarau Gorge until it join ...

. The centre of the town is on the north shore at the point where the Frankton Arm links with the main body of the lake, but also extends to the major suburb of Frankton at the eastern end of the arm, and across to Kelvin Heights on the Kelvin Peninsula, which forms the Frankton Arm's southern shore. The town is at a relatively low altitude for a ski and snowboarding centre, at above sea level at the lake shore, but is nestled among mountains, most notably the scenic attraction of

, to the town's southeast. Below the lake lies the deep

Kawarau Gorge The Kawarau Gorge is a major river gorge created by the Kawarau River in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. The towns of Queenstown and Cromwell are linked by through the gorge. The gorge begins some 30 kilometres from Queen ...

, and there are nearby plains suitable for agriculture and

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

. Queenstown lies close to the heart of the

Central Otago wine region The Central Otago wine region is a geographical indication in New Zealand's South Island, and the world's southernmost commercial wine growing region. Central Otago is best known for Pinot Noir, but many white wine varieties are also popular. H ...

Suburbs

Central Queenstown contains many businesses, apartments and homes but is near many suburbs or large areas of housing: Fernhill, Sunshine Bay,

, Goldfield Heights, Marina Heights, Kelvin Heights,

Arthurs Point Arthurs Point is a suburb of Queenstown in the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated near Queenstown Hill and Bowen Peak and is not far from central Queenstown. Another distinctive aspect for the area is that the Shotover Jet company op ...

and Frankton. Just outside Queenstown are the areas of:

, Closeburn, Dalefield,

Gibbston Gibbston is a community in the Wakatipu Basin in the Otago region of the South Island, New Zealand. Through the valley runs the Kawarau River which forms the Kawarau Gorge. The most visible aspect of the area are the vineyards and wineries ne ...

, Jack's Point, Hanley's Farm, Hayes Creek,

Lake Hayes Estate Lake Hayes Estate (often shortened to LHE) is a town nearby to Queenstown in the South Island of New Zealand. It is named after and situated near Lake Hayes; however, the lake is not visible from most parts of the estate. The population of the ...

, Shotover Country and Quail Rise. Queenstown (7187555194)

Climate

Because of its relatively moderate altitude (310 metres) and high mountain surroundings, Queenstown has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfb''). Summer has long warm days with temperatures that can reach 30 °C while winters are cold with temperatures often in single digits with frequent snowfall, although there is no permanent snow cover during the year. As with the rest of Central Otago, Queenstown lies within the rain shadow of the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...

, but being closer to the west coast the town is more susceptible to rain-bearing fronts than nearby

and

. The hottest recorded temperature in Queenstown is , taken on 29 January 2018 in the town, while the coldest is , taken at the airport on 19 June 1992.

Demography

Queenstown is described by Statistics New Zealand as a medium urban area with an area of . It had an urban population of making it the 35th-largest urban area in New Zealand. In 2016, Queenstown overtook

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway ...

to become the second-largest urban area in

, behind

. The Queenstown urban area as defined by Statistics New Zealand doesn't include

Lake Hayes Lake Hayes is a small lake in the Wakatipu Basin in Central Otago, in New Zealand's South Island. It is located close to the towns of Arrowtown and Queenstown. The southern end of the lake is close to , while the western side is bordered by Sl ...

, which are contiguous with Queenstown but are designated as separate urban areas. The combined population of the three urban areas is . The Queenstown urban area had a population of 13,539 at the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

, an increase of 2,205 people (19.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 3,111 people (29.8%) since the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. There were 4,254 households. There were 7,089 males and 6,447 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.1 males per female, with 1,341 people (9.9%) aged under 15 years, 4,887 (36.1%) aged 15 to 29, 6,264 (46.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,041 (7.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 71.2% European/Pākehā, 4.5% Māori, 1.2% Pacific peoples, 17.8% Asian, and 10.5% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 58.3%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 58.5% had no religion, 29.1% were Christian, 2.8% were Hindu, 0.6% were Muslim, 1.7% were Buddhist and 3.4% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 3,234 (26.5%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 759 (6.2%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,692 people (13.9%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 9,165 (75.1%) people were employed full-time, 1,263 (10.4%) were part-time, and 138 (1.1%) were unemployed.

Economy

Growth and affordability

Residential housing in the Queenstown area is expensive due to factors such as the town being a tourist destination, its lack of land and its desirability to foreigners and investors. Queenstown is rated the least affordable place in New Zealand to buy a property, overtaking

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

at the start of 2017. In December 2016 the average house price in the Queenstown area rose to $1 million

NZD The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New ...

Employment

The area’s growth rate is one of the fastest in the country with the population growing 7.1% from 2015 to 2016 in a 12-month period. Most jobs in Queenstown are tourism- or accommodation-related. Employment growth was also the highest of any area in New Zealand at 10.3% in the March 2016 year.

Retail

Queenstown has a tourist-focused shopping area, centred around the Queenstown Mall. The public pedestrian street opened in 1990, and includes

Reading Cinemas Reading Cinemas ( ) is a group of cinema chains operating in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. They are owned by the American company Reading International. History In the late 1980s, through his holding company the Craig Cor ...

. O'Connells Shopping Centre also opened in 1990, and is due to undergo an upgrade in 2021. In 1986, Queenstown was granted an exemption to allow shops to open every day of the year except Christmas Day, Easter Sunday and before 12 noon on Anzac Day (at the time, shops in New Zealand were required to close on Sundays and public holidays). The exemption was extended in 1990 allow shops to open on Easter Sunday. The exemption applies to all shops in a radius of the intersection of Camp Street and Ballarat Street in central Queenstown, and makes Queenstown and the Lake Wakatipu basin one of only three areas in New Zealand where shops may open on

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

(the other two are Picton and

Paihia Paihia is the main tourist town in the Bay of Islands in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is 60 kilometres north of Whangārei, located close to the historic towns of Russell and Kerikeri. Missionary Henry Williams ...

Government

Local

Queenstown lies in the

territorial authority Territorial authorities are the second tier of local government in New Zealand, below regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities: 13 city councils, 53 district councils and the Chatham Islands Council. District councils serve a c ...

. It is also part of the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

, administered by the

Otago Regional Council Otago Regional Council (ORC) is the regional council for Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. The council's principal office is Regional House on Stafford Street in Dunedin with 250-275 staff, with smaller offices in Queenstown and Alexand ...

National

For the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...

, Queenstown is covered by one general electorate,

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

, and one Maori electorate,

Te Tai Tonga Te Tai Tonga is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. It was established for the 1996 general election, replacing Southern Maori. The current MP for Te T ...

. As of the 2020 general election, Southland is represented by Joseph Mooney (

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

) and Te Tai Tonga is represented by

Rino Tirikatene Rino Tirikatene (born 1972) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the House of Representatives, representing the Te Tai Tonga electorate since the . He is a member of the Labour Party. He comes from a family with a strong political histor ...

(

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Tourism

A resort town, Queenstown boasted 220

adventure tourism Adventure travel is a type of niche tourism, involving exploration or travel with a certain degree of risk (real or perceived), and which may require special skills and physical exertion. In the United States, adventure tourism has grown in r ...

activities in 2012.

Skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

and

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

, jet boating,

whitewater rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

bungy jumping Bungee jumping (), also spelled bungy jumping, is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large elastic cord. The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building or crane, a ...

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

, skateboarding,

tramping Tramping may refer to: Travel *Hiking *Trekking *Tramping in New Zealand, a style of backpacking or hiking * Czech tramping, a Czech outdoors pastime Places * Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380, Saskatchewan, Canada ** Tramping Lake, Sas ...

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'p ...

sky diving Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

and

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diffe ...

are all popular. Queenstown is a major centre for snow sports in New Zealand, with people from all over the country and many parts of the world travelling to ski at the four main mountain ski fields (

Cardrona Alpine Resort Cardrona Alpine Resort is an alpine resort in New Zealand's South Island. The ski field ranges from 1,260m to 1,860m. The distribution of slopes is 25% beginner, 25% intermediate, 30% advanced and 20% expert. There are 2 detachable quad chairli ...

Coronet Peak Coronet Peak is a commercial skifield in Queenstown, New Zealand located seven kilometres west of Arrowtown, on the southern slopes of the 1,649-metre peak which shares its name. A popular ski resort in the Southern Hemisphere, Coronet Peak off ...

and

Treble Cone Treble Cone is the closest ski area to Wānaka, New Zealand. Treble Cone is the largest ski area in the South Island, boasting the longest vertical rise in the Queenstown Southern Lakes District. Treble Cone is most known for its views over ...

). Cross country skiing is also available at the Waiorau Snowfarm, near Cardrona village. The 100-year-old twin screw coal fired steamer TSS ''Earnslaw'' traverses

. Queenstown lies close to the centre of a small wine producing region, reputed to be the world's southernmost. The Two Paddocks vineyard is owned by internationally known local actor

Sam Neill Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. Neill's near-50 year career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one o ...

. Neighbouring, historic

features restaurants and bars. Other tourist activities include: *

, a nearby mountain for a view of the area * The

gondola The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, ...

known as Skyline Queenstown ascends Bob's Peak on Ben Lomond * Kiwi Birdlife Park and

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

for the paradise duck ('' Tadorna variegata'') * Walk,

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

, or run

The Queenstown Trail The Queenstown Trail is a cycle and walking trail funded as one of the projects of the New Zealand Cycle Trail (NZCT) system in Otago, New Zealand. It links the towns of Queenstown, Arrowtown, the suburb of Jack's Point and the area of Gibbsto ...

* Skippers Road * Scenic flights * Cecil Peak Station, on the western shore of

, a 34,000-acre working sheep and beef farm.

Culture

Festivals

Queenstown has many festivals. Examples include the Bike Festival (March/April),

Winter Festival A winter festival, winter carnival, snow festival, or frost fair is an outdoor cold weather celebration that occurs in wintertime. Winter festivals are popular in D climates (see Köppen climate classification) where winter is particularly long ...

(June), Jazz Festival (October), and Winter Pride (September) which is the largest winter pride event in the Southern Hemisphere.

Locations for television and film

Jane Campion Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''The Piano'' (1993) and '' The Power of the Dog'' (2021), for which she has received a tot ...

's six-part drama mystery ''

Top of the Lake ''Top of the Lake'' is a mystery drama television series created and written by Jane Campion and Gerard Lee, and directed by Campion and Garth Davis. It aired in 2013, and the sequel, entitled ''Top of the Lake: China Girl'', in 2017. It mark ...

'' was shot during 2012 for pay TV release in 2013. The lakes of the Wakatipu appear ominous, and the

spectacular. The main location is Moke Lake and scenes were shot on Lower Beach Street and Coronation Drive, and at a supermarket and bottle store on Shotover Street. In 2010, Cycle 14 of ''

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

'', was, in part filmed in Queenstown and was as won by

Krista White Krista White (born December 19, 1984) is an American fashion model, best known as the winner of Cycle 14 of ''America's Next Top Model''. As part of her win, she was signed with Wilhelmina Models, received a $100,000 contract with Covergirl, a ...

. Raina Hein was runner-up. Queenstown and the surrounding area contain many locations used in the filming of ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy. Locations used include

near Glenorchy, at the head of Lake Wakatipu. Queenstown became popular in South Asia after the release of Bollywood blockbuster '' Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai'', which was partially shot there. Starring sensational debuts by

Hrithik Roshan Hrithik Roshan (; born 10 January 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including six ...

& Amisha Patel it was this film that opened the doors for both tourists and filmmakers from India to New Zealand with Queenstown being the most sought-after destination. Queenstown featured for 17 minutes in ''

I Hate Luv Storys ''I Hate Luv Storys'' is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Punit Malhotra and produced under Karan Johar's Dharma Productions and Ronnie Screwvala's UTV Motion Pictures. It stars Imran Khan and Sonam ...

'', a 2010 Bollywood romantic comedy. Queenstown and the surrounding areas were also used in the 2009 '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' film. '' Mee-Shee: The Water Giant'' was shot in Queenstown in 2005, and released to DVD in the same year. Queenstown was also used to film most of the 1988 ''The Rescue''. Queenstown was the base for filming the

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...

1988 fantasy film ''Willow''. Filming of the 1981 film ''

Race for the Yankee Zephyr ''Race for the Yankee Zephyr'' (also known as ''Treasure of the Yankee Zephyr'') is a 1981 action adventure film directed by David Hemmings and starring Ken Wahl, Lesley Ann Warren, George Peppard and Donald Pleasence. Plot Gibbie Gibson (Donal ...

'' took place in and around Queenstown, the first major motion picture production for the area. A 1989 TV Commercial for the

Toyota Hilux The , stylized as HiLux and historically as Hi-Lux, is a series of pickup trucks produced and marketed by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The majority of these vehicles are sold as pickup truck or cab chassis variants, although the ...

starring

Barry Crump John Barrie Crump (15 May 1935 – 3 July 1996) was a New Zealand author of semi-autobiographical comic novels based on his image as a rugged outdoors man. Taken together his novels have sold more than a million copies domestically. Crump's 19 ...

and

Lloyd Scott Lloyd Scott, MBE (born 13 October 1961) is an English former professional football goalkeeper and now charity fundraiser, best known in the UK for his charity marathons. He is notable for competing in the 2002 London Marathon in a deep-sea ...

in which the two drive off the cliff was filmed at nearby

. The first and last episodes of the fifth season of ''The Mole'' were filmed in Queenstown. The 2017 Filipino drama film '' Northern Lights'' was shot entirely on location in Queenstown substituting for the setting of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. In 2017 the Korean variety show '' Running Man'' shot an episode in Queenstown, where Haha and Yang-Se Chan took a penalty at the Nevis Swing. The 2020 crime drama ''One Lane Bridge'' was filmed in Queenstown. The series focuses on events that take place at a bridge over the

Dart River / Te Awa Whakatipu The Dart River (officially Dart River / Te Awa Whakatipu from ) flows through rugged forested country in the southwestern South Island of New Zealand. Partly in Mount Aspiring National Park, it flows south-west and then south for from its head ...

Sports and recreation

Queenstown Events Centre Queenstown Events Centre, John Davies Oval, or Davies Park is a multi-purpose sports complex and stadium located in Queenstown, Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. History Opened in 1997, the venue is located on Queenstown Lakes Di ...

and stadium *

Paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'p ...

Hang Gliding Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

Aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glide ...

with the Wakatipu Aero Club at

Queenstown Airport Queenstown Airport is located in Frankton, Otago, New Zealand, and serves the resort town of Queenstown. The airport is from the Queenstown CBD. The airport handled 2.25 million passengers as of 2018 making it the fourth busiest airport ...

at Frankton *

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

Millbrook Resort Millbrook Resort is a luxury resort near Queenstown, New Zealand. It is located 4 kilometres to the west of the historic gold-mining town of Arrowtown. The resort covers 650 acres of the Wakatipu Basin - a glacial valley bordered by the C ...

, Jack's Point, or Queenstown Golf Club * Disc golf at the Queenstown Gardens *

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

at the Queenstown Tennis Club in Queenstown Gardens *

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

at the Queenstown Cricket Club *

Netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

at the Wakatipu Netball Centre *

Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

and

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

at the Wakatipu Rugby League Club Memorial Park *

Touch rugby Touch rugby refers to games derived from rugby football in which players do not tackle each other but instead touch their opponents using their hands on any part of the body, clothing, or the ball. A formal, competitive variety, known as Tou ...

during the summer season *

Scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

or snorkeling in a river, bridge wreck, or in Lake Wakatipu *

Adventure sport Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...

, canyon-swing,

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

jetboat A jetboat is a boat propelled by a jet of water ejected from the back of the craft. Unlike a powerboat or motorboat that uses an external propeller in the water below or behind the boat, a jetboat draws the water from under the boat through ...

bungy jump Bungee jumping (), also spelled bungy jumping, is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large bungee cord, elastic cord. The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building ...

, river-surf, or

kitesurf Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

In the area

* Central Otago region *

* History of the

Central Otago Gold Rush The Otago Gold Rush (often called the Central Otago Gold Rush) was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area – ...

Milford Road State Highway 94 is a New Zealand state highway network, New Zealand state highway connecting the large Southland, New Zealand, Southland town of Gore, New Zealand, Gore with one of New Zealand's most popular destinations, Milford Sound. It als ...

Milford Sound Milford Sound / Piopiotahi is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top t ...

Homer Tunnel The Homer Tunnel is a 1.2 km (0.75 miles) long road tunnel in the Fiordland region of the South Island of New Zealand, opened in 1953. New Zealand State Highway 94 passes through the tunnel, linking Milford Sound to Te Anau and Queensto ...

, the

Fiordland Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lake ...

Lakes /

Doubtful Sound Doubtful Sound / Patea is a fiord in Fiordland, in the far south west of New Zealand. It is located in the same region as the smaller but more famous and accessible Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. It took second place after Milford Sound as New Zea ...

Tramping Tramping may refer to: Travel *Hiking *Trekking *Tramping in New Zealand, a style of backpacking or hiking * Czech tramping, a Czech outdoors pastime Places * Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380, Saskatchewan, Canada ** Tramping Lake, Sas ...

track near Glenorchy * Routeburn, one of the

New Zealand Great Walks The New Zealand Great Walks are a set of popular tramping tracks developed and maintained by the Department of Conservation. They are New Zealand's premier tracks, through areas of some of the best scenery in the country, ranging from coastlin ...

Education

Primary schools

Queenstown Primary School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of . St Joseph's School is a co-educational Catholic state-integrated primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of . There are also two primary schools in Frankton and a school in Shotover Country.

Secondary schools

Wakatipu High School Wakatipu High School is a state coeducational secondary school located in Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand. Serving Years 9 to 13 (ages 13 to 18), a total of students attend the school as of The school was originally located at 68 Fryer Stre ...

, a state secondary school for Year 9 to 13 students, is located in Frankton.

Tertiary education

Southern Institute of Technology , image = Southern Institute of Technology (New Zealand) logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , motto = , tagline = , established = 1971; years ago , faculty = 387 FTE 2005 , head_label = , students ...

(SIT), based in Invercargill, has a campus in Queenstown. Queenstown Resort College is a tertiary education provider focussing on tourism. The college actively supports events for international travel agents. ACE Wakatipu has a community focus, and provides links to many adult training opportunities.

Churches

Saint Andrew's church

Saint Andrew's Presbyterian church was completed in 1968 to replace the previous church (which was sold and demolished to reuse the land. The church is designed to seat 350 parishioners. The Presbyterian church has been active in the Wakatipu area since 1865.

Saint Peter's church

Saint Peter's Anglican church was built in 1932 for a cost of 2862 pounds. It was consecrated on 23 November 1932. It replaced the previous wooden church which was built in 1863.

Saint Joseph's church

Saint Joseph's Catholic church was built in 1898. It replaced the first catholic church built in Queenstown in 1863. It is built from schist sourced from Arthur's Point. Built in the Gothic Revival style, it was designed by the architect Francis WIlliam Petre. It is a category two historic place. File:Queenstown Catholic Church 27.jpg, Saint Joseph's Catholic Church File:Queenstown Anglican church 27.jpg, Saint Peter's Anglican Church File:Queenstown Presbyterian Church 27.jpg, Saint Andrew's Presbyterian Church

Infrastructure

Transport

Queenstown is accessible by road and air but not by rail (similar to

Kaitaia Kaitaia ( mi, Kaitāia) is a town in the Far North District of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupouri Peninsula, about 160 km northwest of Whangārei. It is the last major settlement on New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1. Ahipara ...

, Taupo and

). As a resort centre, many bus services operate into Queenstown, mostly for package tours, but daily services for locals and others are available to and from

and

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, the main cities closest to Queenstown. Bee Cards are to replace GoCards on local buses on 15 September 2020.

takes flights from Australia by airlines

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacif ...

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...

Virgin Australia Virgin Australia, the trading name of Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd, is an Australian-based airline. It is the largest airline by fleet size to use the Virgin brand. It commenced services on 31 August 2000 as ''Virgin Blue'', with two ...

and

Jetstar Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd, operating as Jetstar, is an Australian low-cost airline (self-described as "value-based") headquartered in Melbourne. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas, created in response to the threat posed by airline Virgi ...

and has destinations that include

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

(the frequency is much increased over the ski season and during summer). Domestic flights fly to

and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. Queenstown Airport is New Zealand's busiest helicopter base, also the fourth-busiest airport by passenger traffic, and is also heavily used for tourist 'flightseeing', especially to

Milford Sound / Piopiotahi Milford Sound / Piopiotahi is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top tr ...

and

Aoraki / Mount Cook Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height, as of 2014, is listed as . It sits in the Southern Alps, the mountain range that runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite ...

, using both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. The primary road access to the Queenstown area is via (SH6), from Cromwell through the Kawarau Gorge to Frankton, where a 9 km spur (SH6A) leads to the CBD and connects with the Glenorchy Road. SH6 continues south, crossing the Kawarau river before heading down the eastern side of Lake Wakatipu to Kingston before crossing the provincial boundary and emerging on the plains of Southland, terminating in the city of Invercargill. A difficult road over the

Crown Range The Crown Range is a mountain range that lies to the east of the Wakatipu Basin in Otago, New Zealand. It is noted for two features, the Cardrona Alpine Resort, on the slopes of the 1900 metre Mount Cardrona, and a highway, known as the Crow ...

leads to Cardrona skifield and Wānaka, and is New Zealand's highest paved public road pass. Queenstown is the departure point for a large number of bus day trips to Milford Sound, which entails a return trip of approximately 12 hours. There are scenic flights available to and from Milford Sound. A return flight, including a two-hour cruise, is approximately four hours.

Utilities

Electricity distribution in Queenstown is the responsibility of two companies, Dunedin-based Aurora Energy and Invercargill-based Powernet. Electricity is supplied from Transpower's national grid at its substation in Frankton, which in turn is fed by a twin-circuit 110,000-volt line from Transpower's Cromwell substation. Queenstown was one of the last towns in New Zealand with a manual

telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a telecommunications system used in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It interconnects telephone subscriber lines or virtual circuits of digital syst ...

, whereby all calls had to be connected by an operator. The town was upgraded to a fully automatic exchange in 1988.

Fibre to the premises Fiber to the ''x'' (FTTX; also spelled "fibre") or fiber in the loop is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber optic ...

was rolled-out in Queenstown as part of the Fifth National Government's

Ultra-Fast Broadband The Ultra-Fast Broadband initiative is a New Zealand Government programme of building fibre-to-the-home networks covering 87% of the population by the end of 2022. It is a public–private partnership of the government with four companies with ...

programme, with the rollout completed in July 2016.

Notable people

(born 1947), actor, has a home in Queenstown *

Tim Bevan Timothy John Bevan, (born 20 December 1957) is a New Zealand-British film producer, the co-chairman (with Eric Fellner) of the production company Working Title Films. Bevan and Fellner are the most successful British producers of their era ...

(born 1957), film producer, was born in Queenstown *

Jaime Passier-Armstrong Jaime Rachel Renee Passier-Armstrong (born August 24, 1981) is a New Zealand actress. She is known for her role of Jay Copeland in the New Zealand's soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or televis ...

(born 1981), actress, was born in Queenstown * Jane Taylor, lawyer and current Chair of

New Zealand Post NZ Post ( mi, Tukurau Aotearoa), shortened from New Zealand Post, is a state-owned enterprise responsible for providing postal service in New Zealand. The New Zealand Post Office, a government agency, provided postal, banking, and telecommuni ...

, lives in Queenstown *

Kim Dotcom Kim Dotcom (born Kim Schmitz; 21 January 1974), also known as Kimble and Kim Tim Jim Vestor, is a German-Finnish Internet entrepreneur and political activist who resides in Glenorchy, New Zealand. He first rose to fame in Germany in the 1990s ...

, internet entrepreneur

Sister cities

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Mounta ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

* Hikimi,

Shimane is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a geographic area of 6,708.26 km2. Shimane Prefecture borders Yamaguc ...

(now a part of Masuda),

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Bibliography

References

External links

Queenstown Lakes District Council

Queenstown Tourism official site
* {{Authority control Queenstown, New Zealand, Populated places in Otago 1863 establishments in New Zealand Populated places established in 1863 Populated places on Lake Wakatipu