The bleak, lonely stone ruins of the goldfields

Abstract

It is hard to imagine anything more sinister than an abandoned stone-built cottage ruin in a Dunstan goldfields ghost-town. These forlorn structures, set in a stark, lonely Otago landscape, and beaten about by harsh climatic extremes seem to reek of hardship and despair. Visitors to the Historic Reserves that sequester these iconic structures are stunned to imagine large families living in them for extended periods of time. In the baking heat of an Otago summer, or the frozen extremes of winter, these ruins seem to signal hardship, suffering and the collective stoicism and endurance of our early settlers. The stone ruins are so considered so iconic to the area that they appear on wine labels, on local business websites and they even influence modern architecture. But these ruins bear closer scrutiny. They have hidden stories, multiple lives and some surprising truths to be discussed. The bleakness and air of despair of Otago goldfields cottage ruins hide surprising realities