St. Bathans recreation study: their characteristics, motivations and opinions : a dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Diploma in Parks and Recreation at Lincoln College

Abstract

St. Bathans lies nestled beneath Mt. St. Bathans which separates the upper Manuherikia Valley from the Dunstan Creek catchment in Central Otago. In the past, St. Bathans has been famous for it's gold which was won from the auriferous quantity gravels occurring in greater thickness within the Mt. Ida district.

Today, mining on a large scale has ceased. The remaining township and surrounding lunar landscape owe their existence to mining either directly or indirectly. Hence the area today is rich in historical, recreational and scenic qualities.

Because of the special qualities mentioned above, St. Bathans is a key area within the Otago Goldfields Park. It's values lie in the history resulting from mining in the immediate area of the Blue Lake. Many buildings survive and most are relatively unaltered since their use by the early mining community. Many of the buildings are made of local materials (stone and sundried brick) and therefore are unique in their own right. Scenically, the Blue Lake and it's surrounds are very picturesque. Although the lake is a direct result of the sluicing elevating mining technique, over the years it has mended many of it's scars and appears to be natural though rather unique in character. 'Little is left to indicate the lake was in any way part of mining within the area.

Today the Blue Lake is popular for a variety of waterbased recreational activities, some of these activities are in direct conflict with historic values.

Each of the qualities mentioned above i.e. scenic, historic and recreational have areas which are superimposed, in part, over one and other. This creates conflict in these areas, especially where different uses, pertaining to different qualities occur in the same area.

If the area is to be managed successfully, there is a need to balance these qualities against the amount of use they receive.

The rationale for this study is based on these areas of conflict with the hope of providing information which is non-bias in nature. This information should allow the various use options and their related problems to be highlighted giving Management the most beneficial direction in which to proceed.

The following objectives allow this to happen within the limits of the study: Objectives -

i) To present a brief historical review of how the lake was formed and the historical values remaining.

ii) To briefly discuss existing recreational use and it's impact on the historical values.

iii) To explore both residents and visitors views and aspirations on recreational use of the lake and surrounding reserve.

iv) To draw implications from the results of this study for the management of present and possible future recreational uses in this historic setting.

These objectives allow for a 'past, present, future' approach. This is necessary to get an overall picture in view of St. Bathans' unique characteristics although it must not be forgotten that the overall goal of the survey is to highlight problems and decisions Lands & Survey Department faces in the future.