Arthurs Point Community
About our community
Introducing APCA
The Arthur’s Point Community Association (APCA) is a group of elected representatives from the Arthur’s Point Community. Our ambition is to champion the interests of our community for the purpose of protecting and enhancing the amenity and values of the area in which we live. We hope to keep Arthurs Point a special, safe and an enjoyable place to live, work and play for years to come.
The APCA became a registered charity in 2023 which enables us to apply for charitable funds and grants. We hope to start applying for funding in 2024. These funds will be used to further the interests of the Arthurs Point Community.
Our focus and funding is into 4 key areas:
1. Community Emergency Response & Resilience; working with Civil Defence to prepare the community
2. Recreation enhancements; building new trails and enhancement of existing trails, fundraising & installment of community assets such as signs, playgrounds and seating.
3. Regeneration; native planting projects to improve aesthetics and bio-diversity in our neighbourhood.
4. Community Events; hosting educational, family & social events to bring the diversity of our community together.
5. Submissions; on community & land use plans put forward by Council and other parties.
The Committee is Chaired by Andrew Blackford, Treasurer is Sararose Brown, and Secretary is Melissa Jenner. We are supported by Councillor Craig Ferguson, and committee members Dennis Behan, Paul Fallon, Hannah Fox, Natalie Reeves and Dan Torrington.
The APCA are passionate about making connections so reach out and get in touch with us. We run a facebook page, have an email account and of course you’ll find us in the neighborhood or at local events. If there is something you want to champion in the community, tell us about it and we can do our best to support it.
If you'd like to be involved with the Committee, attend one of our meetings, or suggest a project for focus, please email us at arthurspointcommunity@gmail.com
History of Arthurs Point
Arthur’s Point is named after Thomas Arthur, a prospecting miner and shearer who ventured to the area in desperation after toiling away at a poor gold rush site at Nokomai.
William Gilbert Rees, one of Queenstown’s pioneering settlers and largest land holders, was desperate for shearers on his station. Shearers were few and far between given the gold fever gripping the Otago region. Rees sent an employee, Alfred Duncan, down to Nokomai with the hope of attracting desperate miners with the promise of reliable pay. Fair terms were offered with no gold prospecting to be undertaken until shearing was finished. Most miners laughed at this proposition with the exception of Thoms Arthur and Harry Redfern. Both men returned with Duncan back to Rees’s station and were a sight for sore eyes. On hearing that women were at the camp they were to stay in, Arthur refused to disembark the whaling boat that ferried them until he was given a new pair of trousers.
On the first Sunday after they arrived, Arthur and Redfern were free to go gold prospecting. The pair ventured towards the Shotover / Kimi Akau River. With only a dish and a knife, they managed to collect four ounces of gold. Wild with excitement they returned to the Station shouting of their find. Whilst effort was made to retain the shearers, Rees realised it was of little use so he paid them off and gave them supplies. Later, Arthur and Redfern managed to stake a claim near the present day Edith Cavell Bridge, earning £4000 in a month. It is said they became the richest men on the richest river.
Prior to European arrival, the Shotover / Kimi Akau River was used as a travel route by Māori on their way to other areas such as Skippers and Moke Lake or the Kawarau River.