old gold mining history

5 January 2020
The remains of Welshtown, Bendigo
The remains of Welshtown, Bendigo

Over the last little while I've been exploring some of our local gold mining history of Central Otago. The remains of the old settlements from a completely different era really capture my imagination. The land is completely changed by man from forested slopes to barren, dessert like hills and scarred cliff faces. It's hard to imagine there ever being thriving, humming communities in these parts. But there were!

Nowadays there's still gold in these hills, but we call it Pinot Noir ;-)

Exploring the old gold workings at Welshtown, Bendigo
Exploring the old gold workings at Welshtown, Bendigo
Old wagon, Bendigo
Old wagon, Bendigo
The road up to Welshtown, Bendigo
The road up to Welshtown, Bendigo
Restored cottage, Stewart Town, Bannockburn
Restored cottage, Stewart Town, Bannockburn
Bannockburn Sluicings
Bannockburn Sluicings
Old miner's cottage, Cardrona Hotel
Old miner's cottage, Cardrona Hotel
landscapes2019 paintingswatercolour2020 paintingsin my sketchbookout and abouturban sketching new zealandwatercolour landscapes
Paint a free watercolour online lesson

A free lesson for you!

One of my all-time favourite paintings of a stormy day in a ruined Roman town in Spain.

You can do this! Let me show you how. Join my community to receive this free video tutorial.

Join here
pen before the watercolour wash

pen before the watercolour wash

27 February 2026

Last weekend I ran a poll on Patreon and it seems a number of people are interested in different ways to approach watercolours and adding different media. I'm excited about this! Let's mix things up a...

Read more →

an olive branch in watercolour

an olive branch in watercolour

12 February 2026

There’s something wonderfully calming about painting botanicals. You don’t need to rush — you can slow right down and paint one leaf at a time, dipping in and out of the painting whenever you fi...

Read more →