Editing Queenstown, New Zealand (section)

===European settlement {{Circa|1860}}===
European explorers [[William Gilbert Rees]] and [[Nicholas von Tunzelmann]] 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 (New Zealand)|Arrow River]] in 1862 encouraged Rees to convert his wool shed into a hotel named the Queen's Arms, now known as [[Eichardt's]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://experiencequeenstown.com/william-gilbert-rees/|title=Queenstown history – William Gilbert Rees|access-date=21 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308083241/http://experiencequeenstown.com/william-gilbert-rees/|archive-date=8 March 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

Many Queenstown streets bear names from the gold mining era (such as Camp Street) and some historic buildings remain. William's Cottage, the Lake [[Masonic Lodge|Lodge]] of Ophir (now Artbay Gallery), [[Queenstown Police Station]], and St Peter's Anglican Church lie close together in a designated historic precinct.