File:Arrowtown Chinese settlement. NZ (15357613242).jpg

During the early 1800s the people of the Guangzhou Delta area in China were suffering considerable hardship. The area was over-populated and many people lived in poverty. The destructive effects of British Imperialism and the opium trade were taking their toll. Nestled above Arrowtown on the banks of Bush Creek lies the partially restored Arrowtown Chinese Settlement. The village is a lasting reminder and tribute to the contribution made by the Chinese goldminers and business people to the region’s culture, economy and history. In 1866 fewer than 200 Chinese miners lived in Otago, but by April 1868 the Chinese population in New Zealand had grown to 1,270, most of whom were on the goldfields. In 1871 their numbers peaked at around 4,300. By 1885, the Arrowtown Chinese settlement had grown to about ten huts, a large social hall and at least two stores. Often victims of discrimination, the Chinese lived on the fringes of European settlements in isolated gullies close to their mining claims. By 1921 only 59 Chinese remained, in large part due to the effects of anti-Chinese