About Us

The town of Cromwell had its beginnings in 1862 when the two miners, Horatio Hartley, an American, and Christopher Reilly, an Irishman, deposited in Dunedin eighty-seven pound weight of gold that they had recovered from a spot about a mile below the junction of the Kawarau and Clutha Rivers.

The strike earned the two men a reward of 2,000 pounds for the discovery of a new goldfield and it precipitated a gold rush that opened up a wild and inhospitable area of the South Island. Freezing cold in winter and mercilessly hot in summer, there were no roads or bridges, no timber or fuel.

The track through the Cromwell Gorge led through deep gullies and ravines and skirted precipitous cliffs but the miners came in their thousands. It was a rich field and the first gold dispatched to Dunedin under the escort of Sergeant-Major Bracken and three troopers was a highly satisfactory 6,031 ounces.

In its earliest days Cromwell was known as ‘The Junction’ and the earliest photographs of the period show it as a barren, treeless strip of ground bordered on two sides by the rivers. and at one stage there were reputed to be 3,000 miners under canvas or in makeshift rock shelters.

VOLUNTEERS

The personnel helping are volunteers and bring a wide range of attributes and a wealth of information to the museum.

The volunteers work in areas such as front of house, archiving, ehiving, packing and research.

If you have skills that you think would suit being a volunteer at the museum please contact us to make an application.

Our Trustees:

List of our trustees

Joan Lawrence

Joan and her family have been involved in the wine industry at Lowburn near Cromwell for the past 25 years.. Joan's background is in archaeology, and her speciality is in archaeological illustration. Her great love of gardening and history is reflected in the two journals she edited , 'Heritage Roses in New Zealand' and 'Archaeology in New Zealand'. Joan is an oral history recorder with the Central Otago Heritage Trust.
Andrew Pirie
Andrew Pirie was appointed a Trustee in late 2025. He has lived in Cromwell since 2023 and has an extensive background in communications and marketing, having been in leadership roles for some of New Zealand’s major companies. Andrew also has significant international experience, having worked across Asia Pacific for over a decade. He has a personal passion for the history of Cromwell and Central Otago.

Nigel McKinley
Cheryll Sanders
Living in Cromwell as a child and having parents who were also born here has given Cheryll a strong sense of connection to Cromwell despite moving away at age 13. Her commitment to the area was cemented in 1999 when she and her husband developed a vineyard at Mt Pisa eventually moving here permanently ten years ago. Cheryll has an enduring interest in the history of the Cromwell basin and the stories that bring it alive.
Donna Hipkins

Martin Anderson

Martin was a founder trustee of the Museum and continues in this role. Martin was also President of the Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust and is a trustee of the Central Otago Heritage Trust. He has a strong interest in the whole heritage sector particularly the development of heritage strategies for the district.

Wayman Roughan

Wayman Roughan is one of the founder trustees of the Cromwell Museum. His forbears were some of the first settlers in Gabriel's Gully which has given him a keen interest in the heritage of the gold mining in Central Otago. He was Chairman of the 150th Celebrations of the discovery of gold at Gabriel's Gully in 2011. Wayman has had a long association with local bodies focusing on the heritage and Community Development of the region.