Lawrence Attractions

90km southwest of Dunedin is the little settlement of Lawrence, founded in 1862 and named after General Sir Henry Lawrence, a hero of the Indian Mutiny (1857-8). It became the first gold-mining town in Otago after a Tasmanian prospector named Thomas Gabriel found rich deposits of alluvial gold nearby, in Gabriel's Gully, and announced his find in a newspaper. Within a short time the little settlement grew to a population of well over 10,000 - twice the size of Dunedin. Gold ceased to be worked in the area in the late 1930s and Lawrence has now become the commercial center of a wide farming area.

Lawrence retains a number of Victorian buildings dating from heyday, including the courthouse and the post office. There is a local museum in Ross Place.