Administrator – Waipori Gold

Improvements at Waipori cemetery

The cemetery at Waipori is in a good state, and is looking even better thanks to support from friends of Waipori. In June Roger Cotton, Peter Shepherd, Ray Macdonald and David Grant installed a really solid macrocarpa picnic table, for the convenience of visitors.

More improvements are planned, including placing crushed stone around the table to level the site up, and more planting of tussocks and other native plants.

Repair work is also needed to repair concrete on the grave of Robert George Cotton and family. If you are able to help, please let us know.

Waipori and the First World War

As the terrible conflict of the First World War gripped New Zealand, not even remote mining settlements such as Waipori escaped its impact. Many young men from the diggings enlisted in the army, and six did not return.

They are commemorated on the Lawrence war memorial and in far-flung parts of the globe, and their stories are told on this page of our website.

A new look at Waipori

Remnants of Waipori town have reappeared as the level of Lake Mahinerangi has dropped. Because of a new assessment of earthquake risk to the dam, the lake has been lowered by just over two metres. This has revealed lots of reminders of Waipori town and the gold-mining activities. Check out an Otago Daily Times article from September 2019.

The lake has been low on previous occasions. The photo below was taken in 2008.