Queenstown () is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It is the largest town in the Queenstown-Lakes District, and the primary administrative centre.
The town is on the northwestern edge of Lake Wakatipu, a long, thin, S-shaped lake formed by glacial processes, and has views of nearby mountains such as The Remarkables, Cecil Peak, Walter Peak and, just above the town, Ben Lomond and Queenstown Hill. Queenstown is known for its tourism businesses, especially adventure and ski tourism.
Toponymy Tāhuna, the Māori-language name for Queenstown, means 'shallow bay'.
Queenstown was initially just known as 'The Station' after William Gilbert Rees' station, as the settlement existed on his run holding. The settlement was also known as 'The Camp' and 'Canvastown'. On 5 January 1863 the name Queenstown was adopted, likely after Queenstown, Ireland, which had been recently renamed following a visit by Queen Victoria.
History Māori settlement and presence The area was discovered and first settled by Māori. Kāi Tahu say that the lake was dug by the Waitaha ancestor, Rākaihautū, with his kō (digging stick) named Tūwhakaroria. After arriving at Whakatū Nelson in the waka Uruao, Rākaihautū divided his crew into two. He led one group through the interior of Te Waipounamu, digging the freshwater lakes of the island. After digging the lakes Hāwea, Wānaka, and Whakatipu Waimāori, he travelled through the Greenstone and Hollyford valleys before finally digging Whakatipu Waitai (Lake McKerrow).
The first non-Māori to see Lake Wakatipu was European Nathanael Chalmers who was guided by Reko, the chief of the Tuturau, over the Waimea Plains and up the Mataura River in September 1853.Miller., F.W.G., (1949), Golden Days of Lake County. Whitcombe and Tombs. p 3-11. Evidence of stake nets, baskets for catching eels, spears and ashes indicated the Glenorchy area was visited by Māori. It is likely Ngāi Tahu Māori visited Queenstown en route to collect Pounamu (greenstone). The tribe of Kāti Māmoe occupied a settlement called Te Kirikiri Pa where the Queenstown Gardens are today, but by the time European migrants arrived in the 1860s this settlement was no longer being used.
European settlement European explorers William Gilbert Rees and Nicholas von Tunzelmann were the first non-Māori to settle the area. In 1860, Rees established a high country farm where Queenstown's town centre now stands, but the discovery of gold in the Arrow River in 1862 encouraged him to convert his wool shed into a hotel named the Queen's Arms, now known as Eichardt's. The settlement swiftly grew after the discovery of gold with hotels and entertainment venues erected to provide for the prospectors. Market gardens shortly followed and replaced the need for produce to be transported from Dunedin to the town. By the start of 1864 Queenstown had multiple shops, several bars, a post office, a local newspaper, both an Anglican and Catholic church, and a timber yard.
The wider Wakatipu basin was extensively farmed during this period. Prior to 1872 it was not possible to purchase freehold farmland and settlers were required to lease from the Crown. The basin's original runs were smaller but by the 1930's had been amalgamated into larger stations including Mt Aurum, The Branches, Coronet peak, Soho, Glencoe, Eastburn, Waitiri, Wentworth, Mt Rosa, Glenroy, Cone Peak, Kawarau Falls, Remarkables, Ben Lomond, Closeburn, and Mt Creighton. Ben Lomond Station itself was first leased by P.B. Boult in 1864 at approximately 10,000 acres. By 1903 the station had grown to 32,000 acres. In 1930, William Price McDonald took over the lease from the crown and the family held the property for the following two decades.
Many Queenstown streets bear names from the gold mining era (such as Camp Street) and some historic buildings remain. William's Cottage, the Lake Lodge of Ophir (now Artbay Gallery), Queenstown Police Station, and St Peter's Anglican Church lie close together in a designated historic precinct.
1999 flooding There was a severe weather event in the South Island in November 1999, bringing torrential rainfall in the catchments of Lake Wakatipu. The level of the lake rose from 310.5 m to 312.77 m, leading to the most severe flooding in Queenstown's recorded history. Properties in central Queenstown close to the lakeshore were flooded up to 1 m deep, causing major damage. Total insurance claims were around $50 million. Properties in Glenorchy and Kingston were also flooded, and the road from Queenstown to Glenorchy was damaged by washouts.
Geography Queenstown is on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand's third-largest lake by surface area. The town is close to the lake's northeastern bend, at which point a small arm, the Frankton Arm, joins the lake with its principal outflow, the Kawarau River. The centre of the town is on the north shore at the point where the Frankton Arm links with the main body of the lake, but also extends to the major suburb of Frankton at the eastern end of the arm, and across to Kelvin Heights on the Kelvin Peninsula, which forms the Frankton Arm's southern shore.
The town is at a relatively low altitude for a ski and snowboarding centre, at above sea level at the lake shore, but is nestled among mountains, most notably the scenic attraction of The Remarkables, to the town's southeast. Below the lake lies the deep Kawarau Gorge, and there are nearby plains suitable for agriculture and viticulture. Queenstown lies close to the heart of the Central Otago wine region.
Suburbs Central Queenstown contains many businesses, apartments and homes but is near many suburbs or large areas of housing: Fernhill, Sunshine Bay, Queenstown Hill, Goldfield Heights, Marina Heights, Kelvin Heights, Arthurs Point and Frankton.
Just outside Queenstown are the areas of: Arrowtown, Closeburn, Dalefield, Gibbston, Jack's Point, Hanley's Farm, Hayes Creek, Lake Hayes Estate, Shotover Country and Quail Rise.
Climate Because of its relatively moderate altitude (310 metres) and high mountain surroundings, Queenstown has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb). Summer has long warm days with temperatures that can reach 30 °C while winters are cold with temperatures often in single digits and frequent snowfall, although there is no permanent snow cover during the year. As with the rest of Central Otago, Queenstown lies within the rain shadow of the Southern Alps, but being closer to the west coast the town is more susceptible to rain-bearing fronts than nearby Cromwell, Wānaka and Alexandra. The hottest recorded temperature in Queenstown is and the coldest is , while for Queenstown Airport the hottest is and the coldest is .
Flood risk Low-lying areas of Queenstown close to Lake Wakatipu are at risk of flooding because during heavy rain and snowmelt, the lake's outflows via the Kawarau River are less than the inflows and the lake level can rise significantly. Further, the outflow down the Kawarau River is impeded by the large delta of the Shotover River – a major tributary. A narrow gorge also restricts flow in the Kawarau river. As a consequence, Queenstown has been flooded several times, and there is an ongoing risk of flooding in low-lying areas. As the lake level rises, backflow through the town's stormwater system leads to flooding in some streets when the lake level reaches 311.3 m. This has occurred around 20 times since 1878. In any year, there is a 13% chance that the lake will reach this level. In any ten-year period, there is a 75% chance of an event that exceeds this level.
Demography Queenstown is described by Statistics New Zealand as a medium urban area with an area of . It had an urban population of making it the 24th-largest urban area in New Zealand. In 2016, Queenstown overtook Oamaru to become the second-largest urban area in Otago, behind Dunedin. Prior to 2023, the Queenstown urban area as defined by Statistics New Zealand didn't include Lake Hayes or Arthurs Point, which are contiguous with Queenstown but were designated as separate urban areas.
Before the 2023 census, the town had a smaller boundary, covering . Using that boundary, the Queenstown urban area had a population of 13,539 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 2,205 people (19.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 3,111 people (29.8%) since the 2006 census. There were 4,254 households. There were 7,089 males and 6,447 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.1 males per female, with 1,341 people (9.9%) aged under 15 years, 4,887 (36.1%) aged 15 to 29, 6,264 (46.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,041 (7.7%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 71.2% European/Pākehā, 4.5% Māori, 1.2% Pacific peoples, 17.8% Asian, and 10.5% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).
The proportion of people born overseas was 58.3%, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people objected to giving their religion, 58.5% had no religion, 29.1% were Christian, 2.8% were Hindu, 0.6% were Muslim, 1.7% were Buddhist and 3.4% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 3,234 (26.5%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 759 (6.2%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,692 people (13.9%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 9,165 (75.1%) people were employed full-time, 1,263 (10.4%) were part-time, and 138 (1.1%) were unemployed.
+Individual statistical areas in 2018Name Area (km2) Population Density (per km2) Households Median age Median income Frankton 7.62 2,895 380 1,017 32.8 years $39,300 Frankton Arm 1.20 1,917 1,598 603 31.2 years $41,200 Kelvin Heights 9.28 1,170 126 447 43.4 years $44,800 Queenstown Central 0.81 1,017 1,256 261 30.0 years $34,300 Quail Rise 6.27 708 113 234 40.5 years $49,200 Queenstown East 0.98 1,416 1,445 441 30.5 years $38,800 Sunshine Bay-Fernhill 1.31 2,931 2,237 861 29.6 years $37,600 Warren Park 0.94 1,485 1,580 390 28.7 years $34,200 New Zealand 37.4 years $31,800
Economy The economy of Queenstown is a major contributor to the economy of the Queenstown Lakes District, although the district covers a much wider area than Queenstown, and includes the towns of Wānaka to the north-east, Glenorchy to the north-west and Kingston to the south.
Housing Residential housing in the Queenstown area is expensive due to factors such as the town being a tourist destination, its lack of land and its desirability to foreigners and investors. Queenstown is rated the least affordable place in New Zealand to buy a property, overtaking Auckland at the start of 2017. In December 2016 the average house price in the Queenstown area rose to $1 million NZD. Between 2016 and 2019, average rents in Queenstown rose progressively; reaching 10.8% in 2016, 16% in 2017, and 7.4% in 2018, and 9.6% in 2019. 2018 census data showed 27 percent of Queenstown homes were marked as unoccupied.
During the early 2020s, Queenstown experienced a decline in rental housing. Between December 2021 and December 2022, the online auction platform Trade Me reported a 49% decline in rental listings across the Queenstown-Lakes District. Similarly, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) reported that the number of rental houses in the District had dropped by 100 between November 2021 and November 2022. Despite a building boom in 2022, Stuff reported that 27% of homes in the Lakes District were unoccupied since their owners preferred to use them as holiday homes or short-term accommodation rather than rentals By November 2022, Radio New Zealand reported that the average home in the Lakes District cost NZ$1.7 million while a three-bedroom rental cost a minimum of NZ$800 per week and a single bedroom rental NZ$500 or more per week.