Clutha District Libraries Summer Reading Challenge

Spark a lifelong love of reading with our Legends of the Clutha Summer Reading Challenge.

Mix the adventure of reading with the collection of trading cards that are designed around Clutha's legends and stories. Head along to any one of our five libraries from the 16th of December to register and collect your first card.

Some facts about the Legends of the Clutha:

Catlins Rainforest

The Native Forest types in The Catlins are temperate rainforests. There are both Beech and Podocarp native forests in The Catlins, the forests contain many native tree species especially Tree Ferns, Rata, Kahikatea, Rimu, Miro, Totara, Kamahi, and Silver Beech.

Haast’s Eagle

It is the largest, heaviest eagle species yet described, weighing up to 17.8 kg and had a wingspan up to 3 metres. Near-complete skeleton finds show that it had the body and wings of a giant eagle, legs, and bill larger and stronger than the largest living vulture species, and feet and claws as big as a modern-day tigers.

The Kink in the Road

This ancient myth has never been figured out... the kink in the road could have been created by two surveyors working from each send of the road and when they met in the middle, they did not match up. Or the other myth is that the road changed course to avoid a large tree that grew in the middle of Milton.

Milburn Whale Fossils

The ancient whale fossils were unearthed in the nearby lime quarries. The fossils are estimated to be 24-34 million years old.

Wirey the Moa

The extinct Moa bird with wintery characteristics (snow and frost covered feathers) known for purveying around the Moa Flat hills and gullies gobbling up the Kowhai seeds and flowers from the native bush areas in the19th Century. Moa flat Farmers Kerry and the late Richard France had an artistic engineer build life-sized Moa and installed it at their front gate, the accurate artwork is convincing enough to stop traffic in its tracks.

Beaumont Express

Lifetime local man Mr Graeme Edgar says that the Beaumont Express is a fast-moving easterly cloud that comes from the Waipahi end of the Blue Mountain’s towards Beaumont.

Clutha Wishing Well

According to one of the locals in Balclutha there is a top secret wishing well that people used to throw pennies down and it was said your wishing would come true!

The Ferry Man

In 1857, when the Otago Provincial Government decided to establish a ferry at Clutha Ferry (now Balclutha), John Barr’s employers recommended him for the position. His appointment to the office was a testament to his hard work and commitment. The ferry was leased to John, and an accommodation house was built on the river's south bank. It was in 1859, after a residence of two years, that John, our ferryman of the second period, became the lucky purchaser of 100 acres on the Ferry Flat, upon a part of which the business portion of the present township of Balclutha is mainly built.

The Roaring Legends

The Carlos’ Circus came to Lawrence on Thursday, March 30, 1978, it set up show on Simpson Park. When three lions escaped, everyone was asked to quietly go back to their cars. Police tried to tranquillise the lions but were unsuccessful, sadly only one got captured and returned to the circus and the other two were put down. The community paid for the lions to be stuffed, and they were taken to Otago Museum and are still on display in the museum’s animal Attic.

Enchanted Gold

Thomas Gabriel Reid discovered gold on the Tuapeka River in May 1861. Now this is known as Gabriels Gully. With a population of approximately 550, it is hard to believe that Lawrence once supported more than 10,000 people during the days of the goldrush. The Tuapeka museum boasts relics from the days of the goldrush, such as gold pans and mud brick cottages that the goldminers lived in. Visit and see the place where Gabriel Reid discovered gold "shining like stars in Orion on a dark frosty night".

Moon Rock

Moon stones are rock formations found at the end of Landslip Road (15km south of Tapanui). Well-known local GP, the late Dr Peter Snow studied intensely about the unusual rocks. “His theory was of an asteroid impact on the moon in 1766, that resulted in siliceous ejecta that fell to the Earth forming many unusual geological structures (such as this moonstone) that are found in the West Otago district and beyond …”

Thank you to Inner Wheel, Balclutha Rotary and Lions International for supporting us so we could make this possible.