Statue of William Rees

The bronze statue of William Rees stands with his back to the town, gazing steadily toward Lake Wakatipu. He was the first European to settle this basin in eighteen sixty, arriving with a sheep flock and a companion after an exhausting trek across the mountains. When he arrived, he found the lake empty of sheep but full of promise. He built a homestead where the town center lies today, yet his tenure lasted only a few years before the gold rush arrived.