Aardwolfs Ice Hockey Club

aardwolfsice.com

History: There have been several ice rinks in the Arrowtown area, the original Nairn Street Rink was in the reserve adjacent to Nairn Street shown on the Map below, this was levelled in 1986 by the council removing the Ice Rink and the Pavilion associated with it.

Information curtsy of the

Museum director David Clarke says he can vouch for the popularity of the Arrowtown venue in its heyday.

"Our bible class group used to make the trip up from Invercargill. Sometimes, there'd be about 10 buses from Invercargill. It was extremely popular," he said.

According to Mr Clarke, the Arrowtown skating rink was built by the late Jimmy Wilcox and local farmer Alan Hamilton, probably in the late 1950s, using water taken from the nearby Arrow River.

In 1966, the national Ice Skating Champs were held at Arrowtown and started "on time, even after officials were delayed due to snow some 100 miles on the road".

According to Mr Clarke, the new Queenstown facility was one of the reasons why the outdoor venues at Nairn St and at Bush Creek became obsolete and closed, added to the fact the winters got warmer over time and the ice was not reliable.

There was also an outdoor rink at Rum Gully, near the Skippers Saddle, operated by Ian and Joan Hamilton, plus Downey's dam, near Coronet Peak, and another at Queenstown Hill.
 

These days:
If you walk down Buckingham Street into the reserve, through the old Chinese settlement and follow the road west beside the Arrowtown water supply pipe you will come to the old ice rink location on the north west side of the river, situated in the shadow of the hills this was a well run and well used community rink at one stage.

The views expressed on the page above, may not reflect the views of the Aardwolfs Ice Hockey Club
All graphics and written material (c) Aardwolfs Ice Hockey Club 2004
If you would like to be added or removed from our email list please email Aardwolfs Ice Hockey Club