William James O'Leary

William James O'Leary (born 28 October 1865 at Tuapeka[1]).

He was a bushman, and spent many years looking for gold in the Arawata River area, and never struck it rich, dying in 1947.[2] Together with his mare Dolly, he wandered around the Westland for decades looking for gold.[3]

In 1953 poet Denis Glover wrote Arawata Bill immortalizing him as the solitary New Zealand prospector.[4]

O'Leary's Paddock is a street in Queenstown named after him.

References

  1. ↑ Alwyn Owen. 'O'Leary, William - Biography', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 1-Sep-10
  2. ↑ Miller. F.W.G. (1947) Golden Days of Lake County. Whitcomb and Toombes
  3. ↑ Mary P. Bull 'New Zealand Tales and Tours: South Island Adventures'
  4. ↑ http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/objectdetails.aspx?oid=38155&page=15
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