For those lured by the golden glow, the Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust has a chance to try your hand at panning for gold — the New Zealand national gold panning championships, which are being held at the Alexandra Blossom Festival on Saturday.
Trust secretary-project manager Terry Davis said gold panning was a recognised sport and one of the few where men, women and children could compete on a level playing field.
Among the categories for the national championships was one for first-timers who had never tried panning for gold before, he said.
The top three in each category would be in for some great prizes, and all first place winners would compete for the supreme champion title.
In past years that honour had gone to a 14-year-old girl and a 70-year-old man, so there was no telling who would win it, Mr Davis said.
Gold panning as a sport meant being the first person in your heat to retrieve the five to 12 counted flakes that were added to your bucket of gravel before the start.
The overall winner would receive $1000 to go to towards travelling overseas to compete in gold panning championships in another country.
Prizes on offer for category winners included accommodation in Queenstown, jetboat rides and a vial of gold flakes, Mr Davis said.
To enter, contestants needed to register at Pioneer Park between 9am-11am on Saturday. Heats began at 10am.
In August, Mr Davis and trust treasurer Odette Hopgood travelled to Zlate Hory in the Czech Republic for the 47th World Gold Panning Championships. The trip was in preparation to host the world gold panning championships in Cromwell in 2026.
One of the conditions of hosting the world gold panning championships was to have attended the event.
The pair will also go to next year’s event in Spain, where they will promote their competition and Central Otago.
