the Highlands

who was Jack?

The name Jacks Point commemorates an extraordinary act of heroism. In the winter of 1862, Rogers, an early run-holder, set off by boat across Lake Wakatipu to return to his station. Two others accompanied him - Mitchell, a recent arrival from Britain, and Jack Tewa, who was William Ree's shearer and known as "Maori Jack". Part way across the lake the boat was struck by a violent squall and capsized. Unable to swim, Mitchell clung to the upturned keel supported by Jack while Rogers attempted to reach the shore. Defeated, Rogers turned back to cling to the boat. In the numbing cold, Mitchell lost his hold and drifted away. Jack swam after him, towing him back to safety only to find that Rogers had succumbed.

Fearing that he could no longer retain the hold on Mitchell, Jack dived beneath the capsized boat and cut away the halyards of the mast. Pulling the mast free from its socket, he was able to right the boat and drag Mitchell aboard. Although half full of water, Jack managed to paddle the boat to the shore where he shouldered the now comatose Mitchell, carrying him to higher ground. Wrapping him in wet blankets and ferns Jack set off in the dark for help.

When the rescue team arrived, they were astonished to see a collie dog jump from Mitchell's body and disappear into the bush. It was a dog that had been lost as a puppy a year earlier and Mitchell later related a remarkable occurrence: As he had lain, dangerously hypothermic, in the dark the night before, the dog had mysteriously appeared from out of the undergrowth. It had stealthily approached and then amazingly stepped onto Mitchell's shivering body and lay down on top of him. Mitchell maintained that he would not have survived but for the warmth of the dog's body.

Jack's heroism was acknowledged by the Wakatipu community who gifted him a dray and team of bullocks. He also received a medal from the humane society of Britain. From the grateful Mitchell he received a silver hunting watch carrying an inscription acknowledging that his life had been saved by Jack Tewa.

The same year Jack Tewa was the first man to discover gold in the Arrow River changing the course of history for the area from a pastoral to a bustling gold mining community. It was to become one of the world's richest sources of alluvial gold.

truly remarkable