Lauder, Central Otago, New Zealand
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Lauder was named after the Scottish Border town of Lauder
in Berwickshire by surveyor J.T. Thomson.
When the Central Otago Rail Line reached Lauder in 1904,
Lauder became populated as a railway town.
Lauder was also the site that ballast was quarried for use as
foundations underneath railway sleepers.
A school soon became established here and a town was born.
Today Lauder provides a number of accommodation options
for Otago Central Rail Trail travelers
including the original school, hotel and store! .
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The Hotel was originally located next to the car park entrance gates facing the rail line and in 1960 the Publican at the time –
Ralph Phillips had the building cut in two, turned around and moved
to its present location facing the main road.
The Lauder Store was built in 1890 and operated as the local store
until 1995. It has now been renovated and converted to
character-full accommodation.
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Lauder’s unique dry climate has led to NIWA
(National Institute of Water and Atmosphere Research)
establishing its research facility here.
The atmosphere in Lauder is amongst the most clean and
pollution free in the world, making it ideal for NIWA
to carry out studies into the depletion of the Ozone Layer.
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So while in Lauder make sure you take a deep breath and relish its pristine air!![]()
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