Shotover River

The Shotover River is located in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. The name correctly suggests that this 75-kilometre (47 mi) long river is fast flowing, with numerous rapids. The river flows generally south from the Southern Alps on its journey running through the Skippers Canyon, draining the area between the Richardson Mountains and the Harris Mountains, before flowing into the Kawarau River east of Queenstown.

The Edith Cavell bridge crosses the river at Arthurs Point.

Tourist operations

Gold mining featured in its early history and it was one of the richest gold-bearing rivers in the world. Beginning in 1862 when gold was first discovered on the river at Arthurs Point, the river has been panned, cradled, sluiced and dredged. Today small time gold seekers still work the river and two of its tributaries, Moke and Moonlight Creeks, for gold. It is now a popular river for tourism.

The river is used for commercial white water rafting trips and jet boating rides which operate out of the nearby tourist resort of Queenstown. There is also a canyon swing site on the river a short distance upriver from Arthurs Point. Three jet boat operators have rights to use the river, as do two rafting companies. Much of the land that surrounds the Shotover River, upstream from Arthurs Point, is now foreign-owned by Robert Lange, the former husband of singer Shania Twain.

Shotover

Shotover is a hill and forest in Oxfordshire, England.

Shotover Hill is 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Oxford. Its highest point is 557 feet (170 m) above sea level.

Early history

The toponym may be derived from the Old English scoet ofer, meaning "steep slope". Shotover was part of the Wychwood royal forest from around the period of the Domesday Book until 1660.

Shotover giant

A hill figure is recorded as having once been carved on the hill. Antiquarian John Aubrey writes:

Shotover Road

The road between London and Oxford used to pass over the top of Shotover Hill. The road was made into a turnpike under the 1719 Stokenchurch Turnpike Act.

Shotover House

Shotover House and garden were begun in about 1714 for James Tyrrell of Oakley. Tyrell died in 1718 and the house was completed by his son, General James Tyrell. There is no known record of the name of the architect. In 1855 the architect Joshua Sims added two wings in the same style of the original part of the house.

The garden was begun in 1718 and completed in 1730. It is a rare survivor of formal gardens of this period, laid out along an east–west axis 1,200 yards (1,100 m) long. The centrepiece of the garden east of the house is a straight canal, ending with a Gothic Revival folly. The architect of the folly is unknown, but if it was built before 1742 it may be one of the earliest examples of the Gothic Revival. The garden west of the house has a similarly long vista, ending with an octagonal temple designed in the 1730s by William Kent.

Shotover (horse)

Shotover (1879–1898) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. In a career that lasted from 1882 to 1884, she ran 15 times and won five races. As a three-year-old, racing against colts, she became the first filly to win the first two legs of the English Triple Crown: the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and the Derby at Epsom. She went on to win twice at Royal Ascot, but failed in her bid for the Triple Crown when she finished third in the St Leger at Doncaster. She was retired in 1884 and became a successful and influential broodmare. Shotover died in 1898.

Background

Shotover was a powerfully built chestnut filly with a white star, standing just under 15.3 hands high, who was praised for her "lean and game-looking" head and "beautifully formed" legs. She was bred by Henry Chaplin, who was best known for winning the Derby with Shotover’s sire Hermit in 1867. As a yearling, she was bought for 1,600 guineas by the trainer Robert Peck on behalf of the Duke of Westminster, the "richest man in England", who agreed to buy the filly after some hesitation. When Peck retired at the end of Shotover’s two-year-old season, the filly was moved to the stable of John Porter at Kingsclere.