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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago & Southland Provincial Districts]
Kurow
Kurow is in the Otekaike riding of the Waitaki county, and in the electorate of Mount Ida. It is the market town of an extensive sheepfarming, dairying and agricultural district. The township nestles on the south bank of the Waitaki river, among the hills. The Anglicans, Presbyterians, and Roman Catholics have church properties in the settlement, and there is a flourishing public school. Kurow has two hotels, two stores, a number of shops, and a branch of the National Bank of New Zealand. Many of the buildings in the township are of Oamaru stone. The railway station and post office combined is forty-two miles from Oamaru, and 664 feet above sea level. A very fine bridge in two sections crosses the Waitaki river, and connects Kurow with Hakataramea, one mile distant. The rural district known as Kurow occupies an extensive plateau between the Kurow and Awakino creeks, and extends up to the hills. The local cemetery and racecourse are situated towards Awakino. Munro's coaches supply a weekly service to Lake Pukaki, via Omarama, and Benmore, and connect with the Mount Cook line of coaches from Fairlie. There is also a bi-weekly service to Omarama and Benmore. A creamery belonging to the North Otago Dairy Company occupies a central position in the township, and monthly stock sales are held. The Stock Department in represented by a resident inspector and rabbit agent, and there is a police station and a public library. A monthly sitting of the Magistrate's Court is held in the latter building. The attractions of the mountainous country beyond Kurow are well known to deerstalkers and sportsmen. Red deer abound in thousands in the back blocks throughout a district measuring about a hundred miles by sixty miles. Parties of huntsmen are conveyed by coach a distance of sixty miles to the deer walks, and most sportsmen are successful in securing the full complement of four fine heads, covered by the license fee of £3. Duck shooting is also plentiful on the Ahuriri river, which runs for about fifty miles, and also on Lake Ohau. Among the most noted of the neighbouring mountains are Mount St. Mary, 5570 feet; Mount Kaharau, 6594 feet; and Mount Domett, 6390 feet. The population of the district was 382 at the census of March, 1901.