Autumn on Lake Hayes
Before I go any further with my tale, I feel it best to clear up a little confusion. Lake Hayes (or Hay’s as it was first officially named) is not named after local Arrowtown legend and notorious scoundrel Bully Hayes. Nor is it named after pioneer Ernest Hayes who settled in the Ida Valley. The lake is named after Donald Hay, an early Scottish farmer who came to New Zealand via Western-Australia and discovered the lake after surviving a winter storm and freezing conditions while sailing over Lake Wakatipu. It seems that at some point in history an erroneous ‘e’ was added to the spelling of hays between the ‘y’ and the ‘s’ giving the spelling of Hayes instead of Hay’s. My guess, and I’m just speculating here, is that local pub landlord Bully Hayes got whammed on whisky one night and told a whopping great big lie claiming the lake was named after him! Then, history and gossip did the rest.
Lovely photo great story