Immersive Audio Tour Portrays Rich Layers Of Arrowtown’s History

Local Arrowtown resident, Nick Fifield, is sharing the stories of Arrowtown’s pioneering history through a new Audio Tour app which he’s dedicated over a year to writing and producing.

As someone who’s always had an interest in local history, there has been a natural progression for Mr Fifield in developing this product for Arrowtown. “Arrowtown’s unique character clearly recalls the period in which it was founded. You can still sense the past here. It’s largely unchanged.”

He was also aware that Arrowtown’s Buckingham Street was often mistaken for a faux "wild west" reconstruction or film set, and wanted to correct that misconception. In 2024, his desire to educate lead him to starting a TikTok channel, where he produced video snapshots explaining the stories and history behind Arrowtown’s historic buildings. “This was a great first step, distilling the history into little snapshots that engaged and entertained. I also made some great connections with decedents of early families which was a real highlight”.

“I had wondered sometime ago, someone should develop an audio tour for Arrowtown and then it struck me, why not do it myself? Utilising today’s technology to deliver a memorable experience and tell the stories in a new and innovative way.”

“It started as a passion project but has taken on a life of its own, particularly with the success and engagement from my social media channel. I started by doing extensive research and poured over script development as the structure slowly evolved. Initially I wrote for a single narrator, simply delivering historical facts but it became clear that the real intrigue was in telling the stories of the people who lived and worked there. So I broadened the tour’s scope to focus on the people, including representations of the historical figures who join the listener to tell their stories first hand”.

Fifield worked with a mentor, a radio journalist with specific expertise in writing for audio, who helped perfect the stories and narration. He then collaborated with a voice talent agency in the UK to find the genuine accents for over 12 historical characters.

“I needed Welsh, Scottish, Cockney and Irish to tell the stories of Arrowtown early settlers but not caricature versions, so I went to the source to find the authentic representations I was looking for.” Once the actors injected their own interpretations into the scripts the storytelling came alive to genuinely connect with the listener.

Fifield then used Kiwi audio production company, Crescendo for his sound design “they created an extra layer of cinematic drama and rooted the stories firmly back in Aotearoa New Zealand”. Local creative agency, Whitelaw Mitchell, developed the brand and custom app to showcase the tour while The Lakes District Museum provided historical images to give context and a sense of place to the app experience.

“I never thought I’d end up creating something on this scale. It’s grown and evolved, turning into so much more than I expected and it’s been deeply satisfying to have completed this project. It has been a very personal and emotional journey.”

Having always had an affinity with the past, Fifield grew up in Berkhamsted, just outside London, a town full history going back as far as 1066. “My grandfather was an archaeologist, so his house was full of Roman and Egyptian artefacts. In a way, this project is for my grandfather - he put history in my blood.” Fifield says his desire to understand local history is about creating a connection to the places he has lived. Since moving to Arrowtown in 2018 he has worked contributing to the local community, he is currently Chairperson of the Arrowtown Village Association, a Board Member of the Arrowtown Promotion and Business Association and the Arrowtown Charitable Trust.

The Arrowtown Audio Tour features two separate tours detailing 35 historic sites and locations across more than two-and-a-half hours of self-guided audio. The “Buckingham Street Tour”, with its Avenue of Trees, Miners Cottages, shops and hotels, and the "Churches Tour" guides the listener to Arrowtown's four historic churches, as well as Rose Douglas Park, the Cemetery and Cenotaph. Three bonus tracks cover Arrowtown’s founding as a gold rush town, the story of Arrowtown Gaol, and infamous buccaneer, Captain William "Bully" Hayes. The Arrowtown Audio Tour app is available for purchase through the Apple App stores and Google Play for Android coming soon.

“Arrowtown’s history is not that of kings and queens or world events, the stories are of ordinary, albeit pioneering, people and their everyday lives. So my aim was to tell meaningful, relatable human stories that truly connect with every listener”.

Fifield believes wholeheartedly he’s built a world-class, self-guided walking tour experience. “The tours have a higher level of storytelling, narrative characterisation and audio production than anything else I have heard, including globally recognised sites from the Tower of London to Italian Amphitheatres”.

“Ultimately the goal of this project is to help educate and entertain visitors to Arrowtown, as well as provide a resource for Arrowtown and district residents, particularly children, to enhance their understanding, creating a sense of connection and belonging by faithfully telling the stories of those who have gone before.”

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