Drilling rig to bring water to Queenstown allotments

A community garden near Queenstown is one step closer to having a more ready water supply thanks to some help from the Central Lakes Trust.

South Drill has been at the Queenstown Harvest Community Gardens off Gorge Road this week drilling into the ground to create a water bore.

The gardens are run entirely by a group of green-thumbed volunteers and provide gardening plots to people who may not otherwise have space to grow plants.

Water is required for irrigation.

In a post to social media, the group says it has "been a massive couple of days" at the site and "step one" of their project is now complete.

The work is reported to have gone smoothly, although gardeners are warned the site is muddy because of it. 

"The bore will now be capped off until we have raised enough to put in a pump and the rest of the infrastructure needed." 

The community gardens are comparable to British 'allotments'.

An annual membership is received in return for a donation of $50 or more, plus a bond of $100.

The gardens are located between the Queenstown CBD and Arthur's Point.

A spring working bee is being held there on Sunday, from 1pm until 5pm, and anyone keen to learn more about the gardens is welcome.