Queenstown has not had an extremely long history in the grand scheme of things. The original inhabitants in the area first moved in in search of food. The Maori overlanders eventually settled down from a nomadic life and the area began to grow. After English settlers had begun to move in, the area started to grow as the population increased yearly. However, it was not until 1860 when William Gilberg Rees bought the land so that he could exploit it for his own development. Rees and a partner tore down vast amounts of trees in order to create a barren plain. When gold was discovered in the area of Arrow, growth of the town continued dramatically. However, by 1865 miners had moved out of Queenstown to different parts of the country where gold had been discovered, and almost two-thirds of the buildings in the city were abandoned. Afterwards, the town steadily began to rise in population again as there were other practices and businesses to be performed in the area. Also, many moved to Queensland for the scenic beauty. During the depression in the 1930's, gold miners once again filled the city in the hopes of striking it rich. Today, the city has about 20,000 inhabitants.