In 1862 the gold rush expanded to across inland Otago to Cromwell and Arrowtown. Queenstown, originally a sheep station come hotel became a thriving town. In 1863 new finds were made closer to the coast in the Taieri River catchment. 1863 also saw the peak of the gold rush, with about 22,000 people living in the gold fields. In the 1860s Otago earned £10 million from gold but only £3.57 million from sheep. Water sluicing races extended the life of the diggings but also had a destructive effect on the landscape and soil. After 1864 there were no more discoveries drawing prospectors from overseas. In 1865 Dunedin's wealth and the disruptive wars in the North Island lead Otago to support a failed resolution in the General Assembly for independence from the North Island.