While of no direct value to Maori, gold was highly prized by Europeans as a means of exchange and in the production of jewelry. Therefore, when it was first discovered by Europeans in Otago (near the modern town of Lawrence in 1861) it had a profound positive effect on the economy and immigration of the then tiny colony. The Lindis gold rush was slightly earlier involved about 300 miners but was over in a few months. Dunedin soon became the largest city in New Zealand and transport networks and townships expanded into the interior.