Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust

29/05/2026

13/05/2026

Not long now until the much anticipated release of Netflix’s East of Eden, expected this spring NZ time, all going well.
Seeing the Heritage Precinct and harbour area featured in a production of this scale will be pretty special. During filming the streets were transformed with vintage vehicles, film sets, costumes, and crews everywhere, bringing the heritage precinct to lifeon a scale we have not seen before

It will also be great spotting all the familiar local faces who played a part in the filming, Productions like this really show just how unique Oamaru’s historic streets and buildings are, and it is exciting to know people around the world will soon see them on Netflix.

29/04/2026

Last night marked the 36th Annual General Meeting of The Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust. The AGM is a valuable opportunity for members to reflect on the year that has been, and to catch up with one another.

The first AGM was held on 30 May 1990 at the Brydone Hotel. Since then, we have come a long way—from the original eight buildings purchased in 1989 to the remarkable collection of 18 we care for today.

This year’s AGM was held in the Masonic Lodge complex, the newest addition to the Trust’s collection. It provided a great opportunity for members to explore the building.

The Chairman’s report was delivered by Richard Vinbrux, with the financial report presented by Jacob Barwick. A special thank you to our guest speaker, Vicki Soanes, Secretary-General of UNESCO New Zealand, and to Lynley Browne, General Manager of the Waitaki Whitestone UNESCO Global Geopark, for arranging her visit and Sally Ann and her team from the Loan and Merc for the wonderful supper
Housekeepers Design
Waitaki Whitestone Unesco Global Geopark

27/04/2026

The Trust is very fortunate to have a leader in heritage architecture on our Board, Pamela Dziwulska. Pamela is deeply passionate about heritage and conservation. She is a past president of ICOMOS Aotearoa New Zealand and as a Board member of the Trust, brings the expertise and experience needed to help care for our buildings.

Pamela works for the renowned architectural firm Salmond Reed, specialising in heritage and conservation projects.

She was recently interviewed by RNZ, where she spoke with Jessie Mulligan about her work on the restoration of the Pukekohe War Memorial Town Hall in Auckland.

We are extremely fortunate to have someone of Pamela’s caliber contributing her knowledge to help care for one of the countries most important collection of Heritage Buildings.

Salmond Reed Architects

Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Including looking after the monuments. Pam Dziwulska is a specialist architect who's been working to finish restoration work on Pukekohe War Memorial Town Hall in Auckland in time for ANZAC Day. She chats to Jesse.

20/04/2026

The Loan and Merc ....."The Monster Store" needed some
roof maintenance.
This work required careful planning, including drone footage to assess the best approach for the repairs. The Loan and Merc is not a small building—standing at over 19 metres tall, it is equivalent to a five- to six-storey structure. By comparison, the town clock stands at 28 metres high.

The Loan and Mercantile Building was the largest grain store in the country when it was completed in 1882. The first buildings on this site were the concrete stores of the New Zealand and Australian Land Investment Company, constructed in 1875.

The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, incorporated in 1865 as produce, financial, and general commercial agents, later took over the site but found the existing buildings too small. The new building was designed in a Florentine Renaissance style by civil engineers and architects Dennison and Grant, and built by John McCombe.

The new “monster store,” as it was described in the North Otago Times on 10 January 1882, was capable of holding 100,000 sacks of grain. The first floor is supported by bluestone and ironbark pillars with cast iron shoes and caps. The upper floor pillars are made of red pine, as are the joists and beams.

Four grain elevators (still in the building today) carried bags from the ground floor to the top storey on an endless link chain powered by four water engines. The interior detailing is of a high standard, highlighted by the elaborate kauri staircases and rope moulding details above the windows on the Harbour Street side

The Loan and Merc was part of the original collection of buildings purchased by the Trust in 1989.

10/04/2026

The Masonic Lodge Buildings Gifted to the Trust.

The Masonic Lodge complex on Wansbeck Street has been generously gifted into the care of the Trust.
For the Trust, it is an honour to be the kaitiaki of these important buildings.

The agreement allows the Masonic Lodge to continue using the building and to hold its regular meetings, while ensuring its long-term care.

As part of the Trust’s portfolio, the buildings will continue to be available for community use, supporting events and activities.

The board joined the Hall trustees and members of the Lodge on Wednesday night to transfer the building ownership. Vice Chair Graeme Clark accepted the gift on behalf of the Trust.

Some lodge history

The first lodge building constructed in Oamaru dates back to 1866 and was designed by the noted architect R. A. Lawson. It formed part of the Star and Garter Hotel on Itchen Street, with the Masonic Hall located on the first floor.

The Wansbeck Street site was later purchased for £250, and a purpose-built hall was completed in 1876 at a cost of £925, designed by architect T. Glass, also known for his work on Casa Nova House.

By the late 1920s, the hall required upgrading, and it was decided to construct a new building. This resulted in the striking Art Deco structure visible today from Wansbeck Street. The new hall was completed in 1933 at a cost of £2,080 and was designed by architect John Megget Forrester.

The original Victorian hall stands behind the “new” building, with its triple-bay façade hidden from view. Access to the halls is via a tunnel, which leads to an open courtyard between the two buildings.

The Masonic Lodge is a fine example of Art Deco architecture, making it a unique building in Oamaru and for the Civic Trust. The Trust now owns and manages 18 buildings that form one of the country’s largest collections of nationally important heritage buildings.

Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Waitaki Whitestone Unesco Global Geopark Tohu Whenua

08/03/2026

With over 8,500 sqm of roofing, and located next to the Pacific Ocean, roof maintenance is unfortunately a never-ending job.

Some of the first major roof work was completed in 1992, when the roof of the Loan and Merc building was replaced and strengthening work was undertaken.

We currently carry out three-monthly inspections of our roofs, clearing gutters and undertaking repairs. All of our roofs have been replaced at least once; however, due to the buildings’ location beside the sea, the salt air accelerates the ageing process.

As a result, we will need to begin planning for the replacement of some of these roofs within the next five to ten years.

03/03/2026

Tucked away on the top floor of the Connell and Clowes Building is a former accommodation wing of the Criterion Hotel. The rooms were in use until 1943, when the Criterion was sold to Gillies Foundry and the entrance between the two buildings bricked up. As the original design of the building did not provide access to the top floor except via the staircase in the Criterion, access to this space today is limited,

The building has had many different uses since it was built in 1878. Home to Knights Motors from 1951 to 1962, who used it as storage for their Ford dealership on Thames Street. In 1962, Jock Doherty, known as “Honest Jock, the Cockies’ Friend,” bought the building for 5,000 pounds and turned it into a wool and skin-traders. At this point, the former hotel rooms were stripped out and used to dry sheep skins, they have not been touched since then.

In the future, the Trust will look at options on how to make this space accessible and usable again.

16/02/2026

Hīkoi o te Taoka | March of the Treasures

The yellow-eyed penguin — an icon of the Otago Peninsula and surrounding coastlines — is the rarest penguin on Earth. Known as the Hoiho, this remarkable species is unique to Aotearoa and holds a special place in our natural heritage.

We are proud to support this incredible cause through Hīkoi o te Taoka | March of the Treasures, raising awareness for the protection of the Yellow-eyed penguin and its fragile habitat, in partnership with The Otago Shore and Land Trust.

The Harbour Street statue is located in Cycle Journeys, this amazing penguin was designed by artist Shane Walker. You’ll also find beautifully decorated penguins located throughout Otago, each helping tell the story of this treasured species.

Thank you to Cycle Journeys for providing the space and supporting the Trust in championing this important cause.

You can find out more at https://otagoshoreandland.org/the-hikoi-project/

02/02/2026

Many people ask whether our buildings need to be cleaned. There is no simple answer to this. The Trust is fortunate to be surrounded by experts in this field, and the long-term care of Oamaru stone is still very much a learning process. In the scheme of things, Oamaru stone is a relatively new building material and is almost unique to Oamaru in this scale.

Much of the advice we receive is that our buildings do not currently need cleaning. If you take a walk around the Heritage Precinct, you will see that many of the buildings are, in fact, relatively clean. Several Trust buildings have been cleaned in the past as part of restoration projects. For example, the Criterion was cleaned in the mid-1990s, and 2 Harbour Street was cleaned in 2007 when its façade was restored, the grand facades of Tyne Street where all cleaned in the early 2000s

Oamaru stone does have some self-cleaning properties once pollutants, such as coal smoke, are removed from the environment. Over cleaning can also remove the stone’s natural protective layer, which helps to preserve it. There is a further risk that once a building is cleaned to a pristine state and ongoing cleaning continues, more and more of the stone itself can be lost.

That said, some parts of our buildings do require treatment, particularly areas affected by moss or discolouration, such as parapets and urns. The Trust will be looking at ways to fund this work and carry it out as part of routine maintenance.

The Loan and Mercantile building is an example of a building the Trust has never cleaned, following advice from our conservation architect:

“The patina of age of the Oamaru stone is an important physical attribute of the building that should not be disturbed, and no treatment is presently recommended. This includes cleaning of the building, which is not needed at present.”

At some point in the future, restoration work will be required, and to maintain visual consistency the building may need to be cleaned at that time.
Allowing buildings to age and weather at different rates adds to the overall patina of the precinct and creates a more authentic and historically appropriate appearance than having all buildings appear pristine at once.