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Oamaru.Oamaru at the estuary of the Waitaki River was a major Maori settlement area where over 1,000 middens have been searched. This was a major home of the Moa hunting Maoris of the 1300s and 1400s. Whalers visited the Otago coast here in the 1830s and the first white settlers came around 1850. The town of Oamaru was declared in 1859. Local quarries provided an extremely hard form of very white limestone for many of the buildings. The town grew as a service centre for the agricultural hinterland. Its boom period was in the 1870s and 1880s when its heritage buildings were erected. Since the port closed in 1970 the town has slumped industrially but has reinvented itself as a heritage city. It contains over 70 buildings on the NZ heritage list. Some of the historic buildings, many built of white Oamaru stone along Thames Street include the Waitaki Council Chambers, the former Municipal Chambers now the Opera House 1907, the Court House 1883, the Boer War Memorial, the Queens Hotel 1884, the Mechanics Institute 1882, the Post Office 1884, the National Bank 1870 etc. There are many more buildings in nearby Tyne Street and Harbour Street. This is adjacent to the port and the railway. Oamaru was a major exporter of frozen meat and this area blossomed with beautiful classical style warehouses in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. The warehouses stored grain and wheat and wool. Many of the buildings were designed by the well-respected local architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon. This was the heyday of growth and importance of Oamaru. After the demise of the international port in the 1970s (in favour of Christchurch and Dunedin) the warehouses closed and the area became run down. Most of the area was taken over by the Oamaru Harbour Civic Trust in the late 1980s. The wonderful old buildings have been restored where necessary and they have been leased out to art galleries, bookshops, antiques stores, fashion houses, cafes and bed and breakfast establishments. Oamaru heritage precinct has become a major tourist draw card for the city and it is a wonderful example of what can be done with historic centres of cities to revitalise them rather than demolish them. New Zealand knows how to sensibly preserve the past.

Oamaru.Oamaru at the estuary of the Waitaki River was a major Maori settlement area where over 1,000 middens have been searched. This was a major home of the Moa hunting Maoris of the 1300s and 1400s. Whalers visited the Otago coast here in the 1830s and the first white settlers came around 1850. The town of Oamaru was declared in 1859. Local quarries provided an extremely hard form of very white limestone for many of the buildings. The town grew as a service centre for the agricultural hinterland. Its boom period was in the 1870s and 1880s when its heritage buildings were erected. Since the port closed in 1970 the town has slumped industrially but has reinvented itself as a heritage city. It contains over 70 buildings on the NZ heritage list. Some of the historic buildings, many built of white Oamaru stone along Thames Street include the Waitaki Council Chambers, the former Municipal Chambers now the Opera House 1907, the Court House 1883, the Boer War Memorial, the Queens Hotel 1884, the Mechanics Institute 1882, the Post Office 1884, the National Bank 1870 etc. There are many more buildings in nearby Tyne Street and Harbour Street. This is adjacent to the port and the railway. Oamaru was a major exporter of frozen meat and this area blossomed with beautiful classical style warehouses in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. The warehouses stored grain and wheat and wool. Many of the buildings were designed by the well-respected local architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon. This was the heyday of growth and importance of Oamaru. After the demise of the international port in the 1970s (in favour of Christchurch and Dunedin) the warehouses closed and the area became run down. Most of the area was taken over by the Oamaru Harbour Civic Trust in the late 1980s. The wonderful old buildings have been restored where necessary and they have been leased out to art galleries, bookshops, antiques stores, fashion houses, cafes and bed and breakfast establishments. Oamaru heritage precinct has become a major tourist draw card for the city and it is a wonderful example of what can be done with historic centres of cities to revitalise them rather than demolish them. New Zealand knows how to sensibly preserve the past.

Oamaru.Oamaru at the estuary of the Waitaki River was a major Maori settlement area where over 1,000 middens have been searched. This was a major home of the Moa hunting Maoris of the 1300s and 1400s. Whalers visited the Otago coast here in the 1830s and the first white settlers came around 1850. The town of Oamaru was declared in 1859. Local quarries provided an extremely hard form of very white limestone for many of the buildings. The town grew as a service centre for the agricultural hinterland. Its boom period was in the 1870s and 1880s when its heritage buildings were erected. Since the port closed in 1970 the town has slumped industrially but has reinvented itself as a heritage city. It contains over 70 buildings on the NZ heritage list. Some of the historic buildings, many built of white Oamaru stone along Thames Street include the Waitaki Council Chambers, the former Municipal Chambers now the Opera House 1907, the Court House 1883, the Boer War Memorial, the Queens Hotel 1884, the Mechanics Institute 1882, the Post Office 1884, the National Bank 1870 etc. There are many more buildings in nearby Tyne Street and Harbour Street. This is adjacent to the port and the railway. Oamaru was a major exporter of frozen meat and this area blossomed with beautiful classical style warehouses in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. The warehouses stored grain and wheat and wool. Many of the buildings were designed by the well-respected local architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon. This was the heyday of growth and importance of Oamaru. After the demise of the international port in the 1970s (in favour of Christchurch and Dunedin) the warehouses closed and the area became run down. Most of the area was taken over by the Oamaru Harbour Civic Trust in the late 1980s. The wonderful old buildings have been restored where necessary and they have been leased out to art galleries, bookshops, antiques stores, fashion houses, cafes and bed and breakfast establishments. Oamaru heritage precinct has become a major tourist draw card for the city and it is a wonderful example of what can be done with historic centres of cities to revitalise them rather than demolish them. New Zealand knows how to sensibly preserve the past.

Oamaru.Oamaru at the estuary of the Waitaki River was a major Maori settlement area where over 1,000 middens have been searched. This was a major home of the Moa hunting Maoris of the 1300s and 1400s. Whalers visited the Otago coast here in the 1830s and the first white settlers came around 1850. The town of Oamaru was declared in 1859. Local quarries provided an extremely hard form of very white limestone for many of the buildings. The town grew as a service centre for the agricultural hinterland. Its boom period was in the 1870s and 1880s when its heritage buildings were erected. Since the port closed in 1970 the town has slumped industrially but has reinvented itself as a heritage city. It contains over 70 buildings on the NZ heritage list. Some of the historic buildings, many built of white Oamaru stone along Thames Street include the Waitaki Council Chambers, the former Municipal Chambers now the Opera House 1907, the Court House 1883, the Boer War Memorial, the Queens Hotel 1884, the Mechanics Institute 1882, the Post Office 1884, the National Bank 1870 etc. There are many more buildings in nearby Tyne Street and Harbour Street. This is adjacent to the port and the railway. Oamaru was a major exporter of frozen meat and this area blossomed with beautiful classical style warehouses in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. The warehouses stored grain and wheat and wool. Many of the buildings were designed by the well-respected local architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon. This was the heyday of growth and importance of Oamaru. After the demise of the international port in the 1970s (in favour of Christchurch and Dunedin) the warehouses closed and the area became run down. Most of the area was taken over by the Oamaru Harbour Civic Trust in the late 1980s. The wonderful old buildings have been restored where necessary and they have been leased out to art galleries, bookshops, antiques stores, fashion houses, cafes and bed and breakfast establishments. Oamaru heritage precinct has become a major tourist draw card for the city and it is a wonderful example of what can be done with historic centres of cities to revitalise them rather than demolish them. New Zealand knows how to sensibly preserve the past.

Oamaru.Oamaru at the estuary of the Waitaki River was a major Maori settlement area where over 1,000 middens have been searched. This was a major home of the Moa hunting Maoris of the 1300s and 1400s. Whalers visited the Otago coast here in the 1830s and the first white settlers came around 1850. The town of Oamaru was declared in 1859. Local quarries provided an extremely hard form of very white limestone for many of the buildings. The town grew as a service centre for the agricultural hinterland. Its boom period was in the 1870s and 1880s when its heritage buildings were erected. Since the port closed in 1970 the town has slumped industrially but has reinvented itself as a heritage city. It contains over 70 buildings on the NZ heritage list. Some of the historic buildings, many built of white Oamaru stone along Thames Street include the Waitaki Council Chambers, the former Municipal Chambers now the Opera House 1907, the Court House 1883, the Boer War Memorial, the Queens Hotel 1884, the Mechanics Institute 1882, the Post Office 1884, the National Bank 1870 etc. There are many more buildings in nearby Tyne Street and Harbour Street. This is adjacent to the port and the railway. Oamaru was a major exporter of frozen meat and this area blossomed with beautiful classical style warehouses in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. The warehouses stored grain and wheat and wool. Many of the buildings were designed by the well-respected local architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon. This was the heyday of growth and importance of Oamaru. After the demise of the international port in the 1970s (in favour of Christchurch and Dunedin) the warehouses closed and the area became run down. Most of the area was taken over by the Oamaru Harbour Civic Trust in the late 1980s. The wonderful old buildings have been restored where necessary and they have been leased out to art galleries, bookshops, antiques stores, fashion houses, cafes and bed and breakfast establishments. Oamaru heritage precinct has become a major tourist draw card for the city and it is a wonderful example of what can be done with historic centres of cities to revitalise them rather than demolish them. New Zealand knows how to sensibly preserve the past.

Oamaru.Oamaru at the estuary of the Waitaki River was a major Maori settlement area where over 1,000 middens have been searched. This was a major home of the Moa hunting Maoris of the 1300s and 1400s. Whalers visited the Otago coast here in the 1830s and the first white settlers came around 1850. The town of Oamaru was declared in 1859. Local quarries provided an extremely hard form of very white limestone for many of the buildings. The town grew as a service centre for the agricultural hinterland. Its boom period was in the 1870s and 1880s when its heritage buildings were erected. Since the port closed in 1970 the town has slumped industrially but has reinvented itself as a heritage city. It contains over 70 buildings on the NZ heritage list. Some of the historic buildings, many built of white Oamaru stone along Thames Street include the Waitaki Council Chambers, the former Municipal Chambers now the Opera House 1907, the Court House 1883, the Boer War Memorial, the Queens Hotel 1884, the Mechanics Institute 1882, the Post Office 1884, the National Bank 1870 etc. There are many more buildings in nearby Tyne Street and Harbour Street. This is adjacent to the port and the railway. Oamaru was a major exporter of frozen meat and this area blossomed with beautiful classical style warehouses in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. The warehouses stored grain and wheat and wool. Many of the buildings were designed by the well-respected local architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon. This was the heyday of growth and importance of Oamaru. After the demise of the international port in the 1970s (in favour of Christchurch and Dunedin) the warehouses closed and the area became run down. Most of the area was taken over by the Oamaru Harbour Civic Trust in the late 1980s. The wonderful old buildings have been restored where necessary and they have been leased out to art galleries, bookshops, antiques stores, fashion houses, cafes and bed and breakfast establishments. Oamaru heritage precinct has become a major tourist draw card for the city and it is a wonderful example of what can be done with historic centres of cities to revitalise them rather than demolish them. New Zealand knows how to sensibly preserve the past.

Oamaru.Oamaru at the estuary of the Waitaki River was a major Maori settlement area where over 1,000 middens have been searched. This was a major home of the Moa hunting Maoris of the 1300s and 1400s. Whalers visited the Otago coast here in the 1830s and the first white settlers came around 1850. The town of Oamaru was declared in 1859. Local quarries provided an extremely hard form of very white limestone for many of the buildings. The town grew as a service centre for the agricultural hinterland. Its boom period was in the 1870s and 1880s when its heritage buildings were erected. Since the port closed in 1970 the town has slumped industrially but has reinvented itself as a heritage city. It contains over 70 buildings on the NZ heritage list. Some of the historic buildings, many built of white Oamaru stone along Thames Street include the Waitaki Council Chambers, the former Municipal Chambers now the Opera House 1907, the Court House 1883, the Boer War Memorial, the Queens Hotel 1884, the Mechanics Institute 1882, the Post Office 1884, the National Bank 1870 etc. There are many more buildings in nearby Tyne Street and Harbour Street. This is adjacent to the port and the railway. Oamaru was a major exporter of frozen meat and this area blossomed with beautiful classical style warehouses in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. The warehouses stored grain and wheat and wool. Many of the buildings were designed by the well-respected local architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon. This was the heyday of growth and importance of Oamaru. After the demise of the international port in the 1970s (in favour of Christchurch and Dunedin) the warehouses closed and the area became run down. Most of the area was taken over by the Oamaru Harbour Civic Trust in the late 1980s. The wonderful old buildings have been restored where necessary and they have been leased out to art galleries, bookshops, antiques stores, fashion houses, cafes and bed and breakfast establishments. Oamaru heritage precinct has become a major tourist draw card for the city and it is a wonderful example of what can be done with historic centres of cities to revitalise them rather than demolish them. New Zealand knows how to sensibly preserve the past.

Oamaru.Oamaru at the estuary of the Waitaki River was a major Maori settlement area where over 1,000 middens have been searched. This was a major home of the Moa hunting Maoris of the 1300s and 1400s. Whalers visited the Otago coast here in the 1830s and the first white settlers came around 1850. The town of Oamaru was declared in 1859. Local quarries provided an extremely hard form of very white limestone for many of the buildings. The town grew as a service centre for the agricultural hinterland. Its boom period was in the 1870s and 1880s when its heritage buildings were erected. Since the port closed in 1970 the town has slumped industrially but has reinvented itself as a heritage city. It contains over 70 buildings on the NZ heritage list. Some of the historic buildings, many built of white Oamaru stone along Thames Street include the Waitaki Council Chambers, the former Municipal Chambers now the Opera House 1907, the Court House 1883, the Boer War Memorial, the Queens Hotel 1884, the Mechanics Institute 1882, the Post Office 1884, the National Bank 1870 etc. There are many more buildings in nearby Tyne Street and Harbour Street. This is adjacent to the port and the railway. Oamaru was a major exporter of frozen meat and this area blossomed with beautiful classical style warehouses in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. The warehouses stored grain and wheat and wool. Many of the buildings were designed by the well-respected local architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon. This was the heyday of growth and importance of Oamaru. After the demise of the international port in the 1970s (in favour of Christchurch and Dunedin) the warehouses closed and the area became run down. Most of the area was taken over by the Oamaru Harbour Civic Trust in the late 1980s. The wonderful old buildings have been restored where necessary and they have been leased out to art galleries, bookshops, antiques stores, fashion houses, cafes and bed and breakfast establishments. Oamaru heritage precinct has become a major tourist draw card for the city and it is a wonderful example of what can be done with historic centres of cities to revitalise them rather than demolish them. New Zealand knows how to sensibly preserve the past.

Oamaru.Oamaru at the estuary of the Waitaki River was a major Maori settlement area where over 1,000 middens have been searched. This was a major home of the Moa hunting Maoris of the 1300s and 1400s. Whalers visited the Otago coast here in the 1830s and the first white settlers came around 1850. The town of Oamaru was declared in 1859. Local quarries provided an extremely hard form of very white limestone for many of the buildings. The town grew as a service centre for the agricultural hinterland. Its boom period was in the 1870s and 1880s when its heritage buildings were erected. Since the port closed in 1970 the town has slumped industrially but has reinvented itself as a heritage city. It contains over 70 buildings on the NZ heritage list. Some of the historic buildings, many built of white Oamaru stone along Thames Street include the Waitaki Council Chambers, the former Municipal Chambers now the Opera House 1907, the Court House 1883, the Boer War Memorial, the Queens Hotel 1884, the Mechanics Institute 1882, the Post Office 1884, the National Bank 1870 etc. There are many more buildings in nearby Tyne Street and Harbour Street. This is adjacent to the port and the railway. Oamaru was a major exporter of frozen meat and this area blossomed with beautiful classical style warehouses in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. The warehouses stored grain and wheat and wool. Many of the buildings were designed by the well-respected local architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon. This was the heyday of growth and importance of Oamaru. After the demise of the international port in the 1970s (in favour of Christchurch and Dunedin) the warehouses closed and the area became run down. Most of the area was taken over by the Oamaru Harbour Civic Trust in the late 1980s. The wonderful old buildings have been restored where necessary and they have been leased out to art galleries, bookshops, antiques stores, fashion houses, cafes and bed and breakfast establishments. Oamaru heritage precinct has become a major tourist draw card for the city and it is a wonderful example of what can be done with historic centres of cities to revitalise them rather than demolish them. New Zealand knows how to sensibly preserve the past.

Oamaru.Oamaru at the estuary of the Waitaki River was a major Maori settlement area where over 1,000 middens have been searched. This was a major home of the Moa hunting Maoris of the 1300s and 1400s. Whalers visited the Otago coast here in the 1830s and the first white settlers came around 1850. The town of Oamaru was declared in 1859. Local quarries provided an extremely hard form of very white limestone for many of the buildings. The town grew as a service centre for the agricultural hinterland. Its boom period was in the 1870s and 1880s when its heritage buildings were erected. Since the port closed in 1970 the town has slumped industrially but has reinvented itself as a heritage city. It contains over 70 buildings on the NZ heritage list. Some of the historic buildings, many built of white Oamaru stone along Thames Street include the Waitaki Council Chambers, the former Municipal Chambers now the Opera House 1907, the Court House 1883, the Boer War Memorial, the Queens Hotel 1884, the Mechanics Institute 1882, the Post Office 1884, the National Bank 1870 etc. There are many more buildings in nearby Tyne Street and Harbour Street. This is adjacent to the port and the railway. Oamaru was a major exporter of frozen meat and this area blossomed with beautiful classical style warehouses in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. The warehouses stored grain and wheat and wool. Many of the buildings were designed by the well-respected local architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon. This was the heyday of growth and importance of Oamaru. After the demise of the international port in the 1970s (in favour of Christchurch and Dunedin) the warehouses closed and the area became run down. Most of the area was taken over by the Oamaru Harbour Civic Trust in the late 1980s. The wonderful old buildings have been restored where necessary and they have been leased out to art galleries, bookshops, antiques stores, fashion houses, cafes and bed and breakfast establishments. Oamaru heritage precinct has become a major tourist draw card for the city and it is a wonderful example of what can be done with historic centres of cities to revitalise them rather than demolish them. New Zealand knows how to sensibly preserve the past.

Oamaru.Oamaru at the estuary of the Waitaki River was a major Maori settlement area where over 1,000 middens have been searched. This was a major home of the Moa hunting Maoris of the 1300s and 1400s. Whalers visited the Otago coast here in the 1830s and the first white settlers came around 1850. The town of Oamaru was declared in 1859. Local quarries provided an extremely hard form of very white limestone for many of the buildings. The town grew as a service centre for the agricultural hinterland. Its boom period was in the 1870s and 1880s when its heritage buildings were erected. Since the port closed in 1970 the town has slumped industrially but has reinvented itself as a heritage city. It contains over 70 buildings on the NZ heritage list. Some of the historic buildings, many built of white Oamaru stone along Thames Street include the Waitaki Council Chambers, the former Municipal Chambers now the Opera House 1907, the Court House 1883, the Boer War Memorial, the Queens Hotel 1884, the Mechanics Institute 1882, the Post Office 1884, the National Bank 1870 etc. There are many more buildings in nearby Tyne Street and Harbour Street. This is adjacent to the port and the railway. Oamaru was a major exporter of frozen meat and this area blossomed with beautiful classical style warehouses in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. The warehouses stored grain and wheat and wool. Many of the buildings were designed by the well-respected local architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon. This was the heyday of growth and importance of Oamaru. After the demise of the international port in the 1970s (in favour of Christchurch and Dunedin) the warehouses closed and the area became run down. Most of the area was taken over by the Oamaru Harbour Civic Trust in the late 1980s. The wonderful old buildings have been restored where necessary and they have been leased out to art galleries, bookshops, antiques stores, fashion houses, cafes and bed and breakfast establishments. Oamaru heritage precinct has become a major tourist draw card for the city and it is a wonderful example of what can be done with historic centres of cities to revitalise them rather than demolish them. New Zealand knows how to sensibly preserve the past.

Oamaru.Oamaru at the estuary of the Waitaki River was a major Maori settlement area where over 1,000 middens have been searched. This was a major home of the Moa hunting Maoris of the 1300s and 1400s. Whalers visited the Otago coast here in the 1830s and the first white settlers came around 1850. The town of Oamaru was declared in 1859. Local quarries provided an extremely hard form of very white limestone for many of the buildings. The town grew as a service centre for the agricultural hinterland. Its boom period was in the 1870s and 1880s when its heritage buildings were erected. Since the port closed in 1970 the town has slumped industrially but has reinvented itself as a heritage city. It contains over 70 buildings on the NZ heritage list. Some of the historic buildings, many built of white Oamaru stone along Thames Street include the Waitaki Council Chambers, the former Municipal Chambers now the Opera House 1907, the Court House 1883, the Boer War Memorial, the Queens Hotel 1884, the Mechanics Institute 1882, the Post Office 1884, the National Bank 1870 etc. There are many more buildings in nearby Tyne Street and Harbour Street. This is adjacent to the port and the railway. Oamaru was a major exporter of frozen meat and this area blossomed with beautiful classical style warehouses in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. The warehouses stored grain and wheat and wool. Many of the buildings were designed by the well-respected local architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon. This was the heyday of growth and importance of Oamaru. After the demise of the international port in the 1970s (in favour of Christchurch and Dunedin) the warehouses closed and the area became run down. Most of the area was taken over by the Oamaru Harbour Civic Trust in the late 1980s. The wonderful old buildings have been restored where necessary and they have been leased out to art galleries, bookshops, antiques stores, fashion houses, cafes and bed and breakfast establishments. Oamaru heritage precinct has become a major tourist draw card for the city and it is a wonderful example of what can be done with historic centres of cities to revitalise them rather than demolish them. New Zealand knows how to sensibly preserve the past.

Oamaru.Oamaru at the estuary of the Waitaki River was a major Maori settlement area where over 1,000 middens have been searched. This was a major home of the Moa hunting Maoris of the 1300s and 1400s. Whalers visited the Otago coast here in the 1830s and the first white settlers came around 1850. The town of Oamaru was declared in 1859. Local quarries provided an extremely hard form of very white limestone for many of the buildings. The town grew as a service centre for the agricultural hinterland. Its boom period was in the 1870s and 1880s when its heritage buildings were erected. Since the port closed in 1970 the town has slumped industrially but has reinvented itself as a heritage city. It contains over 70 buildings on the NZ heritage list. Some of the historic buildings, many built of white Oamaru stone along Thames Street include the Waitaki Council Chambers, the former Municipal Chambers now the Opera House 1907, the Court House 1883, the Boer War Memorial, the Queens Hotel 1884, the Mechanics Institute 1882, the Post Office 1884, the National Bank 1870 etc. There are many more buildings in nearby Tyne Street and Harbour Street. This is adjacent to the port and the railway. Oamaru was a major exporter of frozen meat and this area blossomed with beautiful classical style warehouses in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. The warehouses stored grain and wheat and wool. Many of the buildings were designed by the well-respected local architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon. This was the heyday of growth and importance of Oamaru. After the demise of the international port in the 1970s (in favour of Christchurch and Dunedin) the warehouses closed and the area became run down. Most of the area was taken over by the Oamaru Harbour Civic Trust in the late 1980s. The wonderful old buildings have been restored where necessary and they have been leased out to art galleries, bookshops, antiques stores, fashion houses, cafes and bed and breakfast establishments. Oamaru heritage precinct has become a major tourist draw card for the city and it is a wonderful example of what can be done with historic centres of cities to revitalise them rather than demolish them. New Zealand knows how to sensibly preserve the past.

Oamaru.Oamaru at the estuary of the Waitaki River was a major Maori settlement area where over 1,000 middens have been searched. This was a major home of the Moa hunting Maoris of the 1300s and 1400s. Whalers visited the Otago coast here in the 1830s and the first white settlers came around 1850. The town of Oamaru was declared in 1859. Local quarries provided an extremely hard form of very white limestone for many of the buildings. The town grew as a service centre for the agricultural hinterland. Its boom period was in the 1870s and 1880s when its heritage buildings were erected. Since the port closed in 1970 the town has slumped industrially but has reinvented itself as a heritage city. It contains over 70 buildings on the NZ heritage list. Some of the historic buildings, many built of white Oamaru stone along Thames Street include the Waitaki Council Chambers, the former Municipal Chambers now the Opera House 1907, the Court House 1883, the Boer War Memorial, the Queens Hotel 1884, the Mechanics Institute 1882, the Post Office 1884, the National Bank 1870 etc. There are many more buildings in nearby Tyne Street and Harbour Street. This is adjacent to the port and the railway. Oamaru was a major exporter of frozen meat and this area blossomed with beautiful classical style warehouses in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. The warehouses stored grain and wheat and wool. Many of the buildings were designed by the well-respected local architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon. This was the heyday of growth and importance of Oamaru. After the demise of the international port in the 1970s (in favour of Christchurch and Dunedin) the warehouses closed and the area became run down. Most of the area was taken over by the Oamaru Harbour Civic Trust in the late 1980s. The wonderful old buildings have been restored where necessary and they have been leased out to art galleries, bookshops, antiques stores, fashion houses, cafes and bed and breakfast establishments. Oamaru heritage precinct has become a major tourist draw card for the city and it is a wonderful example of what can be done with historic centres of cities to revitalise them rather than demolish them. New Zealand knows how to sensibly preserve the past.

Oamaru.Oamaru at the estuary of the Waitaki River was a major Maori settlement area where over 1,000 middens have been searched. This was a major home of the Moa hunting Maoris of the 1300s and 1400s. Whalers visited the Otago coast here in the 1830s and the first white settlers came around 1850. The town of Oamaru was declared in 1859. Local quarries provided an extremely hard form of very white limestone for many of the buildings. The town grew as a service centre for the agricultural hinterland. Its boom period was in the 1870s and 1880s when its heritage buildings were erected. Since the port closed in 1970 the town has slumped industrially but has reinvented itself as a heritage city. It contains over 70 buildings on the NZ heritage list. Some of the historic buildings, many built of white Oamaru stone along Thames Street include the Waitaki Council Chambers, the former Municipal Chambers now the Opera House 1907, the Court House 1883, the Boer War Memorial, the Queens Hotel 1884, the Mechanics Institute 1882, the Post Office 1884, the National Bank 1870 etc. There are many more buildings in nearby Tyne Street and Harbour Street. This is adjacent to the port and the railway. Oamaru was a major exporter of frozen meat and this area blossomed with beautiful classical style warehouses in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. The warehouses stored grain and wheat and wool. Many of the buildings were designed by the well-respected local architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon. This was the heyday of growth and importance of Oamaru. After the demise of the international port in the 1970s (in favour of Christchurch and Dunedin) the warehouses closed and the area became run down. Most of the area was taken over by the Oamaru Harbour Civic Trust in the late 1980s. The wonderful old buildings have been restored where necessary and they have been leased out to art galleries, bookshops, antiques stores, fashion houses, cafes and bed and breakfast establishments. Oamaru heritage precinct has become a major tourist draw card for the city and it is a wonderful example of what can be done with historic centres of cities to revitalise them rather than demolish them. New Zealand knows how to sensibly preserve the past.

Oamaru.Oamaru at the estuary of the Waitaki River was a major Maori settlement area where over 1,000 middens have been searched. This was a major home of the Moa hunting Maoris of the 1300s and 1400s. Whalers visited the Otago coast here in the 1830s and the first white settlers came around 1850. The town of Oamaru was declared in 1859. Local quarries provided an extremely hard form of very white limestone for many of the buildings. The town grew as a service centre for the agricultural hinterland. Its boom period was in the 1870s and 1880s when its heritage buildings were erected. Since the port closed in 1970 the town has slumped industrially but has reinvented itself as a heritage city. It contains over 70 buildings on the NZ heritage list. Some of the historic buildings, many built of white Oamaru stone along Thames Street include the Waitaki Council Chambers, the former Municipal Chambers now the Opera House 1907, the Court House 1883, the Boer War Memorial, the Queens Hotel 1884, the Mechanics Institute 1882, the Post Office 1884, the National Bank 1870 etc. There are many more buildings in nearby Tyne Street and Harbour Street. This is adjacent to the port and the railway. Oamaru was a major exporter of frozen meat and this area blossomed with beautiful classical style warehouses in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. The warehouses stored grain and wheat and wool. Many of the buildings were designed by the well-respected local architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon. This was the heyday of growth and importance of Oamaru. After the demise of the international port in the 1970s (in favour of Christchurch and Dunedin) the warehouses closed and the area became run down. Most of the area was taken over by the Oamaru Harbour Civic Trust in the late 1980s. The wonderful old buildings have been restored where necessary and they have been leased out to art galleries, bookshops, antiques stores, fashion houses, cafes and bed and breakfast establishments. Oamaru heritage precinct has become a major tourist draw card for the city and it is a wonderful example of what can be done with historic centres of cities to revitalise them rather than demolish them. New Zealand knows how to sensibly preserve the past.

Oamaru.Oamaru at the estuary of the Waitaki River was a major Maori settlement area where over 1,000 middens have been searched. This was a major home of the Moa hunting Maoris of the 1300s and 1400s. Whalers visited the Otago coast here in the 1830s and the first white settlers came around 1850. The town of Oamaru was declared in 1859. Local quarries provided an extremely hard form of very white limestone for many of the buildings. The town grew as a service centre for the agricultural hinterland. Its boom period was in the 1870s and 1880s when its heritage buildings were erected. Since the port closed in 1970 the town has slumped industrially but has reinvented itself as a heritage city. It contains over 70 buildings on the NZ heritage list. Some of the historic buildings, many built of white Oamaru stone along Thames Street include the Waitaki Council Chambers, the former Municipal Chambers now the Opera House 1907, the Court House 1883, the Boer War Memorial, the Queens Hotel 1884, the Mechanics Institute 1882, the Post Office 1884, the National Bank 1870 etc. There are many more buildings in nearby Tyne Street and Harbour Street. This is adjacent to the port and the railway. Oamaru was a major exporter of frozen meat and this area blossomed with beautiful classical style warehouses in the late 1870s and the early 1880s. The warehouses stored grain and wheat and wool. Many of the buildings were designed by the well-respected local architectural partnership of Forrester and Lemon. This was the heyday of growth and importance of Oamaru. After the demise of the international port in the 1970s (in favour of Christchurch and Dunedin) the warehouses closed and the area became run down. Most of the area was taken over by the Oamaru Harbour Civic Trust in the late 1980s. The wonderful old buildings have been restored where necessary and they have been leased out to art galleries, bookshops, antiques stores, fashion houses, cafes and bed and breakfast establishments. Oamaru heritage precinct has become a major tourist draw card for the city and it is a wonderful example of what can be done with historic centres of cities to revitalise them rather than demolish them. New Zealand knows how to sensibly preserve the past.