Victorian Precinct Walking Tour Preview

Start point: Oamaru information Centre

1 Thames St, Oamaru

Kia Ora, Talofa, Welcome to Oamaru! It’s great to have you along for this journey. Right now you should be standing in front of the Oamaru Information Centre. Across the road you can see the lovely park with the limestone archway and to its right, the Waitaki District Council building with the town's clocktower.

Now, imagine you’re back in 1884. The shops are bustling with Victorian-era folk. The roads are wide and dusty. And here I am, your host, alighting from horse and carriage.

How do you do? I am Alexander McMaster, owner of the ship Argus and Tokarahi Estate where I have 13,500 acres of prime sheep and grain growing country. This is my homestead. Lovely, isn’t it?

You’re going to see 1884 Oamaru develop through my eyes. I must tell this story with haste, for I am an aged man and I feel I’m not long for this world – so let us proceed. We shall take less than an hour.

This tour works best if you open the map on this app.

Read more about Alexander McMaster on the Culture Waitaki website.

The land we are walking on was purchased thirty some-odd years ago from the original Māori settlers. Various Māori tribes lived in Oamaru and the surrounding Moa-hunting country and the Māori used the Waitaki River as a thoroughfare in their journeys to and from the inland mountains. If you travel up the Waitaki River to Duntroon, ancient rock drawings are still visible on some limestone cliffs. Check out the Te Ana Rock Art Museum in Timaru if you are interested to learn more.



Now, facing the Oamaru Information Centre walk to the left of the building. When you get to the little, red postal box, turn right at the gravel path next to the railway line and follow the path down. Watch your step!

Oamaru might be a young town in the new world, but we are growing fast. Follow me under the bridge. It might sound strange, but this shows how far we’ve come. Just twenty-four years ago in the early 1860s the only way to cross this creek was by two rickety planks of wood fastened to the bank by chain and stakes. Talk about progress!

Come in a bit further under the bridge, I know it is slightly unsavoury to linger beneath a bridge and I trust that you will not tell my wife about this. Do you see there where the stones change colour? That darker section is from the original bridge that replaced the wooden planks and made it much easier to frequent both sides of town.

Suggested visit time: 5-15 mins

Now, up the path again. Mind your step as you come up the bank! When you get to the path, turn to the left and head toward the ocean. On your right you are passing the Harbourside Railway Station, home of the town's steam train.

If you'd like to ride the rails on the steamtrain, you may find out more here: http://www.oamaru-steam.org.nz

Oamaru has a strong agricultural history, even if the township is only three decades old. By the 1850s land in North Otago was available for purchase. It was an opportune time to be in these parts. Exhilarating, hard, sometimes lonesome, but vast fortunes were available for those who would seize their opportunity. Immense prospects and wealth were made in grain and wool, and lately in frozen meat, after the world’s first successful shipment of frozen meat departed from Totara Estate, just south of here. Grain is still very important though, and we’re heading towards the grain warehouses now. Come along with me.

Check out the website of Totara Estate if you are interested in taking a tour of this heritage site and hearing about the big idea that launched New Zealand farming onto the world stage and changed its fortunes forever. Totara Estate is only 10 minutes south of Oamaru.

Here we are at Meek’s Grain Elevator Building, the largest in Oamaru, completed just last year. Oamaru is a young town but we have higher standards than the rest of Otago. Some colonial settlements are very rough looking. In Oamaru we are refined – only neo-classic design carved from this creamy white stone will do. Not for us those small timber shanties.

In fact, we are doing so well, our population of 5,000 compares to that of Los Angeles in the Americas. I can’t wait for flushing toilets to be invented, though. Righty-ho, let us have a look at more of the grain stores. They really are fantastically important to us; over recent decades grain has been the backbone of our economy resulting in the booming growth of this fine town. Let’s head across to Harbour Street. I have business that I need to conduct at Smith’s Grain Store.

This building here to your right is the Criterion Hotel. It was built some time ago in 1877. Be on your guard, there are some rogues who frequent this establishment. Being an international port has both advantages and disadvantages. Young men who have spent time at sea are seeking reverie and women and occasionally there are fights between them and the farmers who come to town to imbibe and have a good time. The farmers usually win.

You'll want to turn left onto Harbour Street here. Mind your step on the cobblestones at the side of the street.

This grand building here before you houses the Harbour Board, of which I am a member. Every enterprising town needs a port to make its fortune – we intend to harbour ships of equal size to Dunedin and larger than Timaru, filling them with grain and wool grown from the properties surrounding Oamaru. Our flour is considered the best in New Zealand, milled locally transported to the North Island for bakers there.

In fact, to the right of the Harbour Board building is our local baker. The pies there are delicious. From here we recommend you take your time and parade down the street, exploring shops and places to eat and drink.

Smith’s Grain Store is not much further, but before we arrive there I must show you some of the masonry on a building at the end of Harbour Street. This is the Loan and Mercantile a splendid grain and wool store. Look up, see the marvellous craftmanship. The rope braids craved into the façade are there to acknowledge the importance of the harbour shipments to our prosperity. This grand building can hold 30,000 sacks of grain.

Arriving at the end of the building, you can see optimism abonds. This building has plans to be extended, with the stones already in place.

At the end of Harbour Street, turn right at the white picket fence.

As mentioned, Oamaru is an international port and has been for some 20 years now, and this building is the Customs House, the official gateway between Oamaru and the vast oceans of the world.

Right, then, I best be getting on with my day, lots to do. Enjoy the rest of your stay in the Waitaki. I shall hand the rest of your tour over to this infernal computational device you carry in hand.

Welcome back to the present day. As you can see Harbour Street hasn’t changed a huge amount since Alexander McMaster walked here; and the Loan and Mercantile building is still without its extension.

Alexander McMaster passed away in 1885 and soon after, the price of both grain and wool fell as a worldwide depression hit. Oamaru’s growth quickly slowed, then pretty much stopped. The frozen meat trade was a huge success, but Oamaru couldn’t keep up and large ocean-going vessels soon stopped coming, leaving these buildings largely empty.

But it was this economic downturn that actually saved these beautiful buildings: They weren’t worth removing or replacing, so various businesses moved in over years stretching into decades. There was a wobbly moment in the 80s when the then mayor argued for tearing down what he called ‘rat-infested ruins’ but eventually their historic value was recognised and the buildings were purchased by the Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust, who restored and now preserve them.

Well done.You've completed the Oamaru Victorian Precinct walking tour. If you want to dive deeper into Oamaru's history, you can book a 90-minutes easy-paced guided walk around the Historic Precinct. Due to COVID–19, the Oamaru Heritage Walking Tours are on-demand and booking needs to be made by contacting Helen Stead: