At the end of June we took ourselves off to Oamaru to look at some of the historic limestone buildings and to visit Parkside Quarry where all of the Oamaru Limestone comes from. Day 1 and we drove from Cromwell, stopping off in Omarama, and then straight to the quarry for a bit of a nose around.
Leg stretching break at the top of the Lindis Pass
The absolutely brilliant "jelly mould" wall in Omarama - legendary stonework
Cut blocks of raw limestone ready for processing at the quarry
On the quarry floor
After the quarry visit it was in to Oamaru for a tour around the historic precinct, very interesting thank you very much tour lady (by the way, if you’re reading this tour lady, apologies for the smell my fellow student left in your building – send the bill for fumigation to the tech)… Anyway, lovely architecture.
Day 2 and we headed up to Timaru to visit the basalt processing site of Timaru Bluestone. Again, an interesting wander around and a nice business lecture from the chap that runs the place.
Working on Basalt blocks to be used as parking bollards in Timaru
After Timaru it was time to wind our merry way back down the south island and home, but not before stopping off in Cave to look at the best church ever! Built in 1934 as a memorial to the original runholders of Canterbury and Otago it’s just spectacular.
Reuben talks to the wall - it had a lot to say...
Check out the different coloured stones used to frame the stained glass window
Never was an award more justified - for him and the people that laboured to build this fantastic monument
Opposite the church was a gateway – to what we don’t know, but it also had some interesting stonework on it. Basalt carving and blockwork from 1932/33.
The inscription reads: "Erected to keep minds and hands busy during the Great Depression 1932-33. Wise men learn lessons from adversity" Love it...
As a footnote to this, I would recommend anyone to visit the church in Cave. Anyone that knows me well will tell you that I’m not the worlds biggest fan of organised religion, and you’d be hard pushed to get me in to a church under normal circumstances, however as a piece of architecture, well, even if you’re not a student of Stonemasonry you’d be hard pushed not to feel inspired to pick up a hammer and start making something after seeing this… awesome (and well done Matt for finding it – good work fella).
