Jackie Gillies + Associates have recently prepared a conservation plan for the station building, together with a detailed condition assessment, as part of proposals for its repair. The plan has also give consideration to possible future uses for the building and how its significance and special character can be safeguarded. It is hoped that essential repairs will take place during 2012.

In November Robin Miller attended the 3 day 16th Engineering Heritage Australia Conference in Hobart, Tasmania and gave a paper on the development and use of early concrete in Otago. The paper was largely based upon the company’s work at two 1870s concrete houses in Dunedin – Woodside and Cargill’s Castle.

Construction of the Castle, then known as ‘The Cliffs’, commenced sometime towards the end of 1874, or in the first few months of 1875, under the supervision of the renowned architect, Francis Petre.  It was designed to be a grand, Italianate mansion high up on the cliffs above St. Clair, Dunedin. In 1892, there was a disaster when a fire gutted the interior, but Press reports on the social engagements of the time indicate that, within 3 years, the mansion had been repaired and was lived in again.  The house stayed in the family until after Edward Cargill’s death in 1903 and then became the family home of the Lyders until the early or mid 1920s.  From that point onwards, there were a succession of owners and the use of the building changed from stately home to a variety of public uses, such as a restaurant, Evangelical worship centre and cabaret club.  As time drew on, the condition of the building worsened substantially and by the mid 1970s, the first phases of stripping out and demolition had begun.

Today, the building is a picturesque ruin and a memorial to its Victorian and Edwardian heydays.  The site is now owned by the Cargill’s Castle Trust, who aim to see it conserved and open again to Public appreciation.  The conservation plan will guide future proposals as to how the steady decline of the ruins can be halted and how the site can be sensitively developed for Public access and tourism so as to safeguard it for the future.

There have been bridge crossings on the Arrow and Kawarau since the 1870’s, with the principal road running between Arrow Junction, the Swift Burn and the Suspension Bridge. The assessment ascertained that much of the route of the old road and the materials that made up the bridges were still intact and would provide an addition of great interest to the natural landscape through which the cycleway will pass.

The report for the Wakatipu Trails Trust also identified many sites associated with 19th century goldmining along the Arrow and Kawarau Rivers, especially around the Whitechapel Flats area and downriver of the Kawarau Suspension Bridge.

In August we finalised the conservation plan for the 1877 Phoenix Waterwheel, Oamaru. Repairs to the 1950’s Henderson House, Alexandra by international, modernist architect  Ernest Plischke finished on site. During recent archaeological works we found a substantial midden in the Postmasters Precinct, Arrowtown. This has produced a considerable number of artifacts.

All buildings on site had been demolished or moved in the 1960s, the only existing 19^th c. structure being part of the stacked stone wall running parallel with Anglesea Street. Other parts of this wall, which ran around the old school site, had been demolished in the past.

Traces of the stone building’s foundations were found during the excavation of trenches for the new buildings. Amongst the artefacts found were the remnants of interior features, such as a sash window pully and sections of painted wall plaster.

Andrew carried out recording of the remaining historic fabric prior to demolition of the Arthur’s Point Tavern, Queenstown. Buildings Archaeology is extremely important to the understanding of New Zealand’s built heritage.

The house, designed in Gothic Revival style is an extremely early example of solid concrete construction. With its steeply-pitched roof slopes clad with Welsh slates, Woodside is one of North Dunedin’s most well-known heritage landmarks. The condition survey has included assessment of the interior and exterior of the building and inspection of the roof level elements from a cherry-picker.

Following the condition survey, Jackie Gillies + Associates prepared a schedule of repairs and specification for dealing with the dilapidations in a prioritised manner taking into account the conservation needs of the building and an appreciation of the traditional techniques and craftsmanship with which it was built.

One of the interesting aspects of the project is the original architect’s use of unreinforced concrete for the main structure. Woodside is one of the earliest houses in New Zealand to be built in this material and the practice has had the concrete analysed to establish whether the binder is hydraulic lime or imported Portland cement and the proportion of the ginder to the blue stone aggregate