Oamaru Stone Quarrying and Export Co., New Zealand.

From G. W. Blair, C.E., Chief Engineer, Public Works Department, Otago.

Dunedin, 19th December, 1877.

Oamaru Stone.

This places it in the same class as the Oolites of England and the Caen stone of France.

The Oamaru Stone has a remarkable uniformity of colour and texture, and can be obtained in large blocks. Like all Limestones of this kind, it is quite soft when quarried, but hardens rapidly on exposure to a dry atmosphere. This enables it to be worked into the most elaborate ornamentation at little cost.

The stone is rather porous for use in a damp situation, but it answers well in ordinary walls and columns in a moderately dry climate, and it is unexcelled for internal decorations.

The durability of the Oamaru Stone has not yet been thoroughly tested, its resistance to the disintegrating action of sulphate of soda is comparatively feeble, and some of the stones in the page 4 Colonial Bank building, Dunedin, erected in 1865, are showing symptoms of decay. On the other hand, many older structures in Oamaru are as fresh as when erected. The decay in the Colonial Bank is attributed to the stones having been subjected to the action of sea water during shipment at Oamaru and Moeraki. It is not, however, known for a certainty that the stones referred to were so subjected, and I am not clear as to whether the water would have the effect of causing disintegration after such a lapse of years. I am inclined to think that the decay is caused through these particular stones having been of an inferior quality to begin with, and that due care was not exercised in laying them on their natural bed.

In reply to a memorandum of His Honour the Superintendent, dated 5th ultimo, regarding the Oamaru and Kakanui stone, we have the honour to report that it has been largely used in this Province for the last ten years. The oldest structure known to us which has been erected with this material is the bridge at Oamaru, whose span is 24 feet, and width between parapets 18 feet. The style of masonry is squared, dressed on beds and joints, and scabbled on face, excepting cornices and parapet, which are tool-dressed fair. This bridge was erected in 1860, and by recent inspection has been found to be in perfect condition, the stone having indurated with the years of exposure.

Structures of much greater importance and extent have, since that date, been erected of the same stone, from the several quarries of the district, amongst which may be mentioned—

1st.	The building in Dunedin intended for the Otago University, of finely dressed masonry, ornamented with Corinthian and composite columns, order on order, with highly ornamented entablatures and parapets.
2nd.	The Bank of New South Wales, a building of four stories, of elaborate Italian style, masonry finely dressed.
3rd.	The first Church of Otago, of Gothic or decorated English style, to which is attached a lofty tower and spire, round which are clustered pinnacles of bold and light design.page 5
4th.	The Otepopo Bridge, of four spans of 42 feet each. Masonry squared, face rock work, with finely dressed cornices and parapets.

Several Other smaller bridges have been erected, but which it is needless to specify. Many buildings have also been erected where the partial use of the Oamaru and Kakanui Stone has been availed of, an example of which is the Provincial Government Buildings.—an extensive pile, the walls of pressed brick, and parapets, cornices, and window and door facings, of the above. The erection of these structures has extended over these last eight years, and in none of them is there any disintegration of the material to be detected. In the oldest, the arisses are yet sharp, and the tool marks fresh; and even in the most exposed parts, such as the copings and south-west walls, the stone has indurated with time, presenting no appearance even of incipient decay. Exceptionally to this (but only in two or three cases) must be mentioned the detection of an inferior stone allowed to be put in by insufficient inspection, a contingency in future easily guarded against by persons of experience.

During the period of ten years, the stone has also been much used in graveyards as headstones and monuments. Having inspected all those in the Dunedin Cemetery, we have to report that the oldest even of these show no signs of deterioration; but, on the contrary, have been hardened by time and exposure, the lettering and tool marks are as sharp and distinct as on the day on which they were cut.

This stone has also been used largely in the construction of public and private buildings in Oamaru and adjacent districts, and in the more remote portions of the Province it has been used for sills, lintels, cornices, quoins, and parapets in buildings erected with brick or bluestone.

As the stone is to be found abundantly over a district of twenty-five miles in length, and eight in breadth, it is practically inexhaustible; and though strata of inferior qualities exist, yet the nature, colour, and characteristics of the approved stone being now so well known to the professional men and practical artificers, and quarrymen of the district, no danger in its use can be run if selections be made under intelligent supervision.—We have, &c,

I beg to forward herewith copy of report upon the Oamaru and Kakanui Stone made to the Provincial Government of Otago in 1871, by Mr. J. T. Thomson and myself. You will observe that it deals with that material as used in many architectural and engineering works in this Province, and that it speaks to the favourable qualities of the stone as shown in these. Mr. Thomson is now on his way to Europe, so I have no opportunity of asking him if he sees any reason to change his opinion from that therein stated; but I can say, for myself, that I have no desire to alter one word of it.

I beg to state that I have used the Oamaru Stone in numerous buildings erected under my supervision in the Province of Otago, during the last ten years. From personal observation, I have formed a high opinion of the qualities of this stone. I have never observed any evidence of disintegration from exposure to the weather, and am of opinion that if large horizontal surfaces are not exposed to the absorption of rain, that the stone can be used to great advantage in any position in any building, and will produce a better architectural effect than any Other building stone that I know of in New Zealand.

The cost of handling and carriage from Oamaru, and the uncertainty of the supply, have, hitherto, prevented its extensive and general use, but I am convinced that if these difficulties are overcome, and the stone delivered in the market at a price that can compete with brick and cement, that this beautiful stone will be extensively used in all the better classes of public and private buildings in the colony.

I hereby certify that for the last twelve years I have freely made use of the stone known as the Oamaru Stone, in several important buildings throughout Otago, chiefly in churches and banks, and similar class of work.

In all cases where it has been made use of by me, I have not noticed up to this period any evidence of decay, and I consider it to be the best stone for general purposes in connection with external or internal finishing of buildings to be obtained in the colonies.

Being obtainable in large blocks, it gives every facility for carrying out massive works, and the ease with which it can be worked into any form, permits of richness in detail and carving being introduced, which would be impossibly in harder material unless at say three limes the cost.

Opinions of the Press.

(From Saturday Advertiser.)

"Sermons in stones, and good in everything."—As You Like It.

For thirty years, the gray cliffs of Oamaru, covering many a square mile with their protecting mantle, have been silently proclaiming to the industrious and enterprising, "Here is abundant wealth for the carrying away. Here is an admirable building stone of unrivalled colour, of texture so pure and free from silicious particles that, while abundantly compact, it yet can be cut with a common saw, or turned in a lathe and polished with sand-paper; with the close grain of a stone, it yet can be carved with the freedom of wood." Now for the first time, a proper response is to be made, and a Company has been formed for the quarrying and export of this valuable material. The stone is a pure limestone, capable of the most delicate manipulation. We recollect seeing a piece of it which had been carved by an ingenious Dunedin artisan into a small branch of a tree. The veining on every leaf was distinct, and on one of the leaves was a fly crawling, true to nature. We do not know any other building stone capable of being chiselled into such delicate tracing as this. It excels the far-famed Caen stone, from Normandy, so extensively used by the church-building abbots and bishops of the 15th and 16th centuries in England. Fine-work was made in earlier days of selected specimens of sand-Stone. Witness the foliaged capitals of the columns in Melrose Abbey, which exhibit "the curly greens," so exquisitely carved that a straw put in at one corner comes out at another. A clever workman will be able, with the Oamaru Stone, to out-rival all these carvings, and even the garlanded pillar of Roslin Abbey, which cost the precocious apprentice his life at the hand of a jealous master. For indoor work it is unequalled—the rich, warm, cream colour is refreshing to the eye; and stone pulpits or baptismal fonts may be easily cut to the most intricate pattern. The skill of the designer is the only limit to its beauty and adaptability. We have often thought that it would make an admirable and unique lining for halls of houses, cut into slabs page 9 and fixed to the walls with fine line. On the surface of the slab, arabesque or diaper patterns might be cut, which would have a pleasing effect; or the hall might be pannelled with bold mouldings, and enriched with wreaths of foliage, or fruit, or flowers. To those who are fond of the medieval style, it would prove an unapproachable medium for decorating their mansion houses with the shields of their armorial bearings. The facility with which the material may be cut, may lead to the revival of the fine old custom prevalent in Edinburgh, of ornamenting the doorways and walls with pious mottoes and texts. There is a world of wisdom staring the householder in the face daily in his outgoings and incomings, when he reads the stone letters: "He that tholes overcomes."

We have no doubt that a large export trade may be developed in this material, and that if proper efforts be used, it will become a favourite with London stone cutters and architects. For outside work, also, it does well, as the surface hardens through exposure, and it may be water-proofed to resist the wettest climate by a mixture of quicklime and tallow, which may be toned to the natural colour. We anticipate a lucrative result to the undertaking and cordially recommend it to public support.

(From Daily Times, September 29, 1877.;

The people of Oamaru are proverbially known as very progressive. They have an immense belief in their own district and its resources. Their land, both town and country, has of late immensely advanced in at least nominal value, and the harbour works are being vigorously pushed forward to a point which will render the port of Oamaru a safe and expeditious shipping place for vessels of considerable tonnage. It is but natural, therefore, that at last one of the principal products of the district—the Oamaru building stone—should have been looked on as destined to be a future export of the place on a large scale. For years past the stone has been sent in small quantities to Dunedin, but the difficulties and expense of transport of such heavy blocks as are required for buildings have prevented its being used so largely as it would otherwise have been. This is still more the case as regards Melbourne, to which place a few small shipments have with difficulty been made, and where a very large market is believed to exist for it. It is a stone specially adapted for a dry climate, and at a reasonable cost it would be much used in Victoria. The railways now completed have removed some of page 10 the difficulties of transport from the quarries to the port, but in order to work the stone quarries economically, a considerable amount of machinery and plant is required, and a systematic plan of working. The Oamaru people have taken the bull by the horns, and propose to start a Stone Export Company with a capital of £25,000, to be raised partly in Oamaru and partly in Melbourne; and we know few enterprises of a more promising character. It is calculated that the stone can be laid down in Dunedin at about a shilling a cubic foot, and in Melbourne at two shillings, if received in large quantities directly from the railway trucks into steamers or sailing vessels alongside the wharf at Oamaru, and delivered at the wharves in Dunedin or Melbourne. It is quite certain that a large trade can be done at a cheaper rate than a small one; and if the efforts to establish a trade with Melbourne are successful, it must cheapen the cost of supplies to Dunedin as well. The scheme is one, therefore, which claims something more than local interest, and its success would, of course, be a boon to the colony as well as to Oamaru itself. There are, it is believed, hundreds of millions of tons of the stone within the district, though not all of equally good quality, and its working is entirely a matter of labour, machinery, and carriage. We hope, therefore, that the proposed Company will get a fair start, as the industry to be developed is a very important one, in which a large amount of labour and capital will hereafter be employed.

(From the Evening Mail, September 20, 1877.)

Thanks to the promoters of the proposed "Oamaru Stone Quarrying and Export Company," we have had placed in our hands the evidence collected by them, and at once and frankly we desire to express our hearty thanks for such an accumulation of valuable evidence from highly qualified witnesses respecting our stone quarries as takes us altogether by surprise. Great as we regarded the resources of Oamaru, we did not dream that such untold wealth was stored up in our stony ridges, and cropping up in almost every field in our neighbourhood. To utilize such gratuitous gifts of a beneficent nature is the mission of this Company; and while gladly acknowledging our great obligations to the committee, we earnestly recommend our readers to study the evidence, and report carefully for themselves. This evidence settles some, at least, of the questions referred to the committee once and for ever, while in every point it is most clear, convincing, and overwhelming. No one can now doubt the vast extent and page 11 importance of our stone deposits, covering as they do, in the words of one of the witnesses, "the whole of the vast territory extending from the Kakanui River to the Waitaki Plains, an area of not less than one hundred square miles." That such unbounded wealth should remain so comparatively undeveloped may, at first sight, excite surprise. The difficulties, however, are clearly shown to have been, until quite recently perfectly insuperable. We observe in the evidence that a contract for 400,000 feet, at 4s. per foot (representing £80,000), delivered in Melbourne, was abandoned simply because the Breakwater was not at the time sufficiently advanced. What a loss to the district! And who can estimate the sum total of such losses during the years that are gone? The same authority further states that the difficulties then interposing are now wholly removed. The Breakwater, the railways, and now the advent of a public company, with improved appliances, and every contrivance which capital and skill can introduce, cheapening and facilitating the operations at every stage, will put the future prosperity of this great and important enterprise beyond all doubt. We are pleased to observe, moreover, that it is proposed to cheapen the price of the commodity in Melbourne and elsewhere, and we are quite convinced that "a large and profitable trade awaits the formation of the Company." In our own town, as well as in the neighbouring towns, the effect of such a reduction will stimulate building enterprise; and in Melbourne, which, from our own knowledge, is perfectly destitute of building material, the prospect of an abundant supply so eminently suited for such highly ornamental and elaborate designs as they affect in the metropolis of the South, will be hailed as a great boon. We cannot over-estimate, also, the immense importance of such an increase to out-population and currency as such a Company will confer upon us, for, like the quality of mercy,

"'Tis twice blessed:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes!"

We, therefore, once more express our hearty approval of the project, and we have no fear of the future welfare of this promising Company.

(From the Evening Star, October 10, 1877.)

Our readers will observe, from the advertisement in the usual column, that a Company has been formed for quarrying and disposing of the beautiful stone that abounds between the Kakanui river and the Waitaki—a distance of twenty miles. page 12 This is one of the first fruits of the industrial policy of New Zealand. Without facility of carriage, the valuable building material now so accessible by means of the trunk and branch lines of railway would have been used to ornament some contiguous village church or hamlet only, instead of, as is most probable, becoming widely sought after in all the neighbouring colonies, because of its beauty, durability, and the ease with which it can be worked. The Company that has been formed to work those vast deposits appear to have proceeded with somewhat more than the usual caution. Previous knowledge of the value of the building stones of districts north of Oamaru might have sufficed for the people of Dunedin to have entered upon an enterprise likely to be profitable to the Provincial district. It is one of the main objects of the foregone policy of the past General and Provincial Governments to render possible the development of the rich mineral resources of Otago. This is the result looked forward to to recoup with interest the cost of our railways and harbour works. But others are not so well acquainted with facts that are patent to us. The committee have, therefore, taken the evidence of experts as to quantity, quality, cost of mining, and the probable demand for the stone, and this evidence is printed in a convenient form, so that all seeking investment may satisfy themselves as to the prospects of the company. We recommend a careful perusal of this evidence, which, we think, justifies the conclusions at which the Provisional Directorate have arrived. Thus far we permit ourselves to say. We regard industries of this class in a different light from gold-mining. They are, to a great extent, free from the speculative character of the most promising gold claim. The value of the material is ascertainable, the probable demand, the cost of working, transit, and return. The work requires no vast amount of skilled labour. A knowledge of the most useful adaptations of mechanical appliances is all that is needed, but on that account the risk of failure is reduced. The idea, therefore, of utilizing raw material sufficiently abundant to rebuild the whole of the capitals of Europe, obtainable under the most favourable circumstances for working, presents itself not merely as a local, but as a national, benefit. As in all other mercantile investments, success depends mainly upon good management; but that secured, the working of the stone quarries near Oamaru promises to afford permanent employment for future thousands, with their families; and no industry nourishes alone. We need hardly add what is self-evident—that if this apparently well-founded hope is realized, every class must share the benefit.

(From Otago Daily Times, October 18, 1877.)

We referred lately to the project which has been set on foot in Oamaru for the establishment of a Stone Export Company, and we to-day publish in our advertising columns the prospectus. We understand the shares have been subscribed for liberally in Oamaru, and that steps are now being taken to place a moiety in Melbourne. Should this be successful, the Company will be at once able to commence operations on a considerable scale, and either acquire some of the chief quarries or enter into agreement with their owners and connect them with the shipping ports. We refer to the matter again, because it is one of considerable importance. It is quite possible the export of this beautiful stone may become one of great magnitude, second only in importance to the coal trade, which we all wish to see developed. Every new export means so much additional wealth to the colony, and brings with many collateral benefits in the way of a development of a shipping trade. We believe the demand for this stone will largely increase in our own colony, and that at every spot where it can be sent at moderate cost by rail it will be largely used. The internal trade and the export trade being developed together, should help each other, as it is a question of quarrying and handling large quantities of heavy material at a cheap rate, by means of suitable machinery. It is, therefore, of importance that the matter should be well managed, and we should like to see some of our leading men taking an interest in the matter, as they generally do when an important industry requires their attention. Many a good scheme is spoilt for want of good management at the outset; and while we heartily wish this new enterprise success, we hope the shrewd Oamaru men whose names appear in the Provisional Directorate will be able to associate with themselves some men of practical experience, both in Dunedin and Melbourne, so that there may be no costly experiments at the outset. As regards snipping facilities, the railways and their branches will do much to help, and we are informed that the wharfage requisite for shipping under the shelter of the breakwater at Oamaru is rapidly progressing towards completion; and that there are some transhipping facilities at Kakanui, though not as yet sufficient depth of water there for large vessels. Of a kindred character is another remarkably promising enterprise, which has been conducted through its preliminary stages by a few progressive Dunedin men; we refer to the slate quarries lately opened at Otepopo. We have recently had personal demonstration of the great superiority of the slate there produced. It exists, we are told, in immense quantities, capable of supplying not only New Zealand requirements, but Australian also. This applies to the finer qualities of slate used for various useful purposes, as well as to roofing slates. page 14 The two industries to which we have thus referred are so closely allied, and the shipping facilities required so similar in each case, that we should imagine the two might be very advantageously worked together. At all events they are both worthy of attention as probable sources of large profits in years to come.

(From North Otago Times, September 24, 1877.)

The proposal to establish a powerful organization in the shape of a Joint-Stock Company, with ample capital for carrying on extensive operations for the purpose of turning to profitable account the immense source of wealth which, in our limestone deposits, lies at our very doors, is one which we regard as one of the most hopeful signs of the times for this district. The promoters of the Oamaru Stone Quarrying and Export Company have entered upon their labours at the very nick of time, the facilities afforded for transit to port, by the construction of railways, and the facilities for shipment presented by the breakwater wharves, in their several ways inviting capital to profitable employment in the establishment of a large export trade in what is probably—we think we might write certainly—the best building stone in the Australias. There seem to be present all the conditions necessary to ensure the most complete success; the supply is inexhaustible, the demand almost unlimited, and it would appear to be only necessary to turn the channels of trade into their natural course, and an enormous and profitable industry must be the result.

The evidence taken by the Sub-Committee appointed for that purpose by the Provisional Committee of the Stone Company conclusively establishes these points, and goes further to demonstrate that the stone can be quarried, forwarded to port, shipped, and landed in Melbourne or Newcastle at a price which will be much below that which has now to be paid for an article in many respects inferior; so that it appears absolutely certain that an immense trade must spring up so soon as our stone is known, and known to be obtainable at any time, in any quantity, at a certain fixed price.

It was shown during the inquiries of the Committee that in many instances, prior to our obtaining the railway and harbour facilities which we now possess, large orders for stone were offered, but had to be declined because of the impossibility, under the unfavourable conditions, of executing them within a reasonable time; in one instance the order being for no less than 400,000 feet at 4s. per foot, delivered in Melbourne. Under the page 15 present improved conditions, the stone could be delivered in Melbourne at considerable less than this price, and still leave so good a profit as to make the shares of the Company most desirable property, while with improved appliances, as the Company proceeds with its operations, it appears certain that the price of the stone can be still further reduced, yet leaving a good margin of profit to the exporters. But the investigation went to show that there is a difficulty facing the promoters at the very outset, which must be met and grappled with, while, that difficulty being removed, all that would be required to secure the most signal success would be good business management of the Company's operations. The difficulty we allude to is the existence of a prejudice among Victorian architects and builders against the Oamaru stone, arising from circumstances which were very clearly traced. These were, that two or three shipments sent over for, and used in a large building in Melbourne, were shipped in leaky vessels (one of which was barely kept afloat by the pumps till she reached port), and thoroughly saturated by salt water, the result being, as is always the case with lime-stone of this class, that the stone was ruined, and soon after the erection of the building was seen to be giving way and becoming rotten, thus apparently demonstrating that Oamaru stone is of a very perishable nature. Worse than this, it would appear that the contractor for the supply of the stone in question, to prevent its being condemned and thrown on his hands as not delivered in good order and condition, appears to have represented that the saltness detected was due to the fact that "salt springs abound in the neighbourhood of the quarries, all the water, in fact, being so brackish, that the workmen can scarcely drink it." This, all of us who reside in the district know to be a pure fabrication, but it served the contractor's purpose—his stone was accepted as a fair ordinary sample, and—for result, the Oamaru stone obtained a bad name, which nothing but experience of its good qualities under fair conditions will remove.

Scores, nay, hundreds of buildings in Oamaru, attest that the stone, though so soft when it comes from the quarry as to reduce the cost of working to the lowest possible minimum (50 per cent, even below that of working Bath freestone), hardens rapidly on exposure to the weather, and stands for years without showing the smallest sign of deterioration; while the testimony of men who have worked as quarrymen and masons, or practised as architects for many years in England and Scotland, is unanimous and conclusive in pronouncing the Oamaru stone to be without exception the best building material known to them. In writing thus we are not exaggerating in the smallest degree, the evidence published with the committee's report bearing us out in every letter. It is the most easily worked of any building stone yet discovered; stands better than any stone of its class; can be page 16 supplied in blocks of any size required, no matter how large, in any quantity, and cheaper than any other building material of anything like equal recommendations. Under these circumstances, the Company should find no difficulty in floating its shares; and, having once established its market, will, we feel persuaded, find itself in possession of an immense and profitable trade of annually increasing dimensions.