Shall we have our photo taken?
We will look like Death and the Maiden
I’m pretty sure $180,000 doesn’t buy you much these days, but back in 2001 you could buy a castle.
Well, that’s not strictly true. But it was the amount the Cargill’s Castle Trust paid for the ruins of Cargill’s Castle, nestled above St Clair.
The sum secured the building from possible demolition, although in the proceeding two decades the weather has clearly taken its toll.
As a first-time visitor to the site, I’m under no allusion about the big job facing the trust to protect one of the country’s only two castles (the other being Larnach Castle on the nearby Otago Peninsula).
I told a few people I was heading to the site, and they told me they would often play there as kids, hard to believe when you see the state it is in today.
My first introduction to the castle was courtesy of the famous 1982 video by The Verlaines: Death and the Maiden. You can see some of the castle in the below video.
That video, funnily enough, features a rabbit. And it is a rabbit behind a large fence which greets myself and Stephen de Graaf as he unlocks a padlock.
He also used to play at the castle as kid, which back then had none of the housing around it.
The building, which began construction in 1875 and completed two years’ later, was originally called ‘The Cliffs’ but largely known locally as Cargill’s Castle.
That name comes from Edward Cargill, who commissioned Francis Petre, a pioneer in the use of concrete in New Zealand architecture, to design the building, which cost £14,000 to construct. You can read more about Petre, who was given the nickname ‘Lord Concrete’ here. As an aside, he designed some of the south’s most prominent buildings including the stunning St Dominic Priory, St Joseph’s, and the Christchurch Basilica.
Minus a roof, flooring, stairs and featuring the odd bits of graffiti – including ‘B Moore’, Jeff 1979’ – its heyday has long since gone.
“But it was certainly a stately house,” de Graaf said.
That included 21 rooms, several acres of sweeping grounds, and stables.
The castle had been badly damaged before, back in 1892 when fire gutted the interior.
It was restored and a ballroom was added, with the Cargill family remaining in the home until 1908.
As an aside, Edward Cargill’s brother, John, was the person behind Tunnel Beach, and for years there has been talk about making a walking track from that scenic spot to St Clair’s Second Beach.
Make. It. Happen.
The views from the front of the property are incredible.
After the Cargill family sold the property, it fell into disrepair until it was revived as a cabaret club.
I found a few articles on Papers Past about police raids and finding the owners turning their nose up at the strict alcohol laws.
Later in the 1940s, it went from alcohol-fuelled debauchery to an evangelical centre – quite the turn around – and would change ownership – and plans – over the coming decades.
Plans in the seventies to turn it into a hotel never eventuated and it slowly began to decline, before turning into the abandoned ruin we can see in The Verlaines’ video.
The trust’s work was about preservation, not restoration.
“We are not going to rebuild it in any way shape or form.”
Future work includes installing steel bands to wrap parts of the large unreinforced concrete build, to mitigate against earthquake risks.
Large cracks are visible around the property, which could also experience damage during significant weather events.
“It has been abandoned since the 1970s, so it has stood the test of time remarkably well.”
The intention was to eventually open it to the public, possibly tours, but until then it was a risk to do so.
Exasperated by unauthorised visitors, the trust had installed cameras around the property, which featured high wire fences. Photos of the interlopers were sometimes published online.
The trust also wanted to install some walkways and stairs to show people inside and outside the castle.
The Dunedin City Council had already approved resource consent for the works, and Heritage New Zealand were also aware of the project.
While putting a roof on had been discussed previously “we are not planning to, just keep it as a ruin”.
The trust was yet to have a figure on the cost of the works, but it “will more than a couple of million, but we don’t really know”.
Once the detailed design was completed, the trust would embark on a major fundraising push.
All the best.
ICYMI, a few stories I did this week include the student flat that was ransacked by 15 males. I talked to the flatmates impacted and was shocked at the mess and the blood.
I hope the rest of Orientation goes smoothly.
Other stories that have been well-read include an update with the pair from the Bowling Club, which will officially open on Friday.
And I also wrote about a Dunedin motel which cancelled the bookings of people who had booked in advance for Pink.
I’ve since heard from eight others impacted in the same way, and still the motel owners won’t front.
One of those impacted, Mel, wrote this:
“As a result our group chose to spend our money elsewhere and easily booked a much nicer 5 star accommodation option in Auckland, where we'll spend thousands of dollars. Dunedin should enjoy their unethical business gravy train, as Christchurch’s stadium is imminent then they'll be begging people to pay ludicrous prices for 3 star accommodation.”
She has a point.
This week I was asked to take a photo to illustrate some of the dry weather in the south, nek minnit, it pisses down.
The best way to break a drought it to write a news story about a drought.
I loved this sign and factoid from the Botanic Gardens. Great stuff.
And new Mish feature alert: does anyone know what this picture is of? The first person to get it right (in the comments below) will win a chocolate fish*.
*A virtual one.
My Tweet of the Week is this:
With possibly the best name in basketball, Mojave King also has the coolest city listed on his birth certificate/passport.
King, who is son of former Nuggets’ player Leonard King, moved to Australia at a young age and is now on the radar of NBA scouts.
If you want something interesting to attend there is a public update on the new hospital build, more details here.
The Highlanders are also playing, best time to go and see – and hear – a hopefully packed Zoo. I can almost hear the Waisake Naholo chants, despite him leaving four years ago…
The match is also a double-header, featuring the South Island elite women’s team, Matatū v Blues’ Women. I hope they get a great crowd.
Thanks for subscribing. Here is HDU:
I agree - Northern Cemetery.
The burglary on the flat was a weird one, that's a large number of people going through. I hope the police catch up with the out of towners who are allegedly involved.
Speaking of, ever get sick of the word allegedly when writing crime articles? I know it's required.
And my guess on the photo, the Larnach family, is it mausoleum, in the Northern Cemetery.