Graeme Clark may be finished for now in his role as Ōamaru Whitestone Civic Trust chairperson, but he’s far from finished with the Victorian precinct. (4-minute read)

Known to most as Clarkie, Graeme became involved with the old part of town when he was hired as an electrician for a job in one of the buildings in 1990. Most of the buildings were still boarded up, he says.

Thirty-three years later, he still spends the majority of his days in Ōamaru’s Harbour Street area, but the area had “advanced a hell of a lot” in that time. 

Rather than easing into volunteering back in the early days, he dove straight in and quickly became part of the now defunct Victorian Town at Work, the Ōamaru Steam and Rail, and was a founding member of The Penguin Club. 

“I wired it for them, actually, initially.” 

He also played a part in “a bit of a movement” at the old red sheds on the waterfront.

A strong interest in “the whole heritage thing” developed, and Graeme became a member of the local branch of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT), and then the branch’s representative on the civic trust. The NZHPT was replaced by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga in 2014.

Graeme says he joined the civic trust at a time when it was “kind of like a ‘them and us’ thing” between the old part of town and the rest of Ōamaru, but things had changed a lot since then.

“I think Ōamaru has come a long way since 1990, and I think people are proud of our heritage.”

From a trustee, he became vice-chair to Kate Proctor, and when she moved to Christchurch in 2018, he stepped up to the top job.

Graeme is one of three Waitaki District Council representatives on the trust - “we’re autonomous, we don’t get told what to do” - for a term determined by the council, and the other four trustees are elected by members of the trust on a two-year rotational term.

Former Harbour Street tenant Richard Vinbrux has been named the new trust chair, and Graeme is again vice. The other trustees are Frances McElhinney, Jan Omnet, David Wilson, Brian Harrison and Janette McKenzie. 

The Ōamaru Whitestone Civic Trust trustees, who were decided at a meeting on Tuesday night. Back, from left, Frances McElhinney, Graeme Clark (vice chair), and Richard Vinbrux (chair); front, from left, David Wilson, Brian Harrison, Janette McKenzie and Jan Omnet. Photo: Supplied

The trust owns 16 buildings, all of which are tenanted, which is “really important”, Graeme says.

There are 137 people either employed or self-employed within those buildings.

Graeme’s almost five years as chair brought with it the added complexity of Covid. One of the biggest challenges for the trust was keeping the tenants in the buildings.

“Obviously we had to do some rental rebates and discounts. We tried to pick up on any Government help we could. 

“What we did do, was make sure - a lot of these small tenants didn’t really know what to do, and our staff really helped them, and got all the subsidies they could for them, which was really cool.”

Graeme believes the Victorian precinct is incredibly important for the town. 

“If it didn’t exist, Scotts Brewery wouldn’t be here, Mariner Suites wouldn’t have invested, Steampunk wouldn’t exist - you know, there’s all these indirect things that are there because of our buildings.”

There is a good relationship between the civic trust and the council, but he has concerns the precinct has not been taken into consideration enough in the council’s economic development plans.

The precinct “ticks all the boxes” of the desired community outcomes outlined in the Strategic Framework the council has adopted (strong communities, valued environment, prosperous district, and quality services), he says.

He describes the precinct as like a “hub”.

“You’ve got to ask yourself, would a lot of people have come to Ōamaru if this wasn’t here.”

He is also bothered by an outstanding $410,000 loan “hanging over our heads”, which the council provided the trust with in 2009, paired with a grant for $60,000 in free interest.

The $60,000 ran out last year, and now interest repayments of $17,000 have been made over the past two years - money Graeme thinks can be put to better use. 

The loan works out as $29,285 a year in the 14 years since it had been granted, he says. 

“Really? It’s only $410,000. What contribution has council really been giving us?

“This is a community asset - we’re just looking after this for the community. We’ve got two paid employees, all the rest are volunteers. I think we’ve done very well. 

“Most of the buildings have been earthquake strengthened, we’ve put new roofs on them, new gutters - you know, 16 150-year-old buildings right beside the sea take a bit of maintenance.”

The tenants pay “fair rent” which keeps the buildings full. Some pay more, and some pay less. 

The tenants who pay less, have less money spent on their buildings, but contribute to the whole culture of the area, and are a very important part of the place, he says.

And businesses continue to come here, with Cycle Journeys the latest to relocate its operations, moving from Twizel into the Catto Wool building.

“They’re going to spend about $60,000 down there.”

Clarkie is proud of a number of things from his stint as trust chair. 

“We managed to retain all our tenants during Covid, which is important. 

“I think we have built good relationships with our tenants and council, and council staff - who have been very good.

“I’m proud of the fact that we’ve got the Criterion up and running well.

“I’m proud that we’re 100% tenanted.

“My role here has been, I’m kind of like, sort of a moderate. I think I have a good relationship with everybody here, and we’re just a really good community, and I’ve always tried to push the helping one another.”

He is happy to continue to be part of the trust - there is still more work to do.

“I don’t feel like I’m finished here yet. It takes a lot of time . . . I don’t have to be here, but I do it because I think it’s important for Ōamaru.”

Future goals for the long term (maybe the next 30 to 50 years) is to eventually reinstate all the original facades on the buildings, and to continue to develop the Criterion building. There are derelict rooms upstairs he wants to see as bedrooms with proper ensuites. This will add to the value of what the Criterion had to offer.

Bringing the Ōamaru stone buildings up to the New Building Standards is also an ongoing task. 

All meet more than 40% of requirements, with some up to 80%, and all have fire protection, with sprinkler systems fitted throughout.

“You imagine, one day, when all this is restored, it’s going to be even more important for Oamaru. And really, if you think about it . . . We all sort of bathe in the glory of this precinct.”

So, why does he do it? The Clark name goes back a long way in Ōamaru. Graeme’s grandfather and great uncles owned Clarks Mill, one of the country’s earliest flour mills - which is still operational, between Reidston and Maheno. 

“I guess I’m just carrying on. My grandfather was a councillor for 10 years way back in the 1920s. I feel that I can make a difference.”