Life has been “a little bit crazy” for Whitestone Civic Trust property manager Jacob Barwick this past week. 

Only Ōamaru residents living under a rock will be unaware of the buzz that the filming of Netflix series East of Eden, in the Historic Precinct, has brought to the town.

About 650 people are involved in the production, including cast, crew and extras, with close to 400 beds booked out for 10 nights across the district, Jacob says.

“There’s people spread from Waimate to Moeraki and everywhere in between.”

The seven-episode adaptation of the 1952 John Steinbeck novel has brought a number of stars to town, including actress of the moment, Florence Pugh, in a lead role, alongside Mike Faist, Christopher Abbott and Ciaran Hinds.

The story takes place from the late 19th Century to the end of World War 1, in California’s Salinas Valley. And Ōamaru’s collection of Victorian buildings has provided the perfect backdrop for the era.   

Following the end of filming in the early hours of Friday morning, Jacob and the rest of the trust will be able to breathe a sigh of relief, and maybe put their feet up - if only briefly. 

“I've been, you know, in amongst our tenants in the area, making sure they're happy, the buildings are happy, the production team is happy - making sure everybody that's within the Civic Trust sphere is okay.” 

Filming ran from last Sunday, into the early hours of Friday morning. Photo: Sarah Rowland

Due to the size of the production, Jacob is excited about the potential long-term benefits for the town and the historic area in particular.  

“Hopefully we pop out the other end and it's a hit and you know, we're catapulted into stardom of a different type.”  

Already, Ōamaru has had it’s own moment in the limelight, garnering national and international attention due to its starring role in the production.

Part of the attraction has been the openness of the filming, with public able to look on and take photos from behind cordons. This was a large part of the six-month negotiations before an agreement was reached between the trust and the production team, Jacob says.

Being able to watch as filming was carried out, was a drawcard. Photo: Sarah Rowland

“One of the things was that we couldn't shut the precinct down, like we couldn't lock it down for that period of time at this time of the year, it just didn't work. 

“So one of the things was that there had to be a lot of public access to the area, and of course that brought the media attention.

“We have had so much interest from around New Zealand, and international media, you know, being interested in what's happening here, which for the Civic Trust point of view is amazing.” 

Communication has been “really important”, and keeping everyone in the loop has been crucial to maintaining good feeling despite the disruptions.

“Yes, and so I guess that's been one of the biggest things, is that it has attracted a whole new crowd and demographic to the precinct and to Ōamaru, because even in this short time we've now picked up people travelling to Ōamaru to look at the film set because, you know, people want to see where it's filmed.”

English actress Florence Pugh (centre) has a leading role in the series. Photo: Sarah Rowland

One of the big highlights for Jacob this week, was a behind-the-scenes tour with the location manager, and having what everything was being used for, and how, explained. 

“But just, for me, I'm sort of on the side of the production company, you know, the location team. So watching them, how they transform everything and the work that goes into it has been really interesting for me.”

Most of the production team left town for Central Otago today, with the remaining clean-up to take place over the next few days, Jacob says.

It should be business as usual for everyone now, even if things don’t quite look as they should, yet. 

Photo: Sarah Rowland

“The gravel, the displays, anything that they've changed, they've got three or four days to convert it all back.” 

Making the precinct available to these sorts of filming opportunities is a “really important income stream” for the Civic Trust, which receives a location fee from the production companies, Jacob says.

Businesses that have had to close are also compensated for loss of income. 

“That's why we put so much work and effort into making sure that the precinct’s always film-ready. 

“So, when we're planning things long-term, we actually go, ‘will that work?’ . . . can it be removed easily? So we've always got our eye on bringing the next one here.” 

The production company says the Waitaki District Council and the Civic Trust have made Ōamaru one of the easiest towns to work with in New Zealand, Jacob says, and the feeling is mutual. 

“Oh, the production company's amazing.

“And we have this amazing set of buildings that do not exist anywhere else. It is a perfect set. I think the size of this production shows that, you know, you just roll in and you can film a huge chunk of a TV series in one location.” 

Photo: Sarah Rowland