Otago Branch: Plaques and Information Panels

Heritage plaques are a means of publicly identifying historic sites such as buildings, structures and areas. They are a form of identity tag, usually with the name and a brief narrative of the site. Many have been placed or provided by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as well as other organisations such as local authorities, including Dunedin City Council, or professional groups such as the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) and the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ).

Some examples from within the Otago Branch area include:

NZ Historic Places Trust national bronze plaques

Approximately 12 plaques were placed between 1859 and 1981. Examples may be found:

• in the Central Octagon ('This site was selected in 1846 to be the Centre of Dunedin by CH Kettle, Chief Surveyor')
• Bell Hill ('Selected in 1848 by Captain William Cargill and the reverend Thomas Burns as the permanent site for the First Presbyterian Church of Otago')
• Otakou on Otago Peninsula (site of Pompallier sermon)

(Former) Otago Regional Committee of NZHPT

Approximately 24 round blue plaques were placed between 1976 and 1985 by the then Otago Regional Committee of the Historic Places Trust (now known as the Otago Branch Committee). Examples may be found at:

• Anthem House, Lawrence ('John J Woods(1839-1934) Composer of the anthem "God Defend New Zealand" and Tuapeka County Clerk for 55 years built this house in 1902')
• Professorial Houses at the University of Otago
• Home of Frances Hodgkins in Royal Terrace, Dunedin
• Queens Building in Princes Street, Dunedin

The Otago Branch Committee are reviving this plaque programme by making small oval bronze plaques available to building owners to identify sites which are registered by the Historic Places Trust. More will be placed at the request of owners, especially where public access is possible. Approximately 14 have been placed so far. These include:

• Dunedin Central Fire Station
• NZ Clothing Company building (now The Duke of Wellington) in Rattray Street
• Dunedin Law Courts
• Quarantine & Goat Islands, Otago Harbour

Dunedin City Council plaques

The oval bronze plaques of the Dunedin City Council contain the name of the building and a brief narrative. Their placement began in the heritage precinct of Port Chalmers to celebrate Dunedin's 150th anniversary in 1998. Further plaques have been placed in central Dunedin and more are planned. Some will be linked by two proposed heritage walks, with an explanatory brochure and interpretive panels. See the Dunedin City Council's website for more information.

Approximately 20 plaques are in place, including

• St Dominic's Priory, Smith Street, Dunedin ('Designed by FW Petre and built in 1877. At that time it was the largest building in the southern hemisphere constructed of unstressed poured concrete')
• Bank of New Zealand, Princes St, Dunedin ('Built of local bluestone and Oamaru stone, this building was designed by WS Armson and it was erected in 1883 by James Gore, who was Mayor of Dunedin at that time')
• Imperial Buildings, corner of High and Dowling Streets, Dunedin ('Designed by Mason & Wales and built in 1906. Originally the building had four stories, with the fifth floor being added in 1927')
• Royal Hotel, George Street, Port Chalmers ('The second hotel building on this site. Converted to flats after losing its licence in 1893')

IPENZ Engineering Heritage

A series of plaques and information panels were placed around New Zealand in 1990 to recognise significant engineering achievements. For more information, see the IPENZ website. Otago sites include:

• Ross Creek dam and reservoir (registered as a Category I historic place by the Historic Places Trust). This reservoir was New Zealand's first major urban water supply, built in 1867, and still serves the needs of Dunedin City today
• (former) NZ Express Co building in Bond Street, Dunedin. It is registered as a Category I historic place, and was known as the MFL Building in 1990; it is now named Consultancy House. It was built in 1908, as one of the very early reinforced concrete multi-storey buildings in New Zealand. It pioneered the use of pre-cast concrete wall panels and the use of a raft foundation in recently reclaimed land
• Hillside Railway Workshops which played a major role in the construction of locomotives and freight wagons for New Zealand's railway system
• Cromwell Mall plaque which recognises the development of Central Otago gold dredges.

Lost plaques

Some plaques have been lost because of demolition, building alterations, deterioration or exclusion of the public from private property. These include the old Central Fire Station in Cumberland Street, Dunedin; Joseph Mellor's home in Kaikorai Valley; Jack Lovelock's home in Opoho and Burnside freezing works. The Otago Branch is seeking further details of these and other unknown plaques. If you can help, please contact us.

Information Panels

The Dunedin City Council and others have erected information panels at city sites such as the former Chief Post Office in Princes Street, Dowling Street steps and Deborah Bay torpedo boat site.