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Timaru CBD Architecture Guide & Hunt A3
Welcome to Timaru’s CBD, the ideal place to meet, trade, and connect. When you look up at our buildings, you see the legacy of architects, property owners, and workers, built on opportunity, challenges, hard work, and success.
Our fertile land, climate, logistics and hard work made South Canterbury the food bowl of the country from the 1860s to the early 1900s. Taking advantage of global booms in wool, grain, and frozen meat, our community grew in opportunity, lifestyle, and wealth.
2.5 Million years ago, lava flows created reefs and a natural harbour. Local basalt, known as bluestone, was quarried and used to rebuild Timaru’s central business district after the Great Fire of 1868 destroyed three quarters of its wooden buildings.
Determined locals built one of only two independently owned ports in New Zealand, improving shipping safety and efficiency while linking the locals to international markets. Offices, stores, hotels, homes, theatres, and warehouses established around the port, and a sandy bay was developed for recreation.
The architecture we see today reflects our history, shaped by property owners' visions and the influence and inspiration of the architects who built our city.
