Timaru’s Oxford Building celebrates a century, blue plaque unveiled

Shaun Stockman never meant to end up in Timaru.

The Christchurch-based property investor was on his way to a weekend in Queenstown when he took a wrong turn and found himself in the seaside South Canterbury town.

“One of the things that originally attracted me to Timaru was the built heritage,’’ he said.

“I took the wrong turn and we ended up in Timaru and I think by the Monday I’d met Bruce Wilson [real estate agent] and bought a building.’’

That wrong turn in 2006 had been the town’s gain. Since then Stockman had gone on to purchase a number of heritage buildings in the town, including The Oxford Building which he described as his favourite in this portfolio.

This week, the 100th birthday of the four-storey building on the corner of Stafford and George streets, which Stockman became custodian of in 2012, was celebrated.

The occasion was recognised with a dinner at the ground floor restaurant that took its name from the building. A historic blue heritage plaque, now affixed to the building, was also unveiled at the celebrations.

Building owner Shaun Stockman and friend Frances Jerard, with the blue plaque affixed to The Oxford Building in Timaru’s CBD, recognising its historical significance.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER / THE TIMARU HERALD

 

A Historic Places Aotearoa national initiative, representing local independent heritage organisations, the blue plaque scheme was initiated by former Timaru man Nigel Gilkison.

The Oxford was the third building on the site to be built by the Turnbull family, and was designed by architects Turnbull and Rule for DC Turnbull and Co.

It was a significant honour to receive the plaque, Stockman told those gathered at The Oxford restaurant.

“Tonight is not only a celebration of the building turning 100, but, in my view, and even more so, a celebration of the rich history of the families who designed it, owned it and ran businesses in it.

“Each of those families have a connection to this site and to this building, including the earlier buildings that once stood here, one of which was sadly lost in the 1868 fire.’’

 

The Oxford building owner Shaun Stockman says he feels a responsibility to keep the building’s maintenance up and “to keep it good for the next chapter’’.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER / THE TIMARU HERALD

 

Stockman said he bought his first investment property at the age of 24 ‒ an 1880s cottage in Sydenham.

“I was hooked when I researched the history of that little cottage and found out that the guy that built it built it as his temporary house while he built his mansion down the road.’’

He lost all but one heritage building in the 2011 Christchurch Earthquakes, he said.

“Today, without a word of a lie, this building [Oxford] is my favourite building.

“I’ve been invested in and loved Timaru for the last 19 years. I’ve made friends, built relationships.’’

He believed The Oxford was a building the community treasured.

“I feel a responsibility to keep the maintenance up and to keep it good for the next chapter.’’

He acknowledged some of the guests at the celebrations, such as William Turnbull, the eldest son of James Turnbull and Michael Norris, grandson of Percy Rule.

The menu for Timaru’s Oxford Building celebrations, inspired by historic cookbooks from the district.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER / THE TIMARU HERALD

There were also other representatives of the Turnbull family and staff, and representatives of DC Turnbull and Co, for whom the building was constructed.

Gabites family members, whose descendants traded on the site, were also there.

Timaru Civic Trust chairperson Josh Newlove said it was a “wonderful occasion to celebrate our shared built heritage’’.

“Shaun Stockman’s commitment to retaining and maintaining heritage buildings in his portfolio is no small undertaking, and he has demonstrated what is possible with vision and care,’’ he said.

He said the trust’s recent grant, which contributed to the exterior refurbishment of The Oxford Building and supported the installation of its new blue plaque, was a “small but meaningful way we help ensure these important buildings remain in good condition, valued, and relevant’’.

In a statement, the executive of Historic Places Aotearoa said the heritage blue plaque also highlighted “the determination of owners such as Shaun Stockman who recognise the value of preserving heritage for the next generation’’.

 

The Oxford Building 100-year anniversary cake, featuring the business logo, inspired by a motif on the ground floor restaurant’s ceiling.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER / THE TIMARU HERALD

 

Timaru researcher, and Civic Trust member, Roselyn Fauth also shared the history of the site, which was printed on placemats on the dinner tables.

A celebration menu for the evening featured dishes created from historic cookbooks from the district, and researched by The Oxford restaurant owners Michael and Clarissa Doran.

The first building on the corner of Stafford and George streets was one of Timaru’s earliest general stores, and was established by Richard Turnbull and David Clarkson, in 1864.

Clarkson and Turnbull were importers, drapers and merchants, and the first to export flour from Timaru to the UK.

But just four years later, the December 7, 1868, the Great Fire swept through Timaru’s main street, destroying 30 wooden buildings, about three quarters of the town’s commercial area, including the shop on the corner.

 

 

In 2023, the Timaru Civic Trust contributed a heritage grant to the building’s renovation.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER / The Timaru Herald

 

George Gabites then became proprietor of the business and then partnered with his brother Robert, buying the business in 1871. The store became known as Gabites Corner.

In 1880, during the depression, George’s younger brother Arthur established men’s clothing store The Corner in the building, before he died from pneumonia, after a tuberculosis attack in 1898, aged 53.

The store was then run by his sons.

It was not clear why the bluestone building was demolished but what was known was that the Oxford Building was commissioned by DC Turnbull and Co, designed by Turnbull and Rule and built by A Kennedy in 1924 and 1925.

It was planned to be three storeys, but later expanded to four, becoming Timaru’s tallest commercial building at the time.

In 1925, Gabites store reopened in the new Oxford Building, named in honour of Richard Turnbull’s birthplace in Oxford, England.

Following the fire, in 1869 the Borough Council passed a bylaw requiring new buildings in the central area to be constructed of stone or brick, and so the store on the corner was rebuilt, in local bluestone.

 

The blue plaque, unveiled outside The Oxford Building in Timaru this week.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER / THE TIMARU HERALD

 

After 110 years, the Gabites store closed its doors in the 1970s, and The Oxford Building was sold in 1977.

The Oxford restaurant was established by the Dorans in 2013, and in 2023 the Timaru Civic Trust contributed a heritage grant to the building’s renovation.