A monumental mission to save a piece of Dunedin history is nearing completion.
The two-year project to restore the 149-year-old Cargill's Monument in the Exchange should be completed within weeks.
''It's been a slow process,'' Dunedin stonemason Marcus Wainwright said yesterday.
''The original work was done to a high standard. The stonemasons were at the top of Gothic carving. One of the interesting things about the monument is it would have been completed as a kitset in Melbourne and made to stack and hold together.
''But, these structures get old and, if no-one looks after them, they fail. There are some nice keystones inside it that would hold it in place for centuries in Europe, but not in an earthquake-prone country.''
Thirty parts of the monument, including gargoyles, grotesques, finials and crockets, had to be replaced.
''I've seen an 1890s photo of it during a parade and there were people climbing all over it. It has suffered a bit of damage over the years because of things like that,'' Mr Wainwright said.
The 15m Gothic revival spire was designed by provincial engineer Charles Swyer as a dedication to Otago's first superintendent, Captain William Cargill, and installed in the Octagon in 1864. It was moved to the Exchange in 1872.
Earthquake-proofing stabilisation work on the monument began in November, 2011, and was originally expected to be completed by last year.
However, the project had proved ''complicated'', Mr Wainwright said, involving drilling to fit a 170mm diameter pole in the centre and inserting steel rods, plates and anchors, before the restoration of the finials and ornamentation.
''We couldn't put the steel on the outside, so it had to be hidden. Depending on the weather, it should all be done by the end of the month.''
The project was on target to be completed within its $380,000 budget, Dunedin City Council parks manager Lisa Wheeler said yesterday.
