The future of Oamaru's Victorian grandeur has been in the news this month after a Heritage New Zealand report advocated much of the town's centre - all of Lower Thames St and some of its side streets - be preserved for its historical significance.
The report was met with both positivity and caution in Oamaru, and rightly so. The preservation of heritage buildings is neither a simple nor cheap exercise and is best achieved if the buildings themselves pay their way.
Very few towns could afford to preserve and maintain all their heritage buildings on ratepayer funding alone. A handful of examples are usually supported by the public purse or keen enthusiasts while protection of the rest relies on investors whose expenses are mitigated by the buildings' financial returns.
While Oamaru's large number of heritage buildings and relatively small population make such a model difficult, the same factors make any other option even harder. The town's heritage needs private money to survive, and for that private investors must make a profit.
It's a worthy challenge. While pre-European Maori were magnificent engineers and builders, they generally built using earth and wood, leaving little built heritage for posterity.
Conversely, the intensive British settlement of New Zealand in the 19th century resulted in buildings grand and solid in stone and brick. Those buildings are now, generally, the closest New Zealand has to built heritage.
Oamaru, with its seaside setting and fertile hinterland, was a thriving centre during the Victorian era. And with its local limestone - easily accessed, quarried, transported and worked - the town's buildings quickly became highlights of the fledgling country's architecture.
That is why it is so important Oamaru's built heritage is recognised, protected, maintained and invested in. The buildings tell the stories of an age integral to the formation of New Zealand, and they tell it without having to drag bored children through museums.
Remembering our past, knowing who we have come from, where we have come from and what we have learnt along the way is vital to being a clever and progressive country.
Oamaru's stone streetscapes contribute to our future. They also offer a financial boon the town has flirted with without truly mining - tourism. Oamaru's attractions are different but equally unique and, for many, just as beautiful.
And with its State Highway 1 location between the increasingly popular Dunedin and the growing influx of tourists landing at Christchurch International Airport, Oamaru could become a star in the South Island's high-growth tourism industry.
But if the potential benefits are large so too is the cost. Modern businesses earning significant incomes are the future of Oamaru's past and must be encouraged to invest in the buildings' futures.
Luckily, a successful model is operating just down the road in Dunedin. Despite decades of neglect many of that city's Victorian buildings are now being transformed into restored, profitable real estate.
Dunedin's council and private investors have achieved this by taking a long-term view of the city's heritage. Bureaucratic obstacles have been removed, changes to buildings - sometimes subtle, sometimes not - have been allowed and public money has been poured into adjacent public areas - footpaths, streetscapes and, in the case of the warehouse precinct, an imminent pedestrian mall.
Dunedin's willingness to compromise on the purity of its old buildings and instead allow new windows, skylights, grand open foyers and other modern additions has significantly contributed to the city's heritage success.
Now law firms, tech firms, breweries, apartment-dwellers, restaurants and more occupy once-abandoned Victorian spaces.
Oamaru should take a leaf from Dunedin's book, because the potential for the North Otago town is even grander than its magnificent past.
