After a period of trial and error, stabilisation and repair of the Lindis Hotel has been completed, with the historic ruins now preserved well into the future, the Department of Conservation (Doc) says.
St Bathans-based heritage stonemason Keith Hinds recently re-capped stone walls at the hotel alongside sub-contractor Stewart Mason, of Invercargill, for Doc, which administers the Lindis Hotel reserve.
In 2007, the pair completed extensive restoration work at the hotel site, which had included capping the walls. However, the traditional lime mortar mix used at the time was not suited to the harsh Central Otago climate.
The walls were subsequently recapped prior to Christmas, using a more modern cement-based mix, while staying faithful to the original appearance of the hotel.
"We were trying to prevent ...the water getting down the middle of the rock and freezing and popping it," Mr Hinds said.
Measures such as adding yellow oxide to the mix were used to ensure the capping was in keeping with the rest of the ruins.
"I was impressed with Wanaka Doc's knowledge of what is required for these heritage buildings," he said.
"And it was good that they decided to get a conservation architect [Jackie Gillies, of Queenstown] involved."
Doc Wanaka visitor and historic assets programme manager Chris Sydney said the organisation aimed to be "as sympathetic as we can" to the history of sites like the Lindis Hotel reserve and to preserve such a structure "in its original state" where possible.
While the Lindis Hotel reserve was "off the beaten track", it was a popular camping spot and gathering place, particularly for locals.
"It's one of the few actively preserved historic sites that Doc Wanaka administers ... and the Lindis Hotel is probably one of our most important ones ...
where people have got something that they can physically go and view and get an idea of what went on there in the past."
He said Doc was hopeful the recent re-capping of the walls would be the "long-term solution" for preserving the ruins.
