Celebrating its 25th anniversary in April, the bureau answered 760 calls in its first year and is now handling almost 2000 annually.
Over that time, it has had 128 trained volunteers. At present, it has two trainees and 19 advisers.
The advice it has handed out, in strict confidence, has covered a big range of subjects and issues faced by callers. The most common relate to property, legal and community resources.
Co-ordinator Mary Maple, who finished yesterday after five years with the bureau, said the most unusual call she had received was from China. After some confusion she discovered they were ordering a taxi to be sent to some place in China.
Adviser Alan Kerby said his most memorable were two separate phone calls over the years from men who were part way through baking a cake and wanted to know ''where to go from here''.
''I'm a man, so I passed them over to one of the women [advisers],'' Mr Kerby said.
There had also been the down sides - aggressive or abusive phone calls. Advisers were trained how to handle those.
For very difficult or unusual inquiries, advisers would ask for time to research and come up with a response.
Advisers also learnt a lot about a range of different subjects.
''It's quite good fun at times, pleasantly challenging sometimes - and often with very satisfying outcomes,'' Mr Kerby said.
The bureau was officially opened on April 10, 1989, by then Waitaki MP Jim Sutton. It had 14 advisers ''on a shoestring and chewing gum budget'', Mr Kerby said.
Originally, it was in the Centennial Building in Severn St, provided by owners Waitaki District Council rent and electricity-free.
In its first month, 29 calls were received, compared with about 380 a month now.
''The nature of the calls, at first, were generally very simple, but in time became more complex and challenging as our reputation for reliability spread,'' he said.
Over time, the bureau shifted to two other buildings to provide the public with private interviews and have its own office.
The first was in March 1992, to what was known as the Oikos Building in lower Thames St, owned by the council. It was a former funeral parlour which, Mr Kerby said, might have explained why it was always a ''chilly building''.
It was still rent-free, but the bureau now had to pay electricity bills.
A year later, the council decided to lease out the building and the bureau moved to the former Waitaki County Council chambers.
The following year, the council started renovations to turn it into Community House as a home for the many voluntary groups in Oamaru trying to find accommodation at a reasonable price.
The bureau is asking those associated with it to celebrate at a function on April 10.
