St Bathans post office next to be restored

The former St Bathans post office would be the next building in the township to be restored, Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson told the audience yesterday at the official reopening of the town's community hall.

Mrs Wilkinson said St Bathans boasted a remarkable heritage and it was fantastic to see the community getting involved in conservation projects.

Restoring the 130-year-old mud-brick hall was a significant challenge, which required a team of skilled restoration experts, Mrs Wilkinson said.

She said it was rare to find a building of that era that had survived, as many buildings in gold rush towns were not designed to last.

Restoration work on the hall began in April 2007 and was completed in November 2008.

The Department of Conservation (Doc) co-ordinated a specialised team of builders and crafts people to ensure all restoration and new work replicated the workmanship and detail of the building's original features.

This had included mud bricks being made off site using a specially created mould.

The project brought the hall into line with current building practices, and included sewerage, electrical and fire upgrades.

It is now available for community use.

The hall and post office are two of four historic buildings in St Bathans managed by Doc, the others being the gold office and the former blacksmith's building.

Mrs Wilkinson also paid recognition to work done to complete the Blue Lake Track, which takes visitors around the lake and into St Bathans' historic gold-mining site.