Historic ruins of Bendigo bakehouse to be stabilised

Being labelled as "the best ruin" in a township might not sound like much of an accolade, but the Bendigo bakehouse is an important piece of history.

The stonework from the 1872 building, 20km from Cromwell, is almost all that remains of the once-flourishing Bendigo township, Department of Conservation Central Otago community relations programme manager Amanda Ware said yesterdayThe Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust is working with Doc, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust and Otago Polytechnic stonemasonry students to stabilise and preserve the ruins.

"It's a very significant building and worthy of its special status," Miss Ware said.

Former trust chairman Bruce McMillan approached the polytechnic's Cromwell campus to ask whether its stonemasonry students wanted to become part of the project.

Current trust chairman Martin Anderson said it was good to involve the students "because we need stonemasons with these skills to be able to continue this work in the future."

The ruin is on a small Doc reserve, which was classified a historic reserve last year.

The Bendigo goldfields comprised three gold towns - Logantown, Welshtown and Bendigo township.

All are now deserted.

"Bendigo was the main settlement and, at its peak, had a population of about 200 people," Miss Ware said.

It served as a business centre for the goldfields and had a store, two hotels and a butchery as well as the bakery.

The stonework will be capped and sections of unstable walls fixed, she said.

"We're not restoring it - just stabilising it."

Doc had to get permission from the NZHPT to carry out the work and the details it provided for approval included the "recipe" for the mortar that would be used.

"Because it's historically very significant. We have to be careful in ensuring any work is carried out properly," Miss Ware said.

Work begins on Monday and should be completed within a week.

A sign with information about the site will also be placed beside the bakehouse.