The strong winds of October 23 led to some of the building leaning in and and other parts buckling.
The rope walk was first constructed in 1878 and is now rated a category-1 building by Heritage NZ, the highest rating possible.
The building beside Bathgate Park is about 300m long and 4m wide and was an important part of industrial history in New Zealand.
The rope walk was part of the Otago Steam Rope and Twine Works, later Donaghy Industries, which manufactured rope, twine and cordage for both the New Zealand and export markets.
The rope walk has concrete foundations and an asphalt floor. The south end of the building was brick and elsewhere is timber framed and clad with vertical board and batten.
The wooden roof structure was exposed internally and clad with corrugated asbestos sheeting.
The rope building stopped being used by Donaghy’s in 2012.
Southern Heritage Trust trustee Ann Barsby said the trust owned the machinery which made the rope but not the building or the land it sat on.
She said the building was a very important part of the industrial history of Dunedin and had had helped put Dunedin on the map.
There had been talk of a heritage industrial trail including the rope building and gas works.
Southern Heritage trustee Jo Galer said if such damage had happened in Europe, then there would be no question it would be repaired.
She said the trust wanted to save the building and a discussion was needed with building owner Tony Clear.
"These issues are not insurmountable," she said.
"We don’t want this to be demolition by neglect. Sure, the building had asbestos in the roof but so do many buildings in Dunedin."
She said it was part of Dunedin’s hidden history.
Heritage NZ does not intervene with construction but would advocate for its protection and importance.
Mr Clear said when contacted his property manager was working with the insurance company over damage. He would have to get all the information about the status of the building before any decisions were made.
