An undertaker used the old stone stables in Alexandra to store his hearse and coffins more than a century ago and now his grandson would like to see the building take on a new lease of life.
The vacant 117-year-old building is owned by the Central Otago District Council which recently sought public feedback on the possibility of selling the property.
Four submissions were received, outlining three different proposals for the use of the commercially-zoned building, listed as a heritage building in the Central Otago District Plan.
The Vincent Community Board considered the submissions this week and decided it needed more information on what was needed to bring the building up to standard so it could be sold or occupied by a community group.
One submitter wanted to buy the property as he owned adjacent property, another wanted to convert the building into a shop and offices, and the third wanted to use it for a "Blokes Shed".
The fourth supported the latter option.
A grandson of the man who built the stables, former Alexandra man John Thomson, contacted the Otago Daily Times from Melbourne after reading an article about the stables.
His grandfather, John David Thomson, was a carpenter and owned J. D. Thomson's hardware shop on Tarbert St.
"The stable was used to house a buggy and dray and in later years a hearse, as my grandfather and father did funerals around the area. The loft was used for chaff and to store and make coffins," Mr Thomson said.
A shop was built in front of the stables in 1939, and a second stage completed in 1945.
That site is now occupied by the National Bank.
Mr Thomson's father and uncle carried on the business after his grandfather died in 1942 and his father, David, retired in 1961.
David had four sons - John, Neale (Auckland), Russ (Melbourne) and Les, who lived in Alexandra just a block away from the old stables.
Les, the eldest son, died in December.
Like his grandfather, John Thomson also worked as a carpenter, and is now semi-retired.
"I would like to see the old stable put to good use; something for the community to use," he said.
"I think it would be a great place for a Bloke's Shed."
