Centre manager Carolyn Lewis told Allied Media they were "pretty gutted" with Waitaki District Council’s decision to stop funding the facility last year.
"If we don’t get council funding confirmed for the next financial year, the information centre will close at the end of April and that means Whitestone City closes as well, because we share services," she said.
Last year, 35,967 visitors came into the visitor centre, which also houses the heritage hub Whitestone City, based at 12 Harbour St.
Whitestone City offers visitors a chance to explore Oamaru’s Victorian past with traditional games — and the only penny-farthing carousel in New Zealand.
A council spokesperson said there were no plans to further fund the visitor centre and the council was instead looking at ways to offer similar services in different locations at a lower cost to the ratepayer.
The service delivery contract for the visitor centre sits with the Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust, which was informed late last year there was no further budget allocation beyond the council’s final decision for 10 months of funding for the service, which was made in its 2025 long-term plan.
Despite the council’s decision, Ms Lewis continued to fight for funding for the centre by making her own independent appeal to save what she described as an "essential service" that was working to "bring more tourists into the district".
"We are pretty much the only service that the council provides specifically for visitors."
The centre was open seven days a week year-round and was a physical presence with a "face-to-face" service, Ms Lewis said.
Ms Lewis said she had received 81 support letters and emails from businesses, including from accommodation and hospitality providers, heritage advocates, schools, community groups and more that "see the value in the centre".
In a letter, Whitestone Cheese managing director Simon Berry said he strongly supported the continued operation of the "much-needed, high-quality and well-resourced" visitor centre.
Mr Berry said he encouraged the council to adopt a funding approach that reinvested tourism-generated profits back into tourism.
"Whitestone Cheese strongly supports the principle that profits generated from council-owned visitor attractions — most notably the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony — should be reinvested directly into the local tourism and visitor economy, including the visitor information centre," he said.
The centre was doing a "great job in supporting the local business community", Mr Berry said.
