Mr Baster said he had spent a week revitalising the original signage back on what was known as the McCarthy’s Coal Shop or the coal store.
"There is important history around the McCarthy building and we wanted to put it back to the original sign as much as possible, the signage was under a coat of paint so I had to strip that back and repaint it," he said.
The restored sign now reads again "Coal The Living Heat", signwriting from the late 1970s that had been painted over, now next to the original business name J.M McCarthy & Co Oamaru.
"There is also another sign that says "Firewood" on the front of the building, so I’m going to see if I can peel the paint off that and redo that sign too," he said.
Mr Baster also returned the building to its original colour scheme.
The highly distinctive, multi-era structure located at 27 Tyne St is originally believed to have been a stable, that served as a coal and firewood base for the McCarthy family up until 2002.
Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust property manager Jacob Barwick said a QR code had been put on the door of the JM McCarthy building and other heritage buildings so people could scan and learn more about the property’s history.
"All 16 of the buildings we own in the Heritage Precinct now have QR codes installed," Mr Barwick said.
Heritage tourism is one of the largest visitor markets in Ōamaru with nearly 140,000 people coming to experience our heritage each year, Mr Barwick said.
The trust owns one of the largest and most significant collections of heritage buildings in the country.
Mr Baster was also working on other restoration projects in the Heritage Precinct.
He is now working on Neill’s Store, the old Whitestone City building in Harbour St, restoring large doors and returning them to their original green colour.
"We found that the original colour was an unusual green, so I’ve brought that back to one colour now," Mr Baster said.
The building was originally designed by John Lemon and built in 1882 for the Neill Brothers, William and Robert.
Although only a single storey structure the newspaper at the time describes the building as "one of the most capacious stores in town". It was originally used for the bulk handling of grain.
The Neill Brothers’ Store was acquired by the trust in 1989 and the frontage of this building has been restored.
