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Rescue the St Bathans School Ruins

  • St Bathans Village Fete Stone Masonry Demonstration

      10 January 2026
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    Keith Hinds is a legendary historic stone mason who lives in St Bathans and used to teach stone masonry at Otago Polytech.

    Between 10.30am and 12pm on Saturday the 17th January 2026, Keith will be running a workshop at the old school ruins that are currently undergoing some stabilisation work. Built in 1875 and a Category 2 Heritage listed structure, it is a delicate process and being done traditionally.

    This is a rare chance to pick his brain, see the man in action and learn about how the incredible local buildings were made back in the 1800s.

    Entry to the Fete is $10, this gives you access to the entire event including this workshop. More at www.stbathans.nz/the-fete

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  • Rescue the Ruins Summer 2024-2025 update

      2 March 2025
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    Exciting updates from St Bathans School Ruins! Thanks to your generous donations, conservation work is underway. Andrew May Contracting Ltd. helped with drainage, addressing stormwater issues. Archaeologist Leah Harding oversaw excavation, revealing Victorian artifacts. Thank you to Andrew for the generous topsoil donation.

    2024 highlights included celebrating New Year's Eve at the ruins after viewing the "East of Eden" film set. Fujitsu Sensei, a Japanese visitor, explored St Bathans' wildlife. Sue F donated outdoor furniture, creating a picnic area.

    The school, built in 1875, was a community hub during the gold rush. Rain damaged mud mortar led to erosion. Excavation revealed a hidden hearth stone, a reminder of the school's history. Closed in 1949, it's now a Category 2 Historic Place.

    The Ruins hosted Caro and Gillies’ wedding, a beautiful celebration of love. Family and friends gathered, creating lasting memories. The Ruins' charm is undeniable, a place for inspiration and connection. We're grateful for your support. Karina & Alistair.

    Read a longer version and see more photos here:

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HcVKKrG_AGI1_6OMwlTlgZd4BLtGTMCTWg7gpmpZ-W4/edit?usp=sharing

    Read description of the Heritage Listing:

    https://www.heritage.org.nz/list-details/3208/Listing

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  • Happy New Year from the St Bathans School Ruins

      2 January 2024
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    Hi everyone

    Rescue the St Bathans School Ruins 2023 update

    The Rescue the St Bathans School Ruins fundraiser on givealittle has now closed and we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your generosity and support during 2023. It has been a fantastic year with steps closer towards stabilising the Ruins.

    Our next step is to obtain resource consent, that will be the final paperwork required before the excavation work to install drainage.

    The steps so far have been consultation with Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, obtaining Archaeological Authority, consultation and a site visit by New Zealand Heritage Properties Ltd, obtaining an Archaeological Assessment and an Archaeological Management Plan, all requirements for conservation work.

    The total raised by this givealittle campaign was $1.260 and the total project spend so far $3,820. We have a PDF available of the Archaeological Assessment, please click the link to read:

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FFJf2ae61z5mk1NTXVVG3kXr8W6U9n3U/view?usp=sharing

    If you would like to continue receiving updates, please email us on gingula@gmail.com and we will add you to our mailing list. Alternatively follow our Instagram account rescue.the.ruins.

    We look forward to 2024 and have many exciting plans and we're sure you have too, and we wish you health and happiness to achieve those plans.

    Take care,

    Karina and Alistair

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  • March 2023 Update

      2 April 2023
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    How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time

    (African proverb)

    We are humbled and grateful for all donations received so far, and we'd also like to acknowledge the special support from the community, whose kindness is heartfelt:

    • A donation of pallets for stacking stones on from Pauline and Steve, our lovely neighbours.

    • Many kgs of local beeswax given, we are using it to make candles - fundraiser items sold in The Gold Office (cheers Si!)

    • Mandy from the Gold Office has been promoting the cause from the collectibles shop in the Gold Office, we have nearly sold out of all our fundraising items (handmade décor items including candles and planters) raising nearly $400.

    • Tricia has allowed us to display a poster in the Post Office with the historic school photos. The signage and flyers are going really well, and we are having to reprint the flyers already.

    We'd especially like to thank Maggie Hope, Central Otago Heritage Trust Co-ordinator for putting together an awesome profile, and featuring the School Ruins of the cover of the Autumn 2023 publication, which you can read here:

    https://issuu.com/centralotagoheritage/docs/autumn_2023

    The combined donations and sales of fundraiser items raised over $1000 since the launch – a huge step forward, enabling the drainage work to start. We are looking forward to pottering away during the Easter Break, autumn is a such a special time in St Bathans

    Happy Easter from Karina & Alistair

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  • December 2022 Update

      10 December 2022
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    After being away for 3 weeks it was sad to see a portion of the gable fell, leaving a big gap and a large pile of stones on the ground. This will keep happening unless we do conservation work on the ruins.

    The lupins flowering around the ruins is a popular photo opportunity for visitors, and we'd like to keep everyone safe.

    During the winter we experienced a few heavy snowfalls, frost and rain. This caused mortar to come away from the round river rocks and gravity does the rest.

    Throughout fine autumn and winter days we lifted stones and stacked them on pallets – 14 in total. This was done by hand, carefully passing stones through the windows. Thanks to our volunteers for their time.

    Having the floor clear inside the we can safely erect scaffolding for the stonemason to secure the stones.

    While waiting for the contractor to install drainage around the footprint of the school, we have time to work on our campaign. We had a graphic designer do posters and flyers. The School Ruins has it's own Instagram and facebook pages, where we will post updates. Please continue to share – it's totally free and a great way to support this cause.

    We have lots of fun ideas for fundraising events, however the timing is never ideal with the pandemic far from over. Karina has been busy crafting St Bathans-inspired concrete planters which are available to buy.

    Our heartfelt thanks again for your support, everyone. Please call in and say hi.

    Karina and Alistair

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