Lawrence Cultural & Charitable Heritage Trust
Be a part of the preservation and restoration of one of NZ's most important historical buildings - the Warden's Courthouse in Lawrence.
Otago
This incredible building was the first pre-fabricated concrete building in NZ and is still in remarkably good condition for it's age and the neglect it has suffered.
With your help, we can reverse those signs of age and mis-handling and ahieve a multi-purpose building that can service it's local and national community proudly once more.
The Lawrence Heritage Trust is dedicated to saving and renewing and re-using Lawrence's incredible wealth of historic buildings and the courthouse is quite literally the jewell in the town's crown.
We have a conservation plan underway and funding applications at the ready to go towards the start of saving this building from neglect.
All we need now is $50,000 to complete the purchase. We are working tirelessly locally towards this amount, but we are a small community who is always more than generous.
This project, hoever, needs outside help and support - which is where this page and you come in.
Can you 'give a little'? Can you spare a few dollars to help us bring this ageing beauty back to life?
More about us
The Lawrence Heritage Trust, on behalf of the Lawrence-Tuapeka community, is raising money to purchase and restore the historic category 1 wardens courthouse buildingin the heart of our beautiful South Otago township.
The building has been generously offered to the Trust for only $50,000 - a fraction of its actual value.
Funding for a conservation plan has already been granted by Heritage New Zealand and the plan is underway.
The restoration project will mean that after years of neglect, this important building will be restored to its former glory and available for use by our community, as well as national and international visitors.
Your donation will help to ensure that an important part of New Zealand's social and architectural history remains intact to be shared with generations to come.
Today Lawrence is a picturesque rural town nestled in a Valley at the gateway to Central Otago but in 1862 it was bustling with 12,000 people as the first payable gold was discovered by Gabriel Reid in what is now known as Gabriel's Gully.
The town of Lawrence and its infrastructure quickly grew and many significant buildings were built as a result.
The Wardens Courthouse is one that remains today.
The imposing courthouse, designed by David Ross, a notable Australian architect of the time, well known for his work on the First Church in Dunedin, boasts an elevated site within walking distance and overlooking the main shopping street.
Its streetscape is complimented by a neighboring former post office building designed by R A Lawson (architect for Larnach's Castle) and several historic Churches.
The Lawrence Courthouse holds the key to a significant part of the social history of New Zealand's goldfields as well as being one of the first buildings to experiment with the use of mass concrete construction, the imposing six concrete colonnades on the veranda being a striking example of this innovative technique.
If you are interested in helping, please give us your support by way of donation and keep an eye on our Facebook page (Lawrence Heritage Trust) to see how our project develops!
We are SO excited about this amazing building and hope you share our love and excitement in preserving an incredible slice of NZ's history.
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