David McBride

Queen Victoria ruled across England and its Empire for most of the 19th century.

The Victorian period is renowned for its heavy decorative style. Whether it was a teapot or a fireplace, a significant overlay of decoration was considered essential.

However, like all movements there were counters to this style. In architecture one such reaction was a drive towards simplicity and humility.

The members of a loose group turned to the British heritage of simple farm buildings including barns, sheds and haystacks for inspiration.

Promotion of the vernacular was paramount, led by a cluster of artists, craftsmen and architects.

This philosophy became known as the Arts and Crafts movement, a misleading term since the members were critical of the highly decorative art found in a Victorian art gallery or showroom at that time.

The photo here shows an elegant New Zealand house of considerable age, springing from the Arts and Crafts style. The gable is attractive through its pure shape and proportions.

There is no longer decorative fretwork on the barge boards that form the gable, and no rustication of the weatherboard cladding.

It is well clear of the Victorian decoration that would be found in earlier examples of the same building.

One might pay homage to the founders of the Arts and Crafts movement, raising society to be ready for the bold, totally stripped buildings that lay ahead in the Modern movement of the 20th century.

I was lucky enough recently to have a look around an historic Timaru blue stone residence that has been presented for sale on the local property market. 

Situated just off Claremont Road, it sits on a back section and has a sunny open aspect. It is private and peaceful, nestled in amongst the neighbouring sections and is surrounded by the sounds of native bird call that drift up from our wonderful Centennial Park.
The cottage was built by David Fyfe in the 1860’s and overlooks the site of his quarry near where the northern branch of the Otipua Stream flows into the Scenic Reserve.

The Fyfe family were from Dundee in Scotland and David brought with him some impressive masonry skills, he became a great proponent of building in our local basalt. 

The original cottage, of standard rectangular form, was constructed out of bluestone quarried from the Scenic Reserve by Fyfe. The bluestone walls are in great condition and it is still, in part, a rare surviving example of early settler architecture in New Zealand.
Upon close inspection, you can see where the cottage's original roof line was and where it has been extended over the years. Alterations have been carried out to enhance its liveability, but it still preserves some of its historic charm.

David Fyfe operated private quarries in the Gleniti area, extracting our distinctive Timaru bluestone, basalt, for use in local buildings, bridges and infrastructure, contributing to Timaru’s unique architectural character. The park was also the site of several quarries owned by the Timaru Harbour Board. 

Our bluestone reserves are plentiful and come from lava that flowed down to the shore of Timaru from Waipouri Mt Horrible 2.5 million years ago. They make for a remarkable building material and solid foundation for our town to sit atop.

The Otipua Creek area was then a rural locality, also known as Beaconsfield. It was settled by European immigrants in the 1870’s and became a thriving village. It has gradually been encompassed into the suburb of Gleniti in the Timaru Township.

Another nearby small building of note is the Dynamite storage shed that sits within a quarried area along Otipua Stream on the other side of Claremont Road. The use of dynamite was essential for breaking apart the hard basalt found throughout the quarry. The shed was in close walking distance but kept the explosives secure and isolated from the main worksite and residence.

It is also made of stone and built to be fireproof and blast-resistant. It’s remote placement and thick walls reflect the sensible safety practices of the time.
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You can follow David Fyfe’s fascinating journey to New Zealand on the Wuhoo Timaru page under Wuhoo Timaru Fyfe House.  

Karen Rolleston


Mr Fyfe is survived by his widow, two daughters and three sons. The Misses M. D. and J. Fyfe live with their mother at Glen-iti. The sons are Mr D. J. Fyfe, Wellington; C. Fyfe, Christchurch; and W. Fyfe, Wairarapa." 

The 1957 telephone exchange building in Timaru’s CBD. Photo Andrew Paul Wood 

Andrew Paul Wood

​In the heart of Timaru’s CBD, the 1957 telephone exchange building still commands attention with precision, proportion, and understated confidence.

Designed by Christchurch architect Stewart Minson, the structure occupies a tapered site with crisp detailing and sheltered forecourt offering both utility and civic dignity.

Minson, along with Sir Miles Warren, Peter Bevan, Paul Pascoe, and others, was one of the architects responsible for Christchurch’s distinctive mid-century modernism.

The exchange’s north façade’s generous glazing, typical of early modernist optimism, invited sunlight and, inevitably, heat. The solution? A brise-soleil: a concrete sun screen that became a signature of pioneering modernists like Le Corbusier.

It’s a technical flourish that speaks to the building’s dual identity: functional infrastructure and public architecture.

But it’s the east wall that elevates the exchange into cultural landmark.

There, Russell Clark’s sculptural abstract ear, remains one of Timaru’s most distinctive public artworks.

Commissioned by Minson, Clark’s piece gestures toward the invisible networks of sound and signal that were beginning to reshape the world, a gesture to the building’s essential function.

The Aigantighe Art Gallery and Chorus restored the sculpture in 2010.

Featured in Julia Gatley’s Long Live the Modern: New Zealand’s New Architecture 1904-1984 (2008), the exchange is one of Timaru’s few nationally recognised Modernist masterpieces.

It’s far from just being an anonymous box, it’s a reminder that even utility buildings can carry civic meaning, artistic ambition, and architectural integrity.