Oamaru Opera House

Oamaru ( ; Māori: Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Timaru and 120 kilometres (75 mi) north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connect it to both cities. With a population of 14,000, Oamaru is the 28th largest urban area in New Zealand, and the third largest in Otago behind Dunedin and Queenstown. The town is the seat of Waitaki District, which includes the surrounding towns of Kurow, Weston, Palmerston, and Hampden. which combined have a total population of 23,200.Friendly Bay is a popular recreational area located at the edge of Oamaru Harbour, south of Oamaru's main centre. Just to the north of Oamaru is the substantial Alliance Abattoir at Pukeuri, at a major junction with State Highway 83, the main route into the Waitaki Valley. This provides a road link to Kurow, Omarama, Otematata and via the Lindis Pass to Queenstown and Wanaka. Oamaru serves as the eastern gateway to the Mackenzie Basin, via the Waitaki Valley. Oamaru has been built between the rolling hills of limestone and short stretch of flat land to the sea. This limestone rock is used for the construction of local "Oamaru stone”, sometimes called "Whitestone" buildings. Oamaru enjoys a protected location in the shelter of Cape Wanbrow. The town was laid out in 1858 by Otago's provincial surveyor John Turnbull Thomson, who named the early streets after British rivers, particularly rivers in the northwest and southeast of the country. The name Oamaru derives from the Māori and can be translated as "the place of Maru" (cf. Timaru). The identity of Maru remains open to conjecture.

The Waitaki District Council building, the former Oamaru Chief Post Office, is the seat of the Waitaki District in Oamaru, New Zealand. Oamaru's first post office was built in 1864 to a design by William Mason and William Clayton. The town was prosperous and soon, the building was too small. The government advanced NZ£4,000 and tenders were called in February 1883 for a new building next to the first post office. The North Otago Times described the design plans with the following words: It is designed in the Italian order of architecture, in a massive and handsome style; there being no redundancy of intricate ornamental workmanship about the facings. ... The base of the building will be of blue stone; the rest, of course, of Oamaru stone. The exterior of the building as it appears on the plans will be decidedly handsome; having a height to the top of the parapet of 45 feet, and from the above description it will be seen that the accommodation provided for the public will be a decided improvement upon the existing state of things. The building was opened in 1884, but much to the population's disappointment, the clock tower was not erected initially. As it was large and richly ornamented, it soon was a favourite motive for post cards, calendars, and crockery. Ten years later, the tower was added, but the Post and Telegraph Department insisted that the clock and chimes be funded by the Oamaru Borough. John McLean, a rich runholder and businessman who had lived in Oamaru for the last few decades of his life and who died in 1902, left money in his will for the clock. As McLean had never married, it was up to his nephew, John Buckley, a son of George Buckley, to unveil the additions on 17 September 1903.In the mid-1940s, many post offices had their heavy clocks removed, as they posed an earthquake risk. Whilst lobbying against this measure was often unsuccessful, the clock in the Oamaru post office was allowed to remain. The building was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (now called Heritage New Zealand) on 28 June 1990 with registration number 2294. The building has a category I listing. The post office moved out in 1994, and the Waitaki District Council has used the premises since.

The Oamaru Steam and Rail Restoration Society was formed in 1985 to preserve PWD 535. Since establishment the Society has acquired and preserved Hudswell Clarke built 0-4-0ST B10 of 1924 from the Pukeuri Alliance Freezing Works, a Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns shunter No.7908 of 1962 from the Pukeuri Alliance Freezing Works and TR 35 of 1939 from the New Zealand Railways Corporation. The society also currently has DSA 234 on loan to them by one of their members. The railway is located in Oamaru's Historic Precinct, utilising a portion of the former New Zealand Railways Oamaru yard. Train travels every Sunday from Harbourside Station to Quarry Siding located by the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony, alongside Oamaru's Victorian Harbour.

Steampunk HQ is an art collaboration and gallery in the historic Victorian precinct of Oamaru, New Zealand. Opened in November 2011, it celebrates its own industrial take on steampunk via an array of contraptions and sculptures, complemented by audiovisual installations. A yard also contains a collection of other industrial parts and projects in various stages of completion. Steampunk HQ is located in the former Meeks Grain Elevator Building, a historic building registered with by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I structure.Outside of the free-standing stone building, a coin-operated "steampunk" railway engine greets visitors. This NZR DS class diesel locomotive has been heavily modified with lights, engine, and train whistle noises, and fire breathing out of its chimney. The building's exterior walls are decorated with creations such as giant flies made from metal and industrial parts. Inside, the gallery presents a theme of a dark post-apocalyptic vision of a future "as it might have been". Contraptions and machinery featuring heavy use of copper, gears, pipes, gas cylinders, as well as an ensemble of skeletal sculptures are lit by flickering lights and accompanied by projectors and background sounds. Two large darkened rooms and part of the building's basement house a variety of old industrial and medical machines remade into "aetheric" devices. The exhibits include some large machines, such as a steam tractor, periodically emitting steam, and a boat with a grim reaper. A back door from the gallery leads to a yard containing further large machines in various stages of being "steampunked", for example a train carriage being converted to a fortified steam engine and an "Aethertractor", as well as a variety of junk waiting to become parts of yet more contraptions. In 2012, Steampunk HQ was rated as one of New Zealand's best new tourist attractions. The annual Steampunk NZ Festival is held every Queen's Birthday Weekend in early June, with three days of activities, including a fashion show and ball. The Libratory art gallery next door in the Woolstore displays and sells steampunk artwork and sculptures.

The Libratory is New Zealand's first dedicated steampunk art gallery, created by Oamaru artist Damien McNamara (also known under the pseudonym Damotimus Tipotus). Opened in November 2010, It provides local steampunk fans a gallery in which to display their artwork and sculptures. The venue is located on the first floor of the Woolstore, next to Steampunk HQ, and hosts monthly swap meets, where the district's steampunkers exchange ideas, sell goods, and model their fashions. The Libratory changed hands in 2012 and is now branded the Gadgetorium.

The St Patrick's Basilica or Oamaru Basilica, as it is popularly known because of its style of architecture, is a Catholic church in Oamaru, New Zealand. It was designed by the prominent New Zealand architect Francis Petre and is one of his most celebrated works. It is one of the most important historic buildings of Oamaru and of the North Otago region. The Basilica's classical portico and three domes are an admired feature of the Oamaru townscape and the building is particularly noted for the high quality of the stone carving and fine plasterwork of its architectural features. The Basilica "must surely have one of the noblest church interiors in the country. Built entirely of Oamaru stone the exterior has weathered more than one would have expected, but inside the church glows with reflected light from the creamy stone which is virtually in its original state." "The interior is bathed in abundant natural light, and with clear glass rather than stained in the high nave windows, the quality of light is enhanced."

St Joseph's School is a school in Oamaru, the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It was established by an order of Catholic nuns — Dominican Sisters — who started teaching in Oamaru in 1882. It is associated with St Patrick's Basilica, Oamaru

Waitaki Girls' High School is a state high school for girls situated in Oamaru, on the East coast of New Zealand. It was founded in 1887 on the initiative of local parliamentarians, Samuel Shrimski and Thomas William Hislop, and presently has a roll of just over 400 girls from the ages of 13 to 18. It also has a boarding hostel which houses approximately 50 girls, including international students and tutors.The school uses a house system with four houses and accompanying colours: Burn (red), Ferguson (yellow), Gibson (green) and Wilson (blue). These houses were named after the first four principals of the school: Margaret Burn, Catherine Ferguson, Mary Gibson and Jessie Wilson. Competitions between the houses, such as athletics, swimming, choir and drama, are held annually. The school motto is Dulcius Ex Arduis, which in Latin means "satisfaction from hard work".

Radio Waitaki was a radio station in Oamaru, New Zealand. Radio Waitaki began broadcasting on 1395AM on 5 July 1980, with the late John "JR" Ramsay behind the microphone. The station was originally a commercial station operated by the government owned Radio New Zealand and used the callsign 4ZW. Hosts included Russ Leadley, Tony Dudley, Charles Pierard, Mike Yardley, Scott Radovanovich, Luke Spittle, Steve Jukes, Mike Plant, Lana Searle, Sarah Van Der Kley, Dave Nicholas, Joel Palmer, Becky Morgan, Finley Brentwood and Sam Wilson. Past station managers include Lyall Flett (first manager), Chris Rowland, Roy Woodward, Phil Gully, Phil Stephens, Stella Nicholson, Nigel Newberry, Dan Lewis, Aaron Gillions and Gary Watling. In July 1996 the New Zealand Government sold off the commercial arm of Radio New Zealand, the sale included Radio Waitaki. The new owner was The Radio Network, a subsidiary of APN News & Media and Clear Channel Communications, which operated as a division of the Australian Radio Network.In 1998 The Radio Network grouped all their local stations in smaller markets together to form the Community Radio Network. Radio Waitaki continued to run a local breakfast show between 6 am and 10 am but outside breakfast all stations part of the Community Radio Network took network programming from a central studio based in Taupo. In December 2000 the Community Radio Network was discontinued and all stations become part of the Classic Hits FM network, as a result Radio Waitaki was rebranded as Classic Hits Radio Waitaki. The station continued to run a local breakfast but now outside breakfast all programming originated from the Classic Hits studios in Auckland. A short time later Classic Hits began broadcasting on 98.4 FM, with the original 1395AM frequency becoming Newstalk ZB. On 28 April 2014 all stations part of the Classic Hits network were rebranded as The Hits. A networked breakfast presented by Polly Gillespie and Grant Kareama was introduced to almost all The Hits stations with the former breakfast announcer moved to present a 6-hour show between 9 am and 3 pm. The local 9 am-3 pm show was originally presented by Josh McIntyre, in 2014 Josh was moved to Timaru to present the same show for both The Hits in Timaru and Oamaru. With Polly and Grant leaving The Hits in 2017 all South Island stations reverted to local breakfast programming, today The Hits in Oamaru takes the Dunedin-based breakfast show.

The Stoke St Observatory or the North Otago Astronomical Society is situated in Stoke Street, Oamaru, New Zealand. The Society meets on the first Monday of each month. Public nights are held at the observatory each Friday closest to the first and last quarter Moons, weather permitting, However, the observatory is closed during daylight saving times in the summer months. Each September, the Society hosts the Stargazers' Getaway weekend gathering at Camp Iona, Herbert, 15 minutes south of Oamaru. A programme of speakers is arranged, but the emphasis is on an informal, relaxing weekend open to anyone with an interest in astronomy. The observatory features an 8-inch Celestron telescope, which had originally been built for the Mount John University Observatory.

Centennial Park (known for sponsorship purposes as Whitestone Contracting Stadium) is a sports complex on Taward Street in Oamaru. The main sports played there are rugby union, cricket, and hockey. In 2007, the main ground was renamed Whitestone Contracting Stadium, after naming rights were granted to Whitestone Contracting Limited.

Waitaki Boys' High School is a secondary school for boys located in the northern part of the town of Oamaru, Otago, New Zealand, with day and boarding facilities, and was founded in 1883. As of 2020, it has a school roll of approximately 400 students.The school has a house system with four houses, Don, Forrester, Lee and Sutherland. It organises some cultural activities together with its nearby sister school, Waitaki Girls' High School. The school is notable for its British colonial architecture, encompassing such historic buildings such as the Hall of Memories, an assembly hall, built to honour its former pupils who died in various wars. Most of the blocks of classrooms at Waitaki Boys High School are named after famous past students, also known as Waitakians or Old Boys. The main, and oldest block of the school is named after Denis Blundell.