Dunedin Railway Station
One of the lovely things about working on heritage buildings like Dunedin Railway Station are the reminders of the tradespeople who have come before us.
We’ve found a few dates and initials etched into the Ōamaru stone in out-of-the-way places on the roof, presumably from workers who were up there conducting maintenance and repairs. While we won’t be emulating them, it’s nice to think of W.B. (Jan 1912) and I.D.C. (1939) whiling away a few hours and enjoying the views.
We were intrigued by the marks that were revealed on some of the French terracotta tiles once the thick coating of lichen had been cleaned off, including bees and turtles. It turns out that they identify which factory the tiles came from, with the bees hailing from Guichard Carvin et Cie, Marseille St. Andre, and the turtles from Tuileries de la Mediterranee, Siege Social Marseille.
We’ll be hoping the match the almost 80% salvage rate we achieved for the 115-year-old tiles on the first stage of the project, meaning that these critters will be back in place looking out over Dunedin soon.
