Oamaru

In Oamaru: New Zealand's living Victorian town, author Paul Sorrell and photographer Graham Warman celebrate the town's outstanding architectural heritage and meet the fascinating characters who call Oamaru home.

In a country where timber construction rules supreme, Oamaru's Victorian precinct is unique. Ornately decorated whitestone buildings that in the nineteenth century housed banks, hotels and grain stores have been lovingly restored and become home to thriving artisan businesses that make this South Island centre one of the world's best examples of a living Victorian town.

Stroll along bustling Harbour and Tyne streets and you may encounter locals bedecked in Victorian costume or getting about on penny farthings. Visit during the annual Victorian fête and you could easily think you've slipped back 150 years in time as women in crinolines and bonnets and gentlemen wearing fancy waistcoats and top hats parade through the streets or gather for croquet and traditional high tea. Boasting more than just a collection of well-preserved historic buildings, Oamaru is a Victorian town at work.