Oamaru has a population of 20,700 and buildings to rival Berlin. Locally quarried limestone
Oamaru Stone is known around New Zealand as a beautiful building material, especially where ornate moulding is required. It was used here in Oamaru in the 1880s when Oamaru had a reputation for the best built and most mortgaged town in New Zealand.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjT0L0HQZhYGPeO8X_63TVSuQOI5jfE3lH1cuLCGbiKRh5i2C_0tXlRz1hUqaIgUiiuhoRCnD2VqX5ywx9r8yis0HufUN4MBEnfyJOEbgAdAsGYjud8ab-BlOgVK5RVbNxYg5Jtw/s320/oamaru.jpg)
The bigger building with
Bank of New South Wales carved into the top now houses the Forrester Gallery, one of many galleries and craft establishments that make the town worth a lengthy visit. The smaller building is a coffee shop, one that made me miss the coffee at
Modaks in Dunedin.