Raise a chop

Today is National Lamb Day:

National Lamb Day celebrates the genesis of our world famous food industry. The 1882 shipment was organised by two entrepreneurs, William Davidson and Thomas Brydone and left New Zealand on February 15th from Port Chalmers, Otago. William Davidson was a British-based general manager of the New Zealand and Australian Land Company, whose landholdings in the two countries exceeded 1 million hectares. Davidson had taken an interest in refrigerated experiments, which had proved the concept, if not yet the economic viability, of shipping frozen meat around the globe. That historic journey of around 5,000 carcasses was the beginning of what is now a multi billion dollar industry. New Zealand farmers produce some of the best lamb and the rest of the world just can’t get enough.

It’s the day we should all be raising a chop, a leg, a shoulder, some rump, patties or shanks. Whichever way you enjoy your lamb today’s the day to celebrate it.

The sheep for that first shipment were killed at Totara Estate in North Otago.

There careful restoration of the buildings gives an insight into its history and the important part it played in New Zealand history:

It doesn’t look much like a hub of disruptive innovation, no Silicon Valley. But in the late 19^th Century, the North Otago sheep farm of Totara Estate was at the centre of a technological leap that transformed Aotearoa New Zealand’s economy – frozen meat. The shipment that left Totara in February 1882 was a world first, and when it arrived safely in London three months later, it changed the future.

A visit to Totara Estate is not solely about mutton and markets, however. The four Ōamaru stone farm buildings are a visual treat – hard lines against soft country – and the colourful history is brought vividly to life. When you finish your guided tour of this landmark site you’ll have a head full of colourful anecdotes and a belly full of traditional country baking and tea.

It’s a Scottish tale, the story of industry at Totara Estate. The Scots-owned New Zealand and Australian Land Company (NZALC) bought the land in 1866, adding it to 15 farms it possessed in the South Island plus a similar number across The Ditch. As per the economics of the day, this was a substantial enterprise – 17,000 sheep at peak, on 15,000 acres of rolling country near Ōamaru – growing wool to feed the “dark Satanic mills” of Britain. And meat? Mutton was virtually a waste product, and it remained so right up until the bottom fell out of the wool market and the country was plunged into depression. Suddenly, the search was on for a new earner.

The company’s General Manager William Davidson, a canny operator who was posthumously inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame, cracked the nut. In partnership with the Albion Shipping Company, he had the immigrant ship Dunedin refitted with a steam-powered Bell-Coleman refrigeration plant. The NZALC chose Totara Estate to be the proving ground for its bold experiment. It built a slaughterhouse and hired a team of butchers. Working in shifts, they processed 250-plus carcasses a day, which were railed to Port Chalmers in ice-filled wagons. That first successful shipment was a game-breaker. Within a few years freezing works had sprung up near coastal towns in both islands, and a whole new industry was born.

In keeping with that theme of action, the property is surrounded by a working farm – a busy borrowed landscape for a heritage site that is given an animated interpretation. The buildings, all restored in the 1980s by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (now Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga) in partnership with the meat industry (the site was officially reopened on the 100^th anniversary of the Dunedin’s sailing), have been set up like the men had just headed outside for a smoke. You’ll find their bunkroom graffiti left untouched – well, the G-rated stuff – and the cookhouse is still a warm, welcoming hub where you can share fresh scones and tea (hospitality is a big thing at Totara Estate). Once a month, the cookhouse is transformed into Victorian tearooms, with the serving staff in full garb.

Speaking of characters, Totara Estate had its share. One regular visitor was Edmond Slattery, aka ‘The Shiner’, a tall, gaunt, trickster of a swagman and something of an early Aotearoa New Zealand celebrity. The farm was on the Shiner’s rounds, and he had a habit of stopping off at the end of the year en route to the Caledonian Games at Ōamaru, where his Irish jig was legendary. Another swagger you’ll hear about on the guided tour is Barnie Whiterats, so named because he entertained his hosts with a troop of performing mice. Then there’s the farm’s Chinese cook, Jimmy Hoey, whose image has pride of place in the kitchen.

Totara Estate was the prototype for the modern meat works. Check out the slaughterhouse and the relics of the killing shed – the blood gutter might be a bridge too far for vegetarians – along with the stables and granary. Outside, hand-feed the estate’s heritage breed sheep, or take a walk up Sebastapol Hill, which is crowned with a monument to manager Thomas Brydone, who oversaw the farm’s transition from wool to meat. The view takes in a quiltwork of North Otago farmland and the distant Kakanui Range. . .

It’s eight kilometres south of Oamaru on State Highway 1 and well worth a visit.

This post on Twitter last week gives some more history:

It’s just over a week until National Lamb Day! pic.twitter.com/3MwJaOTQF9

— Beef + Lamb New Zealand (@BeefLambNZ) February 7, 2024

You’ll find recipes here and here  and chef’s recipes here.

You can find where to buy it here.

You can see a gallery of New Zealand farm photos here.

Rural round-up

Surge of demand for NZ meat, continuing supply chain disruption predicted for 2022 :

Disruption that has permeated primary sectors throughout 2021 will persist next year, a report from rural lender Rabobank says.

Demand was strong and set to grow further as economies continued to reopen, and balancing high costs through the supply chain would be a key challenge according to the Global Animal Protein Outlook report.

Rabobank global strategist for animal protein Justin Sherrard said changes within the market would be an opportunity for growth, rather than solely a risk.

“Rabobank sees agile business leadership as the most likely route to sustainable growth and is advising firms to embrace consumer preferences for sustainability and to be prepared for a surge in demand as economies continue to reopen and adjust following Covid-19-induced lockdowns.” . . 

Groundswell here to say – ODT Editorial:

It was always going to be a hard act to follow.

After the phenomenal turnout for Groundswell New Zealand’s Howl of a Protest in July — estimated nationally at around 60,000 people — the probability of a repeat performance seemed less likely.

Yet the turnout for the second protest event on Sunday, dubbed Mother of All Protests, showed the depth of feeling that continues to exist in the rural community, as horn-honking tractors and placard-bearing utes rolled into towns and cities throughout the country. From humble beginnings, dreamed up by a couple of concerned cockies in the South, Groundswell has become a juggernaut and that has brought its own difficulties.

Unable to manage all aspects of it, Groundswell has been forced to distance itself from controversy — as claims have been made linking it from everybody from Brian Tamaki to other anti-vaxxers — with social media unhelpfully helping to fuel the fire of misinformation. Throw in some particularly distasteful posts from agribusinessman Ross Townshend, a former Groundswell organiser in the North Island who should have known better and who has been kicked to touch by Tatua, the dairy company on whose board he was a director, and it has not helped the Groundswell name. . . 

Forget Groundswell: now farmers are in a real fight – Richard Harman:

Forget the tractors and the angry groundswell signs; the real battle between farmers and the Government kicked off yesterday when farmers got the formal proposal to price methane and nitrous oxide emissions from their farms.

The stakes, both political and economic, are huge.

That much was clear yesterday in the immediate reaction of Federated Farmers who even though they have been involved in developing the proposal offered it only a guarded welcome.

Farmers have been offered two schemes to consider; one which would price the methane according to a complex calculation based on the Farm Environmental Plan of how much methane their farm emitted. The other is a more straightforward levy on milk and meat delivered to processors. . .

The dream of an all red herd is getting closer and closer ❤ pic.twitter.com/QBKppW3jeY

— Anieka Templer (@AniekaNick) November 23, 2021

No rest for the wicked at Less Valley Station :

The new farm manager at one of New Zealand’s biggest sheep and beef properties in North Canterbury has hit the ground running.

As well as getting up to speed with a holistic grazing system established by the farm’s US owners, Michael Whyte is also dealing with extensive damage to infrastructure caused by devastating floods in June.

The down-to earth farmer is relishing the challenge of running Lees Valley Station.

“I’m enjoying the valley life, but it’s also the climate. I love the seasonal changes. You get up in the morning and you don’t know if it’s going to snow or be 30 degrees. It’s really quiet and peaceful too,” he says. . .

Heritage vegetables, vintage tools, full skirts and bonnets – Guy Frederick:

It’s hard to believe that on September 1, 2020 there was nothing but a bare patch of ground where there is now a thriving vegetable garden.

Six months later, in the historic Totara Estate just south of Oamaru, bees were happily resident, herbs in full flower, and big, blood red, healthy beetroots were being pulled from the soil. It felt like the garden had been there for a mighty long time.

“We have to get cracking,” Alison Albiston had said in early September when she first visited the site, referring to summer’s imminent arrival.

Headhunted by Totara Estate Manager Keren Mackay and resident guide and cook Annie Baxter, Albiston jumped at the opportunity to get stuck into a project involving soils and plants, coinciding with her move into Oamaru after 45 years of country living at Burnside Homestead, inland from Oamaru, where Albiston and her husband Bruce lovingly restored the property to its original plans. . .

Every day is different in my job but the treasure of working in rural nz never ceases to amaze pic.twitter.com/26Vvf4zhCd

— Ian Handcock (@target_focus) November 23, 2021

Halal certified red meat exports jump  :

Halal-certified red meat exports increased 13 per cent during the 2020-2021 season with most product going to non-Muslim markets, according to an analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA).

New Zealand exported a total of 471,072 tonnes of halal product during the season (12 months ending 30 September) – 46.5 per cent of total red meat and offal exports. This compared to 417,323 tonnes during 2019-2020.

China was the largest market for New Zealand halal-certified red meat during the 2020-2021 season, purchasing 341,618 tonnes, 74 per cent of the total and a 23 per cent increase on the previous year.

The United States was the second highest with 20,042 tonnes, followed by Canada’s 18,945 tonnes, Indonesia with 17,604 tonnes, Saudi Arabia with 7,710 tonnes and Malaysia with 7,289 tonnes. . . 

Rural round-up

MIQ freeze adds to staff woes – Gerald Piddock:

The Government’s decision to freeze managed isolation (MIQ) bookings has furthered the frustration of short-staffed dairy farmers desperate for more workers, DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle says.

The freeze means a further delay for farmers getting migrant staff into New Zealand granted under the exemption for 200 foreign dairy workers announced earlier this year. The industry estimates it is short of at least 2000 staff.

Mackle says it was unlikely these staff would be now cleared of MIQ before the new year. Any people who are brought in to work in the dairy industry will now be targeted for next season.

“This pause, this further delay is going to push that out even further,” Mackle said. . . 

Red meat and co-products exports reach $870 million :

New Zealand exported red meat and co-products worth $870 million during July 2021 – marking a 29% increase year-on-year, according to analysis from the Meat Industry Association (MIA).

More than 25,300 tonnes of sheepmeat and almost 50,000 tonnes of beef were exported with increases in the value of exports to all major North American and Asian markets.

This included a 1,425% increase in beef exports to Thailand compared to July 2020. Thailand was New Zealand’s tenth largest market for beef by volume during the month, at 347 tonnes.

MIA chief executive Sirma Karapeeva says the main reason for the growth in exports to Thailand was the removal of beef safeguards that were put in place when the NZ-Thailand Closer Economic Partnership (CEP) was negotiated 15 years ago. . . 

One does feel like this will be the outcome some days. pic.twitter.com/1fVgzfSVfa

— Shelley Dew-Hopkins (@shelleyDewHopki) September 2, 2021

A stirring idea – Samantha Tennent:

Keeping colostrum stirred was a challenge for a Southland calf rearer until he came with an innovative idea.

Frustrated after running around with a drill and paint stirrer trying to stop stored colostrum from separating, Rex Affleck was looking for an easier solution. He found a pricey food industry mixer in Europe, but the paddle was tiny and the revs were too quick so he started thinking about what he really needed.

“I found a supplier in China that made engine gearboxes and they agreed to sell me a sample,” Affleck explains.

“Two turned up on my doorstep but I didn’t know what to do next. So, I started thinking and mucking around with bits of cardboard and worked out how it could sit on top of a pod, but the next issue was the paddles.” . . 

FMG Young Farmer of the Year kicks off for season 54:

The coveted FMG Young Farmer of the Year 2022 contest will be kicking off with a roar on the 9th of October 2021 for season 54’s first qualifying rounds.

This year, all New Zealand Young Farmers (NZYF) Club members are being challenged to enter to support their region’s volunteers, have a bit of fun and show their fellow Club members what they’re made of.

16 district contests will be held across the country over October and November to select eight of the best competitors in each of NZYF’s seven regions.

Seven Regional Finals will be held early next year, where the winner from each will proceed to the Grand Final to battle it out for the 2022 FMG Young Farmer of the Year title in Whangarei, in July. . . 

Totara Estate stonework repairs underway:

At Totara Estate and Clark’s Mill in Ōamaru, Allan Ward is the man behind the stonework, who keeps the buildings in good trim. He is currently working at Totara Estate repairing and replacing cracked and damaged limestone in the old men’s quarters.

Allan began working with stone aged 15, during his apprenticeship with Dunhouse Quarry, United Kingdom in the 1960s. He worked in the Orkney Islands, Germany, Canada and Scotland before emigrating to New Zealand in 1995.  

Allan notes that with stonework very little has changed in the tools or the techniques for centuries. “A craftsman who worked on the great cathedrals in Europe could walk onto a job now and the tools would be virtually the same,” he says.

Allan has a long history of keeping Totara Estate and Clark’s Mill in good repair. He repointed all of the Totara Estate buildings with traditional lime mortar in 2012 and gives Smokey Joes a traditional whitewash regularly. This year he repaired a stone garden wall at Clark’s Mill following the January floods. . . 

Check out this old Gallagher Energizer from 1955.

In 1955 we produced 500 energizers a year. Now we manufacture over 1000 energizers a day!

Also, #FunFact Sir William Gallagher use to repair these after school. #ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/5L9KsYFkgJ

— Gallagher Animal Management (@GallagherNA) September 2, 2021

Growing push for national pet food laws – Chris McLennan:

Calls have intensified for Australia’s pet food industry to be regulated.

There are claims locally produced pet food has become a dumping ground for unwanted or suspect meats.

Consumer advocacy group CHOICE has joined the campaign sparked by the death of more than 20 Victorian dogs who died after being fed toxic horse meat.

Australia’s vets have already teamed up with the RSPCA to push for action to regulate the industry. . . 

How Do I Love Ewe?

Jim Mora mentioned the anniversary of the first shipment of frozen meat on the Pre-Panel this afternoon and read a snippet from my ewenique rewriting of Elizabeth Barret Bronwing’s poem:

How Do I Love Ewe? (With apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

How do I love ewe? Let me count the ways

That lamb tempts the taste buds and any hunger stays.

Of course I love ewe roasted, but still a little rare.

And I love ewe butterflied, from all the bones carved bare.

I love you chopped or diced and threaded onto sticks,

With capsicum and onion to get my vege fix.

I love you minced with salad in a burger bun

And chewing on the chop bones is always lots of fun.

I love ewe tender barbequed, the smokey taste sublime,

And shanks cooked long and slow for flavour that’s divine.

I love ewe marinated, with mint or coriander,

And many other ways my appetite ewe pander.

Though, proud Kiwi that I am, would be hard to find one keener,

My favourite way to cook ewe is how it’s done in Argentina:

 

The sheep for that first shipment came from, and were slaughtered at, Totara Estate in North Otago.

It’s now owned by Heritage NZ and is open to the public.

NZ History tells the story of that first shipment here.

 

How Do I Love Ewe?

How Do I Love Ewe? (With apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

How do I love ewe? Let me count the ways

That lamb tempts the taste buds and any hunger stays.

Of course I love ewe roasted, but still a little rare.

And I love ewe butterflied, from all the bones carved bare.

I love you chopped or diced and threaded onto sticks,

With capsicum and onion to get my vege fix.

I love you minced with salad in a burger bun

And chewing on the chop bones is always lots of fun.

I love ewe tender barbequed, the smokey taste sublime,

And hocks cooked long and slow for flavour that’s divine.

I love ewe marinated, with mint or coriander,

And many other ways my appetite ewe pander.

Though proud Kiwi that I am, would be hard to find one keener,

My favourite way to cook ewe is how it’s done in Argentina:

 

It’s a date on which the history of New Zealand changed – February 15th, 1882, William Davidson and Thomas Brydone launched the first shipment of frozen sheep meat to London from Port Chalmers in Otago.

New Zealand wasn’t the first country to export frozen meat:

Canning was started in 1869 in New Zealand but only the best meat was preserved.  The rest of the carcass was boiled down for tallow and all offals were wasted.  The returns from these processes were poor and sheep were principally grown for their wool.  In some districts the only practicable way of getting rid of surplus flocks was to drive them over the cliffs into the sea.  (A practice still followed in the Falkland Islands).  

With this background, it is not difficult to imagine the interest which must have been aroused in New Zealand by the various  attempts made by the pioneers of refrigeration to transport  carcasses across the seas.  The first exports of cooled meat to Britain originated in the United States in 1874. Natural ice chilled the beef.  A trial shipment of frozen meat from Australia was planned in 1876.  Ammonia refrigeration plant was installed in a ship, with brine pipes used to provide chamber cooling.  These pipes leaked, causing the failure of the shipment before the vessel left harbour.  

The first successful shipment took place between San Nicholas in the Argentine and Le Havre in 1877-1878.  It took seven months because a collision and subsequent repairs delayed the the ship, “Paraguay”, but the eighty tons of hard frozen mutton was in perfect condition. The freezing plant used ammonia compression.   

The “Strathleven” inaugurated the Australia trade to London the following year, and by 1881, it had become established.  . . 

The next year New Zealand’s first frozen shipment took place:

In 1881 the Albion Line fitted a Bell-Coleman plant to its sailing ship Dunedin and at Totara Estate, just outside Ōamaru, the Land Company added a slaughterhouse to these late 1860s farm outbuildings. Davidson and local manager Thomas Brydone supervised the slaughtering of 300-400 sheep a day. Ōamaru’s harbour works were incomplete, so they railed the carcasses to Port Chalmers for freezing aboard the Dunedin, which sailed for London on 15 February 1882. The ship landed the cargo in perfect condition. Over the next few decades refrigeration reshaped the New Zealand economy, making meat and dairy products new staple exports. ‘A new economy and society was created’, the New Zealand Historical Atlas noted: ‘one of sheep bred for meat as much as for wool, of owner-occupier farms rather than stations with large numbers of hands, of freezing works and their associated communities, and of ports, some of the activities of which were dominated by this industry.’ By 1902 frozen meat made up 20% of all exports. . . 

New Zealand’s sheep numbers peaked at more than 70 million, we’re now down to fewer than 30 million.

The quantity of sheep is down but the quality and variety of meat cuts has improved.

It doesn’t earn the farmer as much as it did or should, but today’s National Lamb Day – the day to celebrate my favourite meat.

Celebrate National Lamb Day

Kiwis are invited to celebrate National Lamb Day:

Sunday February 15 is to be National Lamb Day, with this year marking the 133rd anniversary of one of the most significant milestones in New Zealand’s sheep meat industry.

On this day in 1882, William Davidson and Thomas Brydone achieved the remarkable, by launching the first shipment of frozen sheep meat from Port Chalmers in Otago on the Dunedin, bound for London.

The industry hope Kiwis here and around the world will recognise this incredible feat and celebrate it by enjoying lamb for dinner on February 15.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand CEO, Rod Slater says this day also gives New Zealanders an opportunity to recognise the hard work of our farmers and as a nation, a reason to be proud.

“So let us here in New Zealand celebrate with some delicious New Zealand lamb,” says Mr Slater.

“Not only are we celebrating the pioneers of the past 133 years, but also the direction our current agricultural industry is heading. We’re 100% behind all those in the industry.”

This first voyage was an important step in establishing our sheep and beef industry which now contributes $8.5 billion a year to the New Zealand economy.

The 5,000 sheep carcasses arrived in London 98 days later, in excellent condition (although not without incident, with all the challenges of refrigeration in those days) highlighting the size of the accomplishment. Prior to this, New Zealand mainly sold wool overseas as no one believed it possible to have a thriving meat export business.

 

The sheep on that first shipment were killed at Totara Estate a few kilometres south of Oamaru.

The Historic Places Trust (now called Heritage New Zealand) refurbished the buildings. It’s well worth a visit to learn about this important part of our history and get a sense of what life on the estate was like 133 years ago.

You can read more at NZ History Online.

If you’re wondering how to celebrate the day, here’s some inspiration from Australia’s lambassador, Sam Kekovich, :

 

Celebrate Victorian Christmas at Totara Estate

Totara Estate, the birthplace of New Zealand’s meat industry is hosting a celebration of Victorian Christmas tomorrow.

Christmas trees and evergreen decorations adorned Victorian homes with beautiful homemade decorations. Making your own gifts and Christmas cards was also an essential Christmas activity.

Visitors will be shown how to make all sorts of hand crafted decorations including peg doll angels and santas, decorated cookies and popcorn chains. Everyone can have a go and take them home for their own Christmas tree or gifts.

There will be a story corner with traditional tales. Fun and games were also part of the celebrations and will include skittles and horseshoes and there will be revival of some good old fashioned Christmas parlour games for everyone to join in like pass the parcel and pint the tail on the donkey.

All good Victorian Christmas parties involve carol singing and listening to festive music and tea will be served with a traditional festive treat to delight the taste buds.

The Victorian Santa was often dressed in forest green rather than the red we know of today – and he will be calling in to Totara Estate with a sack of goodies. The Christmas tree is ready with a treat for Santa and carrots for the reindeer of course.

The celebrations will progress through the afternoon so plan to arrive promptly to enjoy the full experience. Victorian party dress welcome – but not essential!

The delightful Totara Estate shop, with its heritage and rural theme, will be open if visitors wish to find some Christmas gifts with a 10% discount for visitors who join the Christmas celebrations.

What: Victorian Christmas Celebration at Totara Estate

When: Sunday 8th

Time: 1pm – 4pm

Where: Totara Estate, 8km South Oamaru on State Highway 1

More on Totara estate here.

Open farms show how it is and was

The importance agriculture plays in New Zealand’s economy is unusual in the developed world and not always appreciated here.

One of the reasons for that is that the country is just something most people travel through at 100 kph – or more – to get from one town or city to another.

When I was a child those of us who didn’t live on farms were usually related to or friends with someone who did.

That isn’t the case now. Most New Zealanders are urban with little if any link to farmers and farming.

Federated Farmers works hard to bridge the growing urban-rural divide and one of its most successful initiatives is the Farm Day when members of the public are invited to discover the country.

Twenty two working farms and one historic one will open their gates to the public tomorrow.

The historic farm is Totara Estate which has scheduled its annual Harvest Home to coincide with Farm Day.

The Topp Twins are special guests at the festival and have secured the services of Ken and Ken to judged the lamb burger competition.

Prue and Dilly will be judging the vegetable produce and will be searching for the longest bean, biggest potato and most appealing apple.

Camp Mother and Camp Leader have been enlisted to judge the Scone & Jam section.

The day starts with a Thanksgiving Service at 10.30.

After that in addition to the entertainment the focus will be on traditional skills with demonstrations on how to preserve the harvest; relishes and jams, and apple cider making. Guest speakers will share their experience with creating a home vegetable garden, growing vegetables and making great compost.

Harvest Home always celebrates the working horse with Clydesdale harnessing and shoeing displays culminating in a grand parade.

Totara’s infamous swaggers regularly descend on the Estate, set up camp and tell tall tales as they await the start of their annual Race to the Brydone Monument. Lunchtime hawkers will prepare and sell traditional farm fare such as  lamb shanks and blackened corn and skilled trades such as blacksmith, blade shearers, saddlers and woodworkers will demonstrate their craft. Young Victorian peddlers will test their entrepreneurial spirit by selling their wares, be it boiled sweets or peg dolls.

There’s also penny-farthing, horse and wagon rides, traditional children’s games, storytellers, bush bands and roving minstrels.

Totara Estate is the home of our frozen meat industry which was the foundation of New Zealand’s economy for many years.

The Historic Places Trust and local volunteers put a lot of effort in to ensuring it’s not just a dusty monument and Harvest Home is one of the ways they ensure that history is brought to life.

Tourism future in farming past

Among the news of disease and disaster today’s ODT carries the story of a man who sees an opportunity for tourism in farming history.

Motueka farmer Lester Rowntree has been planning The New Zealand Heritage Farm Show for about 15 years and hopes to have it open for business in Cromwell next year.

He’s planning a museum of farm machinery but also aims to give visitors a taste of living history with bullock teams, blade shearing, chaff cutting, horse and wagon teams, milking and butter making.

It sounds like a good idea to me and will compliment Totara Estate, the home of New Zealand’s frozen meat industry. There visitors get a taste of farming history, including a recreation of the original killing shed – complete with sound track but, I’m relieved to say, without anything gory which might turn tourists into vegetarians.

Future in the past

They’re not old by world standards but Oamaru’s Victorian buildings are pretty ancient history for New Zealand.

Scott Elliffe sees future opportunities in the town’s past and has a proposal for a new heritage tourism venture Inside Victorian Oamaru.

Scott has a track record in heritage tourism. He was manager of Totara Estate  and set up Living History.