Built in 1879, Morris’ Buildings (Former) are a terrace of shops on Wansbeck Street, at the edge of the harbour business district in Oamaru; they have historical and architectural significance as they were designed by the distinguished Oamaru architectural partnership Forrester and Lemon for Oamaru saddler Thomas Morris.

In the 1870s, the area around Wansbeck Street was close to the business hub of Oamaru – near to the warehousing area, the harbour and the railway station. Edward Milton Weedon owned a large block of land. Weedon advertised the land and ‘the very Extensive Buildings and Improvements thereon’ for sale in April 1878. The buildings were timber, and housed small businesses.

Saddler Thomas Morris bought the property. Morris had set up business in Oamaru in 1865, having previously worked for Reany Brothers in Dunedin. His first premises were opposite the ‘Times’ building on Wansbeck Street – perhaps in Weedon’s buildings. Morris purchased the land and buildings for £3,000 in May 1878, taking a mortgage out in August 1879. In June 1879, Morris’ premises were badly damaged by fire. The Star reported that the fire led to the ‘total destruction of five shops, the property of Mr T. Morris.’ The shops had been occupied by boot manufacturers Mair and Son, cabinet makers Tudhope and Hendry, and painter Mr Larkin. The stables owned by a Mr Nihill were undamaged.

By the middle of July, Morris had plans to rebuild the premises, with the council approving plans for the ‘new shops’. On 2 July, John Lemon advertised for tenders for the ‘Erection of SIX SHOPS’ to be built of stone in Wansbeck Street. Local historian WHS Roberts records that Morris’ shops had offices and dwelling-rooms on the second floor. Once the shops were complete, they were again occupied by small businesses.

The terrace is made up of three blocks – each with two shop fronts, with residential or office accommodation above. The buildings are plainly detailed, with the balustrades on the parapet being the only ornate detail. The balustrading was removed (or closed in), sometime after the 1930s. The shop fronts had large plate glass fronts with entrance doors to one side. Upstairs are double hung sash windows – a smaller pair in the centre, with wider windows on the outside. There is keystone detailing over the windows. Decoration was formed by a string course above which was the parapet and balustrading. The rear of the building is utilitarian. In recent years, some of the shop fronts have been filled in or reconfigured.

Thomas Henry Townsend bought the property in 1882, and owned them until his death around 1901. His estate seems to have owned the property until 1923 when it was sold to company manager John Amies. Amies owned the property as tenant in common with land agent Edgar Fox, and Wellington solicitor Frederick Ongley. The property was subdivided in 1955. Oamaru market gardener Ah Lee bought the property in 1967. In 1976, the buildings were sold to Firth Industries (later renamed Fletcher Concrete and Infrastructure Limited) and they still own the buildings in 2015.

In 2015, the buildings are used for storage or are largely vacant.