Otago’s internationally renowned School of Mines at University of Otago was established in 1878 and was the only university degree in mining and metallurgy that ran in New Zealand. The School of Mines building was built in 1909 to meet roll demand and has architectural and historical significance.
Both iwi history and archaeological evidence show Māori occupation in the Ōtākou / Otago region since the 12th century. Today, Kāi Tahu mana whenua is recognised over a large part of Te Wai Pounamu.

Kāti Māmoe and Waitaha shared occupation are always acknowledged. The hapū Kai Te Pahi, Kāti Moki, and Kāti Taoka still maintain their presence and responsibility as kaitiaki in this region. Traditional Māori place names include Ōwheo (the Water of Leith), a river that runs directly in front of the Clock Tower building and through campus, would have facilitated travel by waka from the coast to places further inland and the mouth of Ōwheo, known as Te Tutai o Te Matauira, was likely a valuable settlement area for accessing kaimoana and other resources.

The Otago Provincial Council established New Zealand’s first university in 1869.5 The complex of university buildings built between 1878 and the 1920s constitutes a major example of nineteenth and early twentieth-century gothic in New Zealand. In 1876 architect Maxwell Bury (1825-1912) won the competition for the design of the Clock Tower (List No. 62) and Geology (List No. 4765) Professorial Houses (List No. 4406) buildings for the Otago University in 1877. Architect Edmund Anscombe (1874-1948) faithfully followed the style set by Bury as the campus continued to grow over the decades.

A School of Mines was envisioned early in the establishment of the University and in 1878 the school was established with Professor G.H.F. Ulrich (1830-1900) as its first director. This was the only institution in New Zealand which ran a university degree in mining and metallurgy. However, Richard Seddon (1845-1906), Minister of Mines, was opposed to the school and saw
it as an “elitist institution” and stated there would be no more funds unless evening classes were conducted and fees reduced.

The School of Mines moved into a new building in 1890 known as “the old tin shed.9 By 1892, evening classes were unpopular and it was impossible to examine specimens through a microscope with flickering gas lamps. A dredging boom occurred in Otago which increased the interest in mining courses. By 1899 there were 50 students, and the school became overcrowded and short of equipment. Professor Ulrich widened the school’s scope by becoming the first serious mineralogist in Australasia and under Ulrich, the School was compared to the famous Royal School of Mines for 1909.

Despite Seddon’s continual efforts to move the School out of Otago, a rowdy protest saw the School retained in Dunedin. In 1907 Parliament voted for £4000 ($820,936) for a new building and this increased by £5000 ($1034,463) the next year. The building to house the School of Mines was completed in 1909 designed by Edmund Anscombe and meant the students and staff no longer had to contend with a leaky tin shed.

The new school was constructed of Leith Valley andesite with Oamaru stone facings with a slate roof. It had three lecture rooms, eight laboratories, a museum, a small library, photographic rooms, storerooms and cellars. It had electricity installed to enable better lighting. The windows were plainer than in the main blocks and have square tops. When Allen Hall (List No 2225) was built in 1912-14, the two buildings were then connected by the entrance Archway.

The outbreak of the First World War had a huge impact on the School with students enlisting. After WWII, New Zealand’s interest in industrialisation increased and the new Professor, GJ Williams, planned to implement a diploma in coal mining as well as expanding into surveying.

However, the emphasis on the coal industry was short-lived as the country’s focus turned to oil and electricity. The School of Mines was transferred to Auckland in 1962 leaving the smaller Department of Mineral Technology in the building. Surveying was moved into the Department of Science. Mineral Technology was finally transferred north in 1986 and the building now houses the Department of Marketing. There is one remaining remnant from the School of Mines - a rock-crushing machine which remains immovable in the basement.