Constructed in 1889, the pleasing brick frontage of this building on MacLaggan Street proudly displays its name and purpose in finely carved Victorian stone: “Wright Stephenson & Co – Horse Sale Yard”. The Yard formed the nexus of the company’s horse selling arm in what was the most foremost of New Zealand’s cities. As a reminder of this, the building has excellent historical significance.

Both iwi history and archaeological evidence show Māori occupation in the Ōtākou region over an extended period, with the inhabitants utilising a wide variety of natural resources from the diverse environment. Archaeological evidence supports the date of earliest settlement around the 12th century. Historically, Kāi Tahu used the tauraka waka at Ōtepoti (Dunedin city) when they visited the head of the Ōtākou harbour as either the gateway to the route to Kaikarae (Green Island) or when off on other mahinga kai expeditions. The soft slope of the foreshore and the tidal flats in the upper harbour where the small stream, Toitū, entered the sea was bisected by a prominent hill Ngā-moana-e-rua (called Bell Hill by colonists), the foot of which lay at the very edge of the high water mark. Following the survey of Dunedin Town sections in the 1840s, Section 74, Block 7 was occupied by various homes and businesses, most prominently the Abbeyleix House Hotel Bar, at the MacLaggan Street frontage, with the main hotel building sitting on the hill behind, from the early-1860s. Wright Stephenson and Company had been trading wool, stock and other items from their yards on Rattray Street from about 1861, and later from premises fronting High Street since at least 1873. Their business expanding, they acquired more land, included sections fronting MacLaggan Street in 1889, upon which they built their impressive Horse Sale Yards building. The architectural firm of Oakden and Begg had erected a Wool and Grain Store for the company on High Street in 1882 and were the choice of architects for the Horse Sale Yards.

The architects advertised for tenders in March 1889; construction was quick, with the ‘new horse saleyard’ being open for business on 6th July that year. The opening ceremony was performed by Hugh Gourley (1825-1906), the Mayor of Dunedin, who described the new saleyards as ‘second to none in the colony, or even the adjoining colonies’, to much applause. The Otago Daily Times reported:

The area of ground occupied by the yards is 11,000 square feet [1022 m2] – twice the space covered by the old yards, - and there is a show parade which is nearly 200ft [61 m] long. The frontage in Maclaggan Street is built of pressed brickwork, with quoins of Port Chalmers stone, and plinth, pediment, and cornices of Oamaru stone, The two entrances are 13ft [4 m] wide and proportionally lofty…The roof is corrugated iron, in one span, and self-supported, so that there are no posts to interfere with either horses or men…The auctioneer’s rostrum is conveniently situated so as not to impede the parade, while at the same time giving the seller a chance to be heard all over the building…The architect for the building was Mr Matthew Begg and the principal contractor was Mr Campbell.

Two historical images from this period show the Saleyard’s interior – the eastern wall of the appears to be mostly brick, with stone corbels supporting the corrugated iron roof structure; the western wall has similar stone corbels but appears to be mostly constructed of Port Chalmers stone, with large archways leading off to the adjoining building to the west.

The Sale Yards were in use as such well into the 20th century – fire insurance plans from the late-1920s show the building fronting MacLaggan Street as “W. S. & Co Ld. Auction Rooms”. Wright Stephenson & Co and its successor companies owned the building until c. 1987, and by 1996, the building formed part of the High Street branch of The Warehouse complex; this was sold to its current owners, Port Otago Limited, in 2021.