Otago University was established in 1869 and is the oldest of the New Zealand universities. The Geology Block is a distinguished piece of architecture dating from 1878 and features an early use of local basalt stone on a dramatic and large scale, emphasising the value placed in Otago on higher learning. Although the interior has been modified, the Geology Block exterior remains mostly unchanged and along with the Clock Tower, Chemistry Building, the School of Mines and Marama and Allen Halls, forms part of an outstanding group of well-related buildings which was erected in the period of Dunedin's pre-eminence and prosperity. It 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 though 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. Roberts (1909) states that Ōwheo, the name of a Kāti Māmoe chief, resided on the bank of the river where Howe Street joins Leith Street. The Otago Provincial Council established New Zealand’s first university in 1869. By 1877 the University had outgrown that space and requested the government for use of the northern half of the land assigned for botanical gardens lying between St David, Union. Leith and Castle Streets which was granted. 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), Geology and Professorial Houses (List No. 4406) buildings for the University of Otago. Architect Edmund Anscombe (1874-1948) faithfully followed the style set by Bury as the campus continued to grow over the decades. The Geology Block was the first part of the Gothic complex to be built to house the Medical School. The building was built with Leith Valley andesite with Oamaru stone facings and lined with brick, with Port Chalmers breccia for foundations and steps, and slate roofs. The south wall was built in brick to allow for further extension. The exterior was modified on the eastern side against Leith Street but the main façade is unmodified. The interior has been modified several times for different departments and extensions. Opened in 1878, the building incorporated a lecture room, dissection room, preparation room, morgue, laboratory, anatomy room and professor’s office for the medical school. The facilities were not large (they were designed to cater for classes of a dozen or so) and the building was extended in 1883 at the southern end. In 1903 local businessman Wolf Harris (1832-1926) presented £2000 ($434,562) to endow a Chair of Physiology and a further extension was decided on in 1904 to provide accommodation for the new Department. JL Salmond (1868-1950) prepared this plan and it was again at the southern end of the building. The numbers of medical students continued to increase and extensions in 1914 were under Edmund Anscombe with McKinnon and Hamilton as successful tenderers. The Lindo Ferguson Building (List No. 4769) in Great King Street, built to house Anatomy and Physiology was opened in 1927 and the old building was adapted for the use of Chemistry and Geology. A further extension was made to the eastern side of the building in 1944. As the University rolls grew, a new Chemistry Phase I building replaced the old undergraduate laboratories in 1971. At the end of 1972, the rest of the Chemistry Department moved into the Chemistry Phase II when that was completed and the Department of Geology reclaimed that space and part of the Psychology Department, in 1975. It was at this time the last of five structural modifications in 1914 occurred since the initial establishment in 1878. The block continues to house Geology Department today.
Location
List Entry Information
Overview
Detailed List Entry
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 1
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
4765
Date Entered
7th July 1988
Date of Effect
7th July 1988
City/District Council
Dunedin City
Region
Otago Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes part of the land described as Pt Blk LXXI Town of Dunedin, (RT OT299/36), Otago Land District, and building known as the University of Otago Geology Block, thereon.
Legal description
Pt Blk LXXI Town of Dunedin, (RT OT299/36), Otago Land District
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