Reviving Arrowtown’s gold rush heritage: Priority Projects
Restoring an 1880s schist stone cottage from Arrowtown’s gold mining history has been fraught with challenges.
Located at 8 Villiers St in Arrowtown, a significant piece of New Zealand’s early Chinese settler history has been structurally restored and preserved, thanks to a meticulous eight-month renovation led by Priority Projects’ Donna Gillatt.
Believed to be one of the first liveable dwellings built by Chinese miners in the late 1800s, the schist stone cottage is classified by the
New Zealand Historic Places Trust. Measuring 8x8m – large by gold rush standards – it likely belonged to a relatively affluent Chinese settler.
Over time, the cottage evolved into a well-loved family home, yet its oldest section, now used as a sleeping area, was in urgent need of seismic strengthening.
“The owners wanted assurance that, in the event of an earthquake, anyone sleeping in the original part – particularly their grandchildren – would be safe and have time to get out,” says Donna.
The project involved stripping the cottage back to its raw stone walls, removing all interior linings, decayed lime mortar and ageing timber.
“We had to weaken it first in order to strengthen it, so there’s been a degree of risk,” Donna explains. “It’s been exciting but also nerve-wracking dealing with dirt floors and huge, heavy stones sinking into the ground. I had a couple of sleepless nights praying for no earthquakes.”
With input from engineers, stonemasons, and a full team of skilled tradespeople, the structure was remortared, reinforced, and re-roofed, all while preserving the building’s authenticity. In a country where such early dwellings are rare, the renovation stands as a model of sympathetic, technically challenging heritage work.
