140 Transactions.—Miscellaneous. 
Bank of New Zealand, Waikouaiti, Mr. Hepburn’s house, Brooklands, and 
other prominent buildings in that district. 
I now proceed to the consideration of the most important building 
material that hitherto has been used in Otago, viz., the Oamaru Stone. 
The use of this material is coeval with the settlement of the district in 
which it occurs, but it was little known beyond till 1866, when an export 
trade commenced with Dunedin. The first large building erected of this 
stone in the city was the University. 
The Oamaru stone occupies that large tract of country in the northern 
parts of the province, extending northward from the Kakaunui to the 
Waitaki Plain, and outward from the coast to the Kawroo River. The 
same class of stone is also found from Riverton to the head of the Te Anau 
Lake in Southland, and at Castle Rock on the Taringtura Downs. Practi- 
cally speaking, the supply of this material is inexhaustible. There are 
extensive quarries worked in the Oamaru district, from which a large 
quantity of stone is produced annually, both for local wants and export to 
other parts of the colony and Melbourne. The trade with the latter port 
is of recent birth, but it promises to be ultimately an important one. The 
principal quarries now at work in the Oamaru district are at Cave Valley 
and Kakanui. The town of Oamaru is chiefly supplied from Cave Valley, 
and Dunedin and other southern districts from Kakaunui. The trade to 
Dunedin alone is sufficient to keep one or two vessels constantly trading to 
Moeraki. 
Much has been said as to the relative merits of the Oamaru stone from 
different localities, but I do not think that there is any practical difference 
in similar samples. The constituents of the stone are almost the same 
throughout the province, so any difference in colour or texture must be due 
to its proximity to foreign matter or facility of drainage. 
The Oamaru stone, correctly speaking, is a white granular limestone. 
It has a remarkable uniformity of colour and texture ; not only can large 
blocks be got of the same tint and consistency, but whole cities might be 
built, in which one stone could not be distinguished from another. 
According to Mr. Skey, its component parts are— 
Carbonate of lime .., we in 90.15 
Alumina pee os we ie 1.55 
Oxide of iron ... oe vege 55 
Soluble silica ... ae is ae 45 
Insoluble matter ww ae 7.15 
s Loss ... vet as at ane 15 
