Tag Archives: Oamaru

Steampunk HQ in Oamaru

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Steampunk HQ is a collision between a wreckers yard, a horror movie and fertile imaginations. I received a very enthusiastic introduction, what I would see was going to ‘blow my mind’, it sort of did, but I’m still wondering if it was in a good way. All the adjectives like unusual, bizarre and weird apply. The works are described as industrial steampunk, anything goes, it’s all about creative imagination. This is what happens when some people let their creative imagination run riot ………

It felt good to step forward in time and step outside ….

I felt like a cup … Read the rest

Oamaru Steampunk Festival

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We’re intrigued by steampunk and the stars aligned for us to be in Oamaru for the annual Steampunk Festival. We’re still not entirely sure what steampunk is but for now I’ll go with ‘how those from the Victorian era would have imagined the future’.

It’s open to interpretation and that’s part of the intrigue, and the fun. One of the highlights of the festival for us was steampunk fashion. There were some exceptional outfits, and unlike ourselves who only had one outfit for the weekend, many people wore different clothes and accessories to each event.

We were initially self conscious … Read the rest

Oamaru – where beer was once more popular than water

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Prior to 1880 it was easier to get a beer in Oamaru than it was to get a decent glass of water. In the late 1800’s there were a few breweries, 17 hotels and 32 unlicensed grog shops to quench the local thirst.

These days Oamaru’s water supply gets good grades, and although Prohibition stopped the beer flowing for over 50 years, today you can get a beer in two hotels that served the locals in the 1880’s – The Criterion and Brydone Hotel* (formerly Queen’s Hotel).

The hotels are just two of the many impressive limestone buildings … Read the rest