A frosty sunrise, the details highlighted by the smog of household fires from the night before. 28th July 2007

Before the storm the boats lay still in Oamaru Harbour.

A digitally painted piece showing the dramatic  clouds minutes before sunset in this beautiful location.

European settlement at Oamaru began in 1853 when Hugh Robison built a musterer’s hut on the foreshore. North Otago was good for sheep-runs, and in the 1860s the town grew rich servicing pastoralists and gold miners.

Oamaru, though, was no port. Cape Wanbrow, a stubby little headland, gave some shelter from southerly winds but none from easterlies. In the absence of breakwaters and wharves, ships anchored in the open sea, loading and discharging cargo into surf boats. It was slow, sweaty work.

It was also dangerous. Cables guided the surf boats through the breakers in a hair-raising surge of foam. Once on the beach, the boat crews sledged them up to a cargo shed. Passengers received similar treatment. As the boats approached the beach, boatmen waded out, took the passengers on their backs and carried them ashore.

This was possible only in fine, calm weather. Ships’ captains kept a weather eye on the horizon. At the first sign of danger or a shift in the wind, work stopped and they fled out to sea.

Oamaru’s exposed beach made it one of New Zealand’s most dangerous anchorages. More than 20 ships were wrecked there between 1860 and 1875, and many more were damaged and recovered. In the worst example, on the night of 3–4 February 1868, a huge storm wrecked a new jetty foolishly built out into the bay from an unprotected site, as well as the ships Star of Tasmania, Water Nymph and Otago. Four people drowned.  

'Oamaru Harbour', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/oamaru-harbour, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 20-Dec-2012

March is the month for rainbows in Oamaru.

Here we see a beautiful example rising above Oamaru Harbour, reflected light from the clouds lighting the green waters below.

Oamaru Breakwater is all that stands between the harbour and the roaring sees of the south Pacific ocean. 

Storms bring huge waves breaking over the stone sides, sometimes, at high tide, the breakwater can disappear completely under the waves, so take care if you want to capture a photo yourself!

Check out the history of the Breakwater here.

Clouds from a passing storm slowly move to the south

Harbour Street, Oamaru, is a quite place at night, the silence only broken by the chatter of the little penguins that live under the buildings.

If you walk these streets after midnight, be aware you are being watched. Ghosts inhabit these streets, denizens of a long lost past walk in the space between worlds.

A Shipweck close to the coast of Oamaru in the late 1800's caused the loss of all lives, or so it was believed. For weeks after tales of a strange creature with huge teeth and a scream that struck the heart of the bravest man were whispered around the town. On stormy nights, the scream can still be heard.

Harbour Street, Oamaru, is a quite place at night, the silence only broken by the chatter of the little penguins that live under the buildings.

If you walk these streets after midnight, be aware you are being watched. Ghosts inhabit these streets, denizens of a long lost past walk in the space between worlds.

On the old railway bridge you may catch a glimpse of the Drowned Bride, a sad young figure who, after being spurned by her lover, cast herself into the sea. She lingers now at this vantage point, vainly waiting to catch a glipse of the man she loves.

Holmes Wharf, a digitally painted art piece shows the lights at night stretching along the length of Holmes Wharf heading towards the Breakwater

A break in heavy fog lights up a wave from a distant sunrise at the Oamaru Breakwater, Oamaru Harbour.

Captured at 1/1600th of a second the water appears to shatter like glass against the stone.

Lupins close to Tekapo, digitally painted by Derek Golding.
17th December 2012

A Digital artwork showing the beautiful Oamaru Harbour at sunset, the boats still lit by the setting sun.

Shortly before sunset, the sun dips below the nor-wester arch to light up the motionless boats in Oamaru Harbour.

A beautiful rainbow stretching up from behind the Oamaru Breakwater

March is usually the month of rainbows in Oamaru, cold fronts from the south bring much needed rain.

The smell of Petrichor is abundant.

You shall only swim between the flags.

Safety flag on New Brighton beach, 14th of January 2010.

At  the end of Oamaru breakwater, two lights vie for the attention of lost ships.

Slow exposure taken 14th of March 2010 with an Olympus Pen camera.

A Beautiful Lenticuilar cloud formation at sunset, above Oamaru, North Otago.

A digital sketch of the Oamaru Breakwater

Silent, it was so silent when I took these photos. The fog covered everything, dampened noise and hair. Not even the birds made a sound.

Two lights, one at the end of the Breakwater, one at the end of Holmes Wharf stand as sentinels in the night guiding the lonely sailor back into Oamaru Harbour to safety.

A break in heavy fog lights up a wave from a distant sunrise at the Oamru Breakwater, Oamaru Harbour.

Captured at 1/1600th of a second the water appears to shatter like glass against the stone.

The Old Water Wheel, Oamaru, prior to it's renovation.
16th March 2010

Stitched Panorama of the snowy Kakanui mountains inland from Oamaru.

The Bicycle Works, a small bike shop nestled next to the Customs House, Oamaru.
13th December 2009