Stone, stone and a man from the office

Oamaru holds a special place in Dad’s heart. For those of you that don’t know, he has a second marriage – to stone. About 3 years ago he began carving with a unique type of soft limestone only found in the South Island of New Zealand at Oamaru (www.turntostone.co.nz). Today was the day the sculptor would meet his craft head on. We’d been tipped off by a local, that by special arrangement you could visit the largest quarry in the world where Oamaru stone was cut out. Dad took the plunge and called the quarry and had a quick chat with the owner Bob Wilson. Dad explained a bit about what he did, and that we were in town for the day, and Bob very kindly, and rather unexpectedly, invited us all down for an exclusive quarry tour!

The quarry is a spectacular site. For over 120 years the stone has been cut from the ground in blocks weighing around 2.5 tonnes. They are then shaped into smaller chunks and were used to build the town of Oamaru, before quickly gaining an international reputation and a place in the hearts of local sculptors.

Off cuts are ground down into limestone powder and sold to farmers across the country as fertilizer for the acid-deficient soil in the region. We got to see the whole shebang. The massive circular saws that cut into the ground, the monster dumpers and diggers that shift all the stone, and the kilns that burn down the limestone powder. And get this – all without any safety shoes. Not a single hard hat or hi-vis vest in site – Nothing. The holy “safety” word was not mentioned once. Jess was wondering around machinery clutching a milkshake in one hand, I was dodging forklift trucks as I tried to fit the landscape into my photos. It was awesome. Sure, its dangerous - and yes its important to stay safe and make sure you keep all your fingers….but these blokes are real men. They breathe in rock dust like its oxygen and crunch stones with milk for breakfast. They laugh in the face of safety and jump on the “man train” that heads in the direction of JCB’s, gigantic circular saws where everyone necks beers at lunchtime before heading back out for the second half.

One of the workers, Brett, handed me a block of the stone so I could feel the weight of the blocks that the guys have to lift all day. I winced and handed it back as Brett smiled at me. The noise of the machinery was loud, and although I couldn’t hear them I saw that mum share a joke with Brett. “What was that all about?” I said to mum as got back into the cars. She laughed and said “When you gave him back that rock I told him you were an office boy. He told me that he could already tell that because you have soft girly hands”. For the record I don’t have soft girly hands. A lumberjack would have soft girly hands compared to Brett. There’s also a lesson in there…try hard at school so that you can work in a cushy office…and moisturize…particularly your hands.