Rock 'n' Pillar Replicas are miniature stone buildings available for sale, making a unique ornament or a novel gift.
Rock 'n' Pillar Replicas are small handcrafted stone buildings based on actual buildings erected in the Otago area in the 1800s. The mid-1800s saw many people flocking to Otago to dig for gold. The scarceness of timber made it necessary for the pioneers to find alternative building materials. Local rock was cheap and readily available. This rock, schist, which is of a soft flaky nature, could easily be split into blocks ideal for building. It was bound together with a cement of soft mud. The permanency of these buildings is evident by the numbers still standing today, a lot still being in use. Once road and rail transport became established, the settlers were able to obtain wood and other building materials and so building with stone became less common.

This replica of a miner's cottage is typical of many built in the mid-1800s during the Gold Rush. These cottages provided snug and solid housing and were often just two rooms, a kitchen/living room and a bedroom. This product has been handcrafted using local schist for the walls, and thatched with rushes found in swampier areas. It comes complete with an axe, wood block and stack of firewood, a miners pick, shovel and gold pan.


 Click here to see cottage in full scale
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  Approximate box size: L 23, W 13, H 12 cm  Cost $85 + postage
   

Most settlers were staunch churchgoers, as religion was a very strong influence in many peoples' lives. For a majority of the settlers, the church provided moral leadership, a social centre, and a link with their ancestral homeland. Many churches in those days were built by donations and the manpower of local inhabitants. Often they were used for other purposes such as schools, the local hall or meeting place.


Click here to see church in full scale
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  Approximate box size: L 26, W 14, H 16 cm  Cost $105 + postage
   

Following in the footsteps of the gold miners were the pasturalists to settle the vast acreages available for grazing, and to provide meat and wool for the mining community and the ' Old Country ' back home. Later, after the initial Gold Rush, when claims were worked out, many miners bought land with their earnings from gold mining and turned their hand to farming. This replica is typical of many built in the Strath Taieri area at this time. Yards were constructed either by layering rocks to build a wall, or by standing huge rocks upright with their ends embedded in the ground - the method used in this model. These replica woolsheds and upright stone yards come complete with model sheep.


 Click here to see woolshed & yards in full scale
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  Approximate box size: L 26, W 14, H 13 cm  Cost $95 + postage
   

Rock 'n' Pillar Replica buildings come securely bolted into an authentic looking hand made box, individually crafted for each building. These sturdy boxes allow them to be posted safely.

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This smaller replica of a gold miner's cottage has a mock tin roof and comes in a cardboard box.


Click here to see small cottage in full scale
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  Approximate box size: L 14, W 10, H 8 cm  Cost $50 + postage
 
 

Replicas of other non-standard buildings are available, or can be made to order.
   
Rock 'n' Pillar Replicas
Beryl Marshall
Arden
R D 1
, Otago
New Zealand
Ph/Fax