Waimate’s Public art

Victoria Terrace, Waimate

This Bill Scott mural brings the thrills and excitement of the Waimate 50 street racing to life.

Since the first racing in 1959 many of New Zealand’s finest drivers have competed on the streets of Waimate.

You can’t miss this mural on the wall of Waimate Outdoors and the map of the original street racing circuit.

Victoria Terrace, Waimate

Commissioned by the Waimate Town and Country Club as an acknowledgement of the New Zealand RSA and painted by Bill Scott, this mural can be found on the club’s wall in Victoria Terrace.

Queen Street, Waimate

You'll find the bushman quietly observing the passing traffic on Queen Street, near the Waimate District Council buildings.

He was sculpted in 2006 by Christchurch artist Donald Paterson and is made of marble-based filler, resin-coated clothing with a bronze head, hands and hat.

The sculpture is a nod to our early sawmilling heritage - from the mid-1800s Waimate was a small village surrounded by about 1200ha of native forest.

Queen Street, Waimate

This Bill Scott mural on the Empress Flour Mill building beside the silos, honours Stella Chamberlain who washed the Waimate senior rugby jerseys for 39 years. The Chamberlain family were dedicated members of the club: playing, coaching, supporting...and helping them look presentable!

Stella was the first woman to receive a life membership of the Waimate Rugby Club in honour of all her years of work. A beautiful tribute to a much-loved local.

In this mural she is about to hang up jersey no.2 – the hooker’s jersey proudly worn by her son Barry.

Waihao Forks Hotel, Waihao Downs

This life-sized sculpture of Ted d’Auvergne is the work of artist Donald Paterson, who is also responsible for The Bushman statue in Waimate.

This sculpture outside the Waihao Forks Hotel depicts Private Ted d’Auvergne with his bottle of beer waiting for the train to take him off to serve in WW2. In those days the railway line extended to Waihao Downs.

He left a bottle at the hotel to drink on his return, sadly he was killed in action and the bottle remains behind the bar to this day.

The plinth on which the sculpture sits incorporates a section of railway line from the era.

Waihao Downs School

These impressive murals by local artist Ajhonaid Dree can be found on the walls of the Waihao Downs School and Tennis Club – just 15 km from town on SH82.

With a strong environmental message, the murals signify the importance of eels to the local iwi, the vitality of the Waihao River, and the strong values embraced by the children of the Waihao community.

Drive out to see the murals and also the Ted d’Auvergne statue, and then have lunch at the historic Waihao Forks Hotel.

Crowes Road, Waimate

To get there, travel approximately 15km south-east from Waimate via SH1 and turn left at Crowes Road. You'll find these delightful paintings in the style of the Old Masters brightening up the wall of a shed facing out onto the road at Glentui Dairy Farm.

Commissioned by local farmer, Michael Horne, these paintings showcase the work of talented members of the Waimate High School Art Club - Andrew Masayon, Lily-Anne Beazley, Alisha Roberts, Enya O’Donnell and Nathan and Jayden Marriott-MacDonald. The school’s art teacher, Nicole Solomon, has further artworks in progress to add to this site.

Corner Queen and Grigson Street, Waimate

This mural celebrates the sheep and wool industry's long connection to Waimate district. It was painted by Bill Scott in 2003.

The wool and sheep meat industry continues to be a major revenue earner for the Waimate District, and the Waimate Shears, held every year in October, is hugely popular.

Queen Street, Waimate

In the late 1860s Waimate was a thriving mill town, located on the edge of approximately 1200 hectares of native Totara forest.

Milling of the forest continued until 1878 when a huge fire destroyed the majority of the forest and many of the working sawmills.

This mural, which can be found on the south-facing wall above the former BNZ building, is a scene from one of the early bush mills.

The Waimate Advertiser was first printed in May 1898 and was a feature of Waimate life until its closure in July 2012.

Over the years it had a number of different owners and name changes.

The paper celebrated 100 years of publication in 1998. The mural by Bill Scott is on the north-facing wall above the former BNZ building.

Queen Street, Waimate

A painting by Bill Scott adorns the old Post Office building in Queen Street and evokes the early postal services in Waimate township.

In the background we see the Post Office building (opened 1911) and clock tower. As well as postal services the building housed the town’s telephone exchange.