Description: Bushtown Waimate Heritage Site | Dobson Street, Waimate, South Canterbury
new zealand (5972) sawmill (287) south canterbury (18) heritage site (6) waimate (4) bushtown (1) bushtown waimate (1) steam up day (1)
Home About Visit Edwardian Main Street Saw Mill Become A Member Tours & Site Visits Steam Up Day Become A Volunteer Tōtara Trees Blog Contact Donate ["\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n\t \n","\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n\t \n","\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n\t \n","\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n\t \n","\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n\t \n","\
Bushtown Heritage Site is a window into the last 150 years of bushman and early settler communities of Te Waimatemate The site is a visitor attraction recreating the mighty Tōtara tree forest, showcasing life of the era through bushman's huts and early Edwardian township "Main Street", a working steam operated vintage sawmill and a miniature steam train rail under development
The mighty Tōtara was a prized species for the early European bushman who settled in Waimate in the mid 1800’s. They were drawn to the area due to the abundance of Tōtara timber available for the development of settlements and infrastructure in the surrounding regions. The Tōtara lumber sourced from the Waimate area quickly gained a reputation for quality and was often shipped to many parts of New Zealand as well as overseas. The Bushtown Heritage Forest Project sets out to recreate the mighty Tōtara forest