The back of Te Waimate Woolshed while undergoing repairs. Photo / Michael Simpson
Te Waimate Woolshed was built in 1855 and is still in use to this day, so it makes sense it needs the odd renovation from time to time.
The historic place, which Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga says is the South Island’s oldest working woolshed, recently underwent specialist repairs.
Built in 1855 by the Studholme Brothers, the Te Waimate Woolshed was a busy place; 100,000 sheep were shorn annually in the 22 shearing stands.
The woolshed has stayed in continual use to the present.
However, constant use made its mark, and in late 2022 the back side of the woolshed was sinking.
The piles were rotting in the damp ground, beneath a build-up of sheep debris.
Through a grant from Heritage New Zealand’s Heritage Preservation Incentive Fund, Henry and Katie Studholme, who run the woolshed, employed builder Michael Simpson to get started on timber repairs.
Simpson, of Waimate, is no stranger to repairing heritage buildings.