Dunedin’s Gasworks Museum is set to close for at least a week while the safety of the site’s chimney stack is assessed.
Dunedin City Council Group Manager Property Services, Anna Nilsen said the decision comes after changes to the chimney’s brick structure were discovered last week.
“A member of the public first noticed a lightning rod running up the chimney was no longer flush with the brickwork.
“We deployed a drone to check the structure, and we’ve found cracks in the chimney’s brickwork which have appeared recently.
“The chimney is regularly inspected and, while we can’t be sure, we suspect the cracks may have been caused by last month’s large 6.8 magnitude earthquake, centred off the southwest coast of the South Island, which was felt by thousands of people across the South.”
Ms Nilsen said the Council, as landlord, has chosen to close the site as a precautionary measure while further investigations are carried out.
“The closure will be for an initial period of one week, while we assess the situation and consider options, but may need to be extended,” she said.
“This also has the potential to impact surrounding businesses, and we’re working proactively to keep everyone informed.
“We acknowledge the disruption this will cause, including for businesses, the trust and its supporters, but public safety is paramount. We’ll be working as quickly as we can to confirm next steps, and we’ll know more over the coming days.”
The closure is effective immediately and the council has asked for an engineer’s report on the structure, which is expected to be ready shortly.
The Dunedin Gasworks Museum is owned by the Council and operated by the trust. The site and facilities are identified by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga as a Category 1 historic place and are included in the 2GP District Plan heritage schedule.
