Although the Clutha District Council quickly served an abatement notice on the workers, the damage to the kiln and the tall brick chimney is such that the building may have to be demolished for safety reasons.
The buildings and the land on which they stand were owned by a company called Benhar Estate Ltd. The manager is Mrs Sheila Moore, of Stirling.
The general manager of the Clutha District Council, Mr Bob Dick, said Mrs Moore, who is named as the owner, in documents he has sighted, wrote to the council recently to say she wanted to demolish the kiln and the chimney.
"We notified her immediately that the kiln had been classified by the Historic Places Trust as a building of intense regional importance, bordering on national importance, and that any demolition plans would be subjected to a resource management hearing.
"That means, in the first instance, that it could not be demolished before the intention was publicly notified and until objections had been called for."
Mrs Moore could not be contacted yesterday. Her office said she was unavailable.
However, the Clutha District Council's administration officer, Mr Murray Burns, said he was told by a representative of the demolition company, Frews Demolition and Salvage Ltd, of Christchurch, that the demolition company had bought the kiln from Mrs Moore for the bricks.
The Daily Times was unable to speak with any representative of the demolition company yesterday.
Mr Burns said the man he spoke to denied any knowledge that the Historic Places Trust had an interest in the building.
The first residents knew of the plan to demolish the kiln was when the demolition company began knocking it down about 2 p.m. yesterday.
Joined by the local representative of the Historic Places Trust, Mrs Becci Horder, and members of the South Otago Conservation Corps, the residents took immediate action - standing under the chimney to stop the demolition.
The regional officer of the Historic Places Trust, Mrs Lois Galer, described yesterday's actions as "an absolute tragedy."
She said the trust locally was negotiating a heritage order for the kiln which is the best example of its type of kiln in New Zealand and one of the few remaining Hoffman kilns in the world.
Mrs Horder echoed her sentiments. "I came home afterwards and just felt sick. It is unbelievable."
Mr Dick said the attempt to demolish the building flew in the face of the Resource Management Act and the district council would now have to decide what action to take.
Residents expressed anger and a sense of helplessness.
"It is the last in a long line of unhappy events that we have experienced in this village since the fire that destroyed the pottery works," Mrs Jeannette Vermeulen said.
Although concerned people saved the kiln yesterday, inspectors will survey the damage today and decide if the building is unsafe.
"If that is true, then someone has to pay," said Mr Noel O'Malley, a resident and chairman of the Benhar Action Committee.
May 16: The Historic Places Trust has asked for a heritage order to protect the Hoffman Kiln at Benhar, damaged by a demolition gang earlier this week.
The application has been made to the Minister of Conservation, Mr Marshall, the trust regional officer, Mrs Lois Galer, of Dunedin, said last night.
If granted, the order would mean no demolition or other work could go ahead at the site without the written consent of the trust, she said.
The trust director, Mr Geoffrey Whitehead, of Wellington, said in a statement yesterday the kiln had been classified "B" by the trust, meaning it merited permanent preservation because of its great historical significance and architectural quality.
It was the only complete kiln with chimney in the country, as well as being of major significance to the people of Benhar and South Otago, he said.
"The Clutha District Council is to be commended for the speed with which they placed an abatement order on the site to prevent any further demolition.
"However, it was only the highly commendable and courageous action of the people of Benhar who formed the human blockade that actually prevented worse damage occurring," he said.
Mrs Sheila Moore, the manager of Benhar Estate, has denied any blame for the attempt to demolish the kiln.
The company's solicitors, Cook Allan Gibson, issued a statement yesterday which said there would be no further comment "in the meantime."
The company would abide by the abatement notice served by the Clutha District Council, the statement said.