The Star visited the castle ruin on Monday with Cargill’s Castle Trust members to observe engineers carefully drilling bolt-holes in the tower walls, while suspended from a crane.
Cargill’s Castle Trust president Steven de Graaf is delighted that the three-week first phase of the stabilisation work is finally going ahead, after a decades-long effort to secure and protect the heritage site.
"This work ensures the long-term security of the ruins, preserving their legacy for future generations," Mr de Graaf said.
Through years of fundraising initiatives, public donations, and contributions from NZ Lotteries, Dunedin Heritage Fund, Otago Community Trust, and the Stout Trust, the Cargill’s Castle Trust had raised about $300,000 for the stabilisation project.
Mr de Graaf said the first phase of the stabilisation, which was being run by contractor Waikouaiti Auto & Engineering (WAE), required a crane to enable engineers to access the high concrete walls.
Holes were being drilled to take long bolts, which would secure steel beams to lock corners and outer surfaces into place and prevent the castle walls from crumbling further.
"It is a relief that the work is finally under way. It has been a long time coming," he said.
Built in the 1870s on a spectacular hilltop site high above St Clair, Cargill’s Castle was abandoned in the 1970s and has been open to the elements and steadily crumbling ever since.
The Cargill’s Castle Trust, which owns the ruin, has been working for decades towards stabilising it and making the area safe enough to eventually allow it to be opened to visitors.
Mr de Graaf said the castle had been built mostly with poured concrete which, while it was cracking in places, mostly remained "reasonably solid".
"The floors inside are now pretty much gone, so it is a difficult site to move around — hence the crane."
