- Cargill's Castle
The
ruins of Cargill's Castle stand on a promontory overlooking thePacific Ocean inNew Zealand 's southern city ofDunedin . It is one of only twocastle s in New Zealand, the other being nearbyLarnach Castle . More a castle in name than in fact, thismansion was built for Edward Cargill, eighth child of city founderWilliam Cargill , in the late 19th century, who called it "The Cliffs". Designed by the architectFrancis Petre , and built by Harry Lyders at a cost of £14,000, it was completed in 1877.cite web|title=Register of Historic Places|url=http://www.historic.org.nz/Register/ListingDetail.asp?RID=3174&rm=Full&sm=|publisher=New Zealand Historic Places Trust|accessdate=2008-07-07] The building was gutted by a fire in 1892, Cargill restored the castle but was unable to meet the cost of replacing all the wooden furnishings, though he did add a ballroom. The castle had several owners after Cargill's death in 1903, and was opened as a restaurant and cabaret in the 1930s by John Hutton, which became popular with visiting servicemen during World War II. Plans have been made on several occasions to restore the building to its former glory, but none have yet borne fruit. The castle now lies in ruins, a shell of what it once was.Close to the castle is Tunnel Beach, so named because this quiet beach is only accessible through a steeply sloping tunnel cut into the 60-metre high cliffs by the Cargill family. The beach is reached via a public walking track, some six kilometres southwest of the city centre.
Notes
References
*Herd, J. & Griffiths, G.J. (1980). "Discovering Dunedin". Dunedin: John McIndoe. ISBN 0-86868-030-3.
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