Archives for March 2021

BIG CHIMNEY VILLAGE

The New Zealand Society of Potters reported that there are more potters per head of population in NZ than in any other country.  At the peak of its popularity in the 60s and 70s, almost everyone in NZ seemed to be a potter, or if they weren’t, they claimed to know one. (I did!!)

Operating from the 1880s until 1990, the operation at Benhar was one of New Zealand’s earliest and most important commercial potteries. Unique in New Zealand, the once thriving industrial village of Benhar was a company town for the pottery works. Located 82km (51miles) south of Dunedin in South Otago, the village still consists of around 40 houses with the remains of the pottery kilns dominating the skyline. The double storied Hoffman Kiln with its 30 metre (98 feet) chimney is said to be the most complete example of its type remaining in the world. read more