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Parkside Quarry – home of Ōamaru Stone

The tour takes approximately one hour. Your guide, Judy Mitchell-Oats – a 5th generation family member to be involved with the quarry, will take you through our massive open-air quarry pits, then the factory, to experience where and how limestone is mined and learn more about our history.

The tour is a special experience and in the huge quarry pits, you get a sense of drama from being surrounded by limestone.

We also have a Museum where you can delve into our history further.

Extracting the limestone

In the early days, limestone blocks were extracted in the quarry by using hand tools such as axes and chisels – it would have been a successful day if they cut two 2-ton blocks in a day. Now we expect to cut 600 2-ton blocks, on a good day! We have some old equipment on display, and our impressive fleet of modern heavy machinery includes a state of the art 5-axis CNC saw – the largest of its kind, in New Zealand. The CNC saw allows us to custom cut, carve and shape Ōamaru Stone to almost any size, shape and design.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 Meggie T 
 
25 April 2026
 
 
 Verified 
Lovely personal tour of amazing quarry Best experience in Oamaru to learn how the region's iconic limestone is extracted and cut. I loved touring with Judy who has been running the family business. She has lots of amazing family stories to tell. This tour isn't advertised enough in Oamaru. Highly recommend this!
  
 
 
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 0725Mhelend 
 
10 January 2025
 
 
 Verified 
Great tour Had not thought of doing this tour as hadn’t seen it advertised apart from on Trip advisor. Great tour. Judy was very friendly and informative. Learnt about the history of the quarry and how they extract the stone etc. Definitely worth going if you want to learn more about local history and Oamaru stone.
  
 
 
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 Valerie R 
 
6 December 2024
 
 
 Verified 
Fantastic tour Fantastic family farm and only block limestone quarry still operating in New Zealand. Judy is wonderful as a guide with personal history!
  
 
 
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 Venture19809931424 
 
23 September 2023
 
 
 Verified 
Fascinated Bucketlist this item. Visit the Victoria Precinct and the Oamaru Gardens. Farmers Market on a Saturday is specially recomended.
  
 
 
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 eskvalley1 
 
9 June 2023
 
 
 Verified 
Just amazing scale Amazing very tidy business. The highlight was going into the pit and Judy as our guide made the day she was great and had us laughing lots
  
 
 
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 Nikki 
 
30 May 2023
 
 
 Verified 
Take the tour Great tour, lots of laughs and learnings! Judy is very knowledgeable and passionate about the quarry and appreciate the family history shared of the area.
  
 
 
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 Janice C 
 
1 April 2023
 
 
 Verified 
Interesting tour One of the owners took us around the quarry explaining the history and process of mining the limestone. We found it very interesting.
  
 
 
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 Rose C 
 
2 December 2022
 
 
 Verified 
Amazing tour! This tour was incredible. Great value at $20 for a over an hour with Judy, 5th generation owners, giving us a drive around their family quarry of famous Oaramru stone. Absolutely fascinating to see- really informative. We were a couple doing this tour but would also recommend for families as the kids would love to see the diggers up close. Highly recommend!
  
 
 
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 David T 
 
26 July 2019
 
 
 Verified 
Massive A wonderful education on how this rock is formed and the huge asset it is to NZ. You love Oamaru stone and the people who mine it after a visit.
  
 
 
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 John Munro 
 
4 March 2018
 
 
 Verified 
History dating back millions of years. This is the most fascinating view into the distant past being taken into the present by modern methods.
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Tripadvisor rating score: 4.8 of 5, based on 13 reviews