Ranfurly Auto Razed

Taken by the combination of the jagged sawtooth roofline and the curved corner, I wrote about Ranfurly Auto in New Zealand's rural deco town of Ranfurly in November 2008.

On 8 March 2010, the building was badly damaged by fire leaving just the facade.

The owners, Dick and Janet Parker, had an apartment in the property also running Ranfurly Auto and Ranfurly Bike Hire from the site. They decided not to rebuild but gave the Rural Art Deco Maniototo committee undertake a project to investigate the feasibility of restoring the building.

In July this looked a real possibility when the majority of people attending a public meeting supported the restoration as some sort of community-owned commercial venture.

Yesterday, however, the Otago Daily Times reported that this distinctive Art Deco building had been razed.

With higher than usual rainfall over the past year, what remained of the building had deteriorated significantly and there were concerns over safety of the structure in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake. Raising the funds to restore the building also seemed to have run out of options.

It is sad to see Ranfurly Auto go but there are still plenty of deco reasons to include Ranfurly on your South Island tour.

References:
Otago Daily Times, Hopes for Facade by Lynda Van Kempen, 27 May 2010
Otago Daily Times, Art Deco Building to be Restored by Lynda Van Kempen, 17 July 2010
Otago Daily Times, Distinctive Art Deco Building Razed by Lynda Van Kempen, 14 April 2011