By Roselyn Fauth
Well, I didn’t expect to end up here — standing inside one of my favourite buildings in Timaru, celebrating its 100th year — all because of a lockdown walk through the cemetery.
Like many, we spent those quiet Covid days exploring close to home. I found myself drawn to the cemetery gates, reading names and wondering about the people behind them. One day, I noticed a tall monument right in the centre. It wasn’t a grave, but a memorial to Richard Turnbull, one of Timaru’s founding citizens. I went home to find out who he was, and that search turned into years of research, side quests, and discoveries about the Turnbull family and their part in shaping our town.
Which is how I’ve ended up here tonight, celebrating the Oxford Building — one of their finest legacies...
The story of Timaru's Oxford begins with Richard Turnbull. In the 1860s, he and his business partner David Clarkson built a wooden store on this very corner of Stafford and George Streets. It was part of the busy commercial heart of early Timaru.
Then came the great fire of December 1868. Fanned by a hot nor’wester, flames tore through the town and destroyed more than three-quarters of the commercial centre’s wooden buildings. From Church Street almost to Woollcombe, homes and livelihoods were lost — including not only the shop, but the Turnbull's family home as well.
It was a terrible time, but the people of Timaru rebuilt stronger. Brick and stone replaced timber, creating the sturdy CBD we enjoy today. The Turnbulls rebuilt three times on this same corner. In 1924, Richard’s son David Clarkson Turnbull, a merchant in his own right, commissioned his younger brother James and his business partner Percy Rule to design a new four-storey building.
They called it The Oxford, after their father, Richard’s birthplace in England. It was modern, proud, and full of optimism.
James Turnbull: Many say he was the Gentleman Architect
James Stewart Turnbull was born in Timaru in 1864, one of nine children. His father was a shopkeeper, councillor, and Member of Parliament, and his mother ran a busy household that raised future builders, merchants, and farmers.
James trained in Christchurch and later in Melbourne, where he worked in the offices of respected architects connected to the Arts and Crafts movement. He learned the value of honest materials and good proportions — of design that was practical, beautiful, and made to last.
When he returned home in 1892, Timaru was booming with shipping, wool, and ambition. He opened his own practice and went on to design many of the buildings that define our town’s skyline:
D.C. Turnbull & Co Offices (1901, Strathallan Street)
Coronation Buildings (1902, Stafford Street)
Chalmers Presbyterian Church (1903–04, Elizabeth Place)
The Grosvenor Hotel (1915, Cains Terrace)
Many attribute him to the design of the Aigantighe House, now the Aigantighe Art Gallery. While the records are unconfirmed, the style is unmistakably his — thoughtful, well-proportioned, and built to last.
When the New Zealand Institute of Architects was formed in 1905, James was made a Fellow, recognising both his skill and his contribution to the profession. He designed not only for strength and function, but for grace and community.
The New Zealand Institute of Architects: A Mark of Distinction
The New Zealand Institute of Architects (now known as Te Kāhui Whaihanga) was founded in 1905 to uphold excellence in design and practice across the country. It recognised those who built not just structures, but the identity of Aotearoa.
James Turnbull was among the first Fellows. His later partner Percy Watts Rule would also become a Fellow, serve as the Institute’s Secretary, and in 1939 receive the NZIA Gold Medal for his design of the Surgical Wing at Timaru Hospital — the highest honour in New Zealand architecture.
For both men to be recognised at that level, I think says a lot about the respect they earned nationally and the quality of the work they left behind here in South Canterbury.
Percy Watts Rule: The Perfectionist and Polymath
Percy Watts Rule (1889–1953) joined Turnbull’s office as a young assistant in 1907 and became a partner in 1919. Where James was traditional and steady, Percy brought fresh ideas, discipline, and a touch of imagination. Together they created a partnership that defined much of Timaru’s interwar architecture.
Percy was the principal designer for many of the firm’s later projects, including:
Timaru Boys’ High School Memorial Library (1924), built to honour the 52 Old Boys who gave their lives in the First World War. It remains the only original building on the North Street site, later extended in 1955 with a memorial window for those lost in the Second World War.
Temuka Library (1926–27)
St Mary’s Hall, Timaru (1928–29)
St James’ Anglican Church, Franz Josef (1928–31)
Additions to the Bank Street Methodist Church (1930)
The Surgical Wing, Timaru Hospital (1936–40), for which he received the NZIA Gold Medal.
Outside his professional life, Percy was one of Timaru’s great cultural champions. He was Secretary of the NZ Institute of Architects, a Fellow of the same body, and a passionate book collector. His private “Earlham Library” contained rare Bibles, manuscripts, and first editions. He was also president of the South Canterbury Historical Society, vice-president of the Timaru Choral Society, and honorary architect to the Kindergarten Association and the YWCA.
He and his wife Kathleen (Kathie) shared a love of learning and community. Their daughter Hazel was born in 1915, and their home on Wai-iti Road — now converted into flats — was known for its warmth and conversation.
When Percy passed away in 1953, the Timaru Herald described him as “one whose interest in the cultural life of the community was profound, if not unequalled.”
The Oxford: Sunshine Parapets and Union Jacks
When the Oxford was completed in 1925, it was the tallest commercial building in Timaru — a modern, four-storey landmark built in reinforced concrete by A. Kennedy.
Its façade still catches the light beautifully. The soft art deco pastels, the rhythm of the windows and arches, the rusticated bays and sunrise motifs. And those wonderful Union Jack patterns in the parapets are more than decoration, they were a symbol of confidence and connection to what many still referred to as the homeland - Britain, and of the optimism of a country stepping into the modern age.
On the corner, Arthur Gabites’ Drapery and Clothing Company opened for business, for years locals called it “Gabites’ Corner.” Upstairs were offices for The Press, The Weekly Press, and later Government Life Insurance. It was a hub of energy, trade, and conversation — a real sign of the times.
Legacy in Brick, Timber, and Story
Across South Canterbury, many families still live in homes designed by James Turnbull or the partnership of Turnbull & Rule. Their houses were well planned, beautifully built, and made to last.
They designed schools, churches, and civic buildings with care and pride. Each structure reflected not just its era, but the community it was built for.
And at the heart of it all stands the Oxford — its sunshine parapets and Union Jacks still gleaming a century on.
A Building, A Family, A City
For many of us, The Oxford’s story is not just about the past, but what it endures.
When you look to the façade, you see more than architecture. You see the persistence of Richard Turnbull, who rebuilt after fire. You see the wealth that enables David Clarkson Turnbull to invest in property. You see James Turnbull, who gave our city its distinctive rhythm of red brick and balance. And you see Percy Rule, whose artistry and intellect helped shape the city we live in today.
A hundred years later, the Oxford still stands proud on a site linked to over 160 years of stories.
Heritage isn’t just about old buildings. It’s about what we choose to keep standing, and the stories we continue to tell about who built them, and why.
Aren’t we lucky to have built heritage like this in Timaru? Visitors are often amazed by our architecture — something I truly love too. The façades are more than decoration; they’re like art history, a visual signpost in time, guiding us back to the people and the places that made this town what it is.