Oamaru Embracing the Steampunk Vibe

Technology blog Boing Boing visits “amazing steampunk town” Oamaru, which though “probably best known for its large colony of blue penguins”, is also the steampunk capital of New Zealand.

“Oamaru has fully embraced the steampunk vibe, going so far as hosting the annual 3-day Steampunk NZ Festival (2015’s is scheduled for 28 May) and creating a steampunk-themed playground – complete with an elephant howdah zipline, a pennyfarthing swingset, and a Victorian-age rocket slide – that my daughters have declared as the best playground in the world.

“And right smack in the middle of all this steampunky goodness is Steampunk HQ, a industrial-inspired steam-powered art gallery and retro-futuristic showroom set up in a massive, three-story Victorian-style sandstone building originally built in 1883 (it used to have five stories but lost two in what they say was a ‘spectacular fire’).

“You quite literally cannot miss the place. It’s down by the waterfront, right next to the train tracks. A fire-breathing steam engine, designated SP001, looms large in front of the building, and a giant shark-mouthed steampunk blimp, hanging over a mysterious set of double gates, demands to be noticed.”

Original article by Tom Fassbender, Boing Boing, January 12, 2015.