{"id":579393,"date":"2026-08-25T02:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T02:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/579393\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T02:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T02:12:10","slug":"east-of-eden-puts-oamarus-10m-heritage-street-on-the-world-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/579393\/","title":{"rendered":"East of Eden puts \u014camaru\u2019s $10m heritage street on the world stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Netflix confirmed this month that the series, starring Florence Pugh as Cathy Ames, will premiere on October 1.<\/p>\n

\"JohnJohn Baster and Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust property manager Jacob Barwick sit on a planter box from East of Eden with a copy of the Starlight Hotel signage.
\nPhoto \/ Waitaki District Council<\/p>\n

Parts of the production were filmed in \u014camaru in January last year, with the town\u2019s distinctive heritage buildings helping transform the precinct into period California.<\/p>\n

The production continues a long relationship between \u014camaru and the screen industry, with its preserved limestone buildings, historic harbour and relatively uncluttered streetscape making it particularly suitable for period productions.<\/p>\n

\u014camaru Whitestone Civic Trust property manager Jacob Barwick said the arrival of East of Eden had brought excitement to the precinct.<\/p>\n

\"JohnJohn Baster with the bottles of Lanes Emulsion from East of Eden. Photo \/ Waitaki District Council<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crew were amazed by the precinct,\u201d Barwick said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey told us there was nowhere else in the world quite like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Securing \u014camaru as a location was more than a year in the making, according to material released by the Waitaki District Council, with location scouts returning several times before the town was confirmed.<\/p>\n

By December 2024, props and costumes were arriving ahead of filming the following month.<\/p>\n

\"\u014camaru\u2019s\u014camaru\u2019s SteamPunk Headquarters. Photo \/ Waitaki District Council<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all had to sign non-disclosure agreements, of course, but it was an open set, so people were always nearby, watching the transformation unfold,\u201d Barwick said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were even bus tours organised.\u201d<\/p>\n

Waitaki District Council chief executive Alex Parmley said the production offered an opportunity to showcase the town internationally.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was wonderful to see \u014camaru become part of a major international production, and the community is looking forward to recognising our streets and buildings on screen,\u201d Parmley said.<\/p>\n

\"\u014camaru\u2019s\u014camaru\u2019s Victorian Precinct was transformed into early 20th-century California during filming for Netflix\u2019s East of Eden.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a proud moment for the town and another opportunity to showcase \u014camaru as a distinctive, film-friendly destination.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u014camaru already has substantial screen credentials.<\/p>\n

Jane Campion\u2019s Oscar-winning The Power of the Dog filmed in the Victorian Precinct in 2020, using \u014camaru as part of its re-creation of 1920s Montana.<\/p>\n

The wider Waitaki district also featured in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, with Elephant Rocks near Duntroon used as the location for Aslan\u2019s Camp.<\/p>\n

\"Dunedin,Dunedin, Maniototo and \u014camaru locations will feature in Netflix\u2019s East of Eden, due for release later this year. <\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the BBC\u2019s Great Railway Journeys also came to \u014camaru, with presenter Michael Portillo and his crew filming the town\u2019s railway heritage, Victorian architecture and Steampunk character.<\/p>\n

The council has produced a film-location trail directing visitors to sites across Waitaki associated with screen productions, including the Victorian Precinct, Old Waitaki Bridge, Elephant Rocks, Otekaike, Clay Cliffs and the Ahuriri Valley.<\/p>\n

A more detailed map showing locations used for East of Eden is also being developed.<\/p>\n

Barwick said it would allow visitors to explore the places seen in the series after it begins streaming.<\/p>\n

The production also incorporated a particularly local piece of history.<\/p>\n

Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust restoration officer John Baster assisted with period details for the production, including bottles bearing original labels from Lane\u2019s Emulsion, a tonic once manufactured in \u014camaru.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a wonderful \u014camaru touch,\u201d Baster said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe production used the original Lane\u2019s labels on the bottles. Now those props are displayed in the very building where the tonic was once made. Today it\u2019s home to the Victorian Wardrobe. It\u2019s a lovely moment where local history, heritage and film all come together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Netflix\u2019s East of Eden also stars Christopher Abbott, Mike Faist, Hoon Lee, Tracy Letts, Ciar\u00e1n Hinds, Martha Plimpton, Joseph Zada and Joe Anders.<\/p>\n

The seven-episode limited series premieres on Netflix on October 1.<\/p>\n

Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Netflix confirmed this month that the series, starring Florence Pugh as Cathy Ames, will premiere on October 1.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[59451,45054,1443,285412,9526,15247,3806,219,8142,156,40147,8993,1019,1132,218892,111,139,69,1118,90,56448,43296,13172,5433,5424,223,664,377,379],"class_list":["post-579393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-59451","tag-10m","tag-about","tag-amarus","tag-another","tag-contributing","tag-east","tag-economy","tag-eden","tag-entertainment","tag-estimated","tag-heritage","tag-international","tag-million","tag-netflixs","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-on","tag-precinct","tag-puts","tag-spotlight","tag-stage","tag-street","tag-the","tag-turn","tag-world","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}