Kōrero: City history and people

By 1870, the wealth from Otago’s gold rushes had seen Princes Street’s simple wooden buildings replaced by more ornate stone structures. Footpaths had been put down and street lighting installed.

The area became the city’s financial district. The substantial three-storey buildings are the banks of New South Wales and Otago. The structure with the clock tower is the Exchange Building, which housed the post office and stock exchange. Although this building was demolished in the 1960s, the area is still known as The Exchange.