Cracking was found in the chimney's brickwork after a drone inspection was carried out. Photo: SUPPLIED / DUNEDIN CITY COUNCIL
The country's only gasworks museum in Dunedin will immediately close for at least a week because of possible earthquake damage.
The city council was alerted to flaws in the structural integrity of the chimney stack at the Dunedin Gasworks Museum.
The museum preserves the city's industrial history and is considered one of the few remaining gasworks museums in the world.
The council-owned site and facilities are deemed by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga as a category 1 historic place.
Dunedin Gasworks in a photo taken about 1880. Photo: Dunedin Gasworks Museum
The council's group manager of property services Anna Nilsen said cracking was found in the chimney's brickwork after a drone inspection was carried out.
"A member of the public first noticed a lightning rod running up the chimney was no longer flush with the brickwork," she said.
The council suspected damage to the chimney may have been caused by last month's 6.8 magnitude earthquake off the South Island's southwest coast, Nilsen said.
As landlord, the council has chosen to close the site as a precaution while further investigations are completed.
"The closure will be for an initial period of one week, while we assess the situation and consider options, but may need to be extended," Nilsen said.
"This also has the potential to impact surrounding businesses, and we're working proactively to keep everyone informed.
"We acknowledge the disruption this will cause, including for businesses, the trust and its supporters, but public safety is paramount.
"We'll be working as quickly as we can to confirm next steps, and we'll know more over the coming days."
The council has requested an engineer's report on the chimney be completed.
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