The building is erected for businessmen Henry Connell and Thomas Clowes, auctioneers and commercial agents specializing in grain and seeds. Four years after their first offices, they have this much larger warehouse built here, capable of receiving entire loads of grain thanks to a large integrated scale.
With its decorated facades facing Harbour and Tyne Streets, the building visually harmonizes with the Criterion Hotel located opposite, another symbol of local Victorian architecture. Its arched windows reflect the attention given to aesthetics, even for a utilitarian building.
Over time, the warehouse changes hands, notably to the National Mortgage and Agency Company, which occupies it until the 1970s.
Today, this former grain store finds a new purpose: it houses cafes, shops, a car collection, and a weekend market. A lively place that allows for a different discovery of Oamaru's rich mercantile past.