Riverstone Castle takes shape
Neil and Dot Smith don’t want to just build a home . . . they want to create a legacy.
The Smiths are in the process of building their dream castle in North Otago, 20 minutes north of Oamaru.
Bronze lionesses at the entranceway, huge medieval-style wooden doors imported from Mexico and limestone roses on the turrets add to what will be a ‘‘welldressed castle’’.
Known as ‘Queen of Riverstone Castle’, Dot Smith has put a lot of thought into personalising every little nook and cranny.
‘‘Neil wanted to leave something for future generations and so that’s why it’s built so solidly, it will stand there hopefully for a few hundred years.’’
Smith said each room in the castle will be different.
‘‘It’s not just a house, it is personally crafted for us.’’
A variety of emblems and designs, including cows, possums, lizards, dragons and royal crowns are carved into external limestone walls.
‘‘Every time you walk around the house you find something different.’’
An ‘‘awful lot of work’’ went into hand-carving roses to cover the bolts on the turrets.
‘‘I didn’t like the bolts, so we came up with the idea to make roses based off a pattern on the tablecloth.’’
The project uses local resources but she was also importing furnishings.
A standout feature will be the personalised stained glass window, which they researched before creating.
It includes aspects relating to both sides of the family – a cow to represent where their wealth comes from and a pink frame, so no one forgets Smith’s pink hair.
The castle is still a year away from completion. Smith said there was no plan, they were ‘‘just going with the flow’’, and she did not want to say how much it cost.
The ‘‘cold and bitter weather’’ was tough on the small team of workers. ‘‘It’s very dusty working in a southerly.’’
Construction started two years ago, and obtaining a permit first took three years.
Smith said they wanted to build the castle for their own personal enjoyment, but ‘‘rules and regulations have taken the pleasure out of building’’.
Last year Smith published her book, Dot – Queen of Riverstone Castle, about her life and inspirations.