Dawson Falls Visitor Centre

Brief

Create stylised exhibits informing visitors of Mt Taranaki's history, fauna and wildlife.

Client

Mount Taranaki Visitors Centre

Manufacture

The trees were fabricated from laminated MDF panels and hand painted. The bases needed to be representative of the mountain so a strata effect was created using crushed stone from the area. The hut was created from old corrugated iron which was nailed to a timber framework. The snow was sculpted polyurethane foam with a coating of resin.

Finished Results / Interesting Notes

The accommodation hut by the visitors centre is the oldest prefabricated building in New Zealand and was originally purchased from Australia and used as barracks during the Maori wars. In the late 1960s it was bought by the Mt Taranaki Climbing Club and hauled up the mountain to its present location.