Autumn 2024

ABOUT US

The Central Otago Heritage Trust, established in 2008, comprises member groups within the local heritage community. The role of the Trust is to represent the collective interests of these groups in protecting, preserving and celebrating our unique heritage. It is governed by trustees nominated and elected by members.

The Trust is the founding organisation of Heritage Central Otago. Our communitybased initiatives are represented under the Heritage Central Otago identity.

OUR TRUSTEES

David Ritchie (Chair), Marco Creemers, Russell Garbutt, Lynda Gray, Warwick Hawker, David Hurd, Pene Morris & Ross Naylor. Ann Rodgers (CODC Liaison). Maggie Hope (Heritage Coordinator).

CONTENTS

Cover image: David & James Wybrow with dog (Otago 1870-74). Image courtesy of Te Papa.

HERITAGE MATTERS

FROM THE CHAIR

A change of season often coincides with new opportunities. And so it is with Carolyn Squires, our Oral History Manager, who has decided to leave this role to pursue new interests.

Over the last three years, Carolyn has led a productive team of volunteers to produce a great heritage asset for our district. The oral history repository has grown to nearly 100 interviews, with many of these now online for you to listen to and enjoy. We are grateful for Carolyn’s outstanding efforts and achievements and wish her well in her new endeavours.

We are now in the process of recruiting a new Oral History Manager and Carolyn has kindly offered to help with the handover.

We’d also like to thank Promote Dunstan for their recent $5,000 contribution towards the Oral History programme.

There has been another personnel change within the heritage sector. In February, Owen Graham stood down from his role as Chair of the Central Otago Museums Trust. Under Owen’s watch, Central Otago’s Museums made good progress towards the goals of the Central Otago Museums Strategic Plan and the Museums 100 project. Martin Anderson, from Cromwell Museum, has kindly agreed to step into the role of acting Chair.

It was pleasing to hear that the Cromwell Memorial Hall and Events Centre has finally been given the green light. This multi-use art, cultural and heritage facility will be a huge asset to the district. The Centre will be adjacent to the Old Cromwell Heritage Precinct and will offer many opportunities to further promote our stories.

Congratulations to the Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust for another successful Cavalcade. Now in its 31st year, this event goes from strength to strength, with new trails and activities developed to keep the 500 wagoners, riders, walkers and runners coming back for more.

I would like to acknowledge the passing of Chinese historian and author Dr James Ng. His outstanding contribution to heritage will be long remembered.

We hope you enjoy the news and stories in this autumn edition as well as getting out and about to enjoy the many events on offer over the Easter holiday.

David Ritchie, Chair - Central Otago Heritage Trust (COHT)

CELEBRATING OUR HERITAGE

MEET BLACK PETER

Recently I managed to buy a copy of the Otago-Southland Cyclopedia, which was published in 1906. It’s a wonderful old and slightly tattered reference book, which I managed to do some very amateur bookbinding on. When browsing through it, I was fascinated by an entry concerning one Edward Peters.

Mr Peters was born in Bombay, India, in 1826. Not much is known about his life before arriving in New Zealand, but according to some accounts he might have spent time chasing gold in California.

Peters landed in Otago in 1853 onboard the SS Māori where he worked as a cook. He jumped ship on 31 August of that year, and after spending the obligatory six weeks in jail, he moved to South Otago to work as a general farm labourer and shepherd. It was at this time of his life that he became more commonly known as Black Peter in reference to his skin colour. Indians in Otago were uncommon in the mid nineteenth century.

Otago-Southland Cyclopedia (1906)

While working as a shepherd in 1857, Peters fossicked enough gold in the Glenore area to pay for his provisions. A year later, when moving sheep across the Tokomairiro River, Peters discovery would change the course of Otago’s history. While the party was camped along the river’s banks in 1858, Peters decided to pan for gold while cleaning up the dishes. He found enough gold to make a gold ring for one of his colleagues, William Dawson. I understand this ring, once worn by Dawson’s wife until her death in 1915, is in the collection of the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum.

The man more widely known as the discoverer of gold in the Tuapeka is Gabriel Read. There are a few different stories about how Read learned of Peters’ discovery. It was either before he sailed to New Zealand on board the Don Pedro II, or perhaps the two men met by chance in the area. Another more likely explanation is that Read met John Gillies from the Milton area who showed Read the gold that he and Peters had fossicked. What does seem certain is that Peters never kept his discoveries secret and it was through these discoveries that Gabriel Read knew gold was to be found in the Tuapeka.

In 1861 Gabriel Read claimed the £1,000 reward that was offered by the Otago Provincial Council for finding payable gold. This was two years AFTER Peters made the same claim for the cash bonus. According to Chief Surveyor John Turnbull Thomson, the sample of gold provided by Peters in 1859 indicated a workable goldfield on the south branch of the Tokomairiro. Yet it was Read’s name, not Peters’, that ended up in the history books

In 1885, a petition was presented to Parliament requesting recognition of Edward Peters for his early discovery of the goldfield, but this was turned down for reasons that seem to have more to do with racism than anything else.

Black Peter never took part in the ensuing rush but owned a store in Waitahuna for a while before retiring, crippled and infirm, to Balclutha. Finally, with the support of Vincent Pyke, an appropriation of £50 was made by the Goldfields Committee; this was matched by a public subscription.

Peters lived out his last years in the Benevolent Institution in Dunedin where he died on 5 June 1893. He is buried at the Southern Cemetery in Dunedin.

Russell Garbutt - COHT Trustee

A memorial plaque in the Mt Stuart reserve in the Glenore area recognising Edward Peters’ role in the discovery of gold in Otago

NOT ALWAYS A MAN’S BEST FRIEND

Dogs have a long history in New Zealand. The kurī arrived here with the early Polynesian migrations and were ‘man’s best friend’ here for around 600 years. However, the distinctive kurī breed died out in the nineteenth century due to interbreeding with dogs brought by the early European settlers. This coincided with an increasing feral dog population that became a national problem.

When the Shennan brothers from Galloway and Moutere Stations mustered their first flock of sheep across the Lammerlaws in 1858, they had to guard their sheep day and night against the threat of wild dogs.

The Dog Nuisance Ordinance Act 1862 declared war on wild dogs. Any dog sighted without a collar was required to be destroyed. By the mid-1860s the problem in Central Otago was at an all-time high. Farmers, desperate to protect their flocks in fenceless paddocks, resorted to poisoning. Newspaper notices placed by run holders from Earnscleugh, Lauder, Hawksburn, Manuherekia, Matakanui and Moutere Stations alerted the public to these poisonings. In December 1881, the Grey River Argus reported that 150 wild dogs were killed at one station over that year.

Eventually what the farmers didn’t kill, poisoned rabbits did.

Dunstan Times, 5 May 1866

Kurī were small, bushy-tailed dogs who played multiple roles in Māori culture. They were great at hunting small prey, their pelts were prized for chiefly cloaks, their teeth fashioned into ornaments and their bones made into fishhooks.

The kurī in this photograph was shot by a farmer near Waikawa in 1867 and is one of only a few taxidermied Kurī in existence. (Image courtesy of Te Papa)

GREEN LIGHT FOR RIVERSIDE GREEN SPACE

The Central Otago District Council is calling for a construction partner to progress the Alexandra Riverside project. This is another positive step in getting on-theground action underway. The first stage of the project will include an access pathway to the riverside at the end of Tarbert Street. Riverside developments include a plaza, pedestrian space and public toilets - all of which will be completed this year.

The Stage 1 development cost is estimated at $1.46 million. Funding has come from the CODC’s long term plan 2021 - 2031 ($650,000), the Tourism Infrastructure Fund ($325,000) and Central Lakes Trust ($250,000).

The big picture vision of the Alexandra Riverside Trust is to rejuvenate the downtown area of Alexandra and link the township to the riverside by creating a new public space at the junction of the Clutha Mata-Au and Manuherekia Rivers. The park will be a family friendly destination for locals and visitors as well as a meeting hub for walkers and cyclists. Further developments will likely include aspects of our gold mining history and the involvement of the Chinese community.

The project has been under development since 2011, driven by the Trust Chair Rory McLellan. Since 2022 the Trust has been working in partnership with CODC staff and Aukaha (a mana whenua-owned consultancy) to progress the concept plan into a developed design. At the Vincent Community Board meeting in January Rory said, “After more than a decade of talk, the community will be pleased to see some action.”

Stage 1 Plan

Lynda Gray - Alexandra Riverside Trust Project Coordinator

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF ELECTRICITY.

The Teviot Valley is gearing up to celebrate 100 years of electricity.

Lighting up the Teviot Valley was the brainchild of three forward thinkers: miner and farmer T. P. Michelle, company chairman R. George and Roxburgh resident J. H. Waigth Jnr.

At a meeting in Roxburgh’s Athenaeum Hall on 4 February 1920, these three men put forward their ambitious proposal to generate electricity.

The first important task was purchasing water rights to the original Lake Onslow Dam from the defunct Ladysmith Goldmining Company. The Teviot District Electric Lighting, Power and Irrigation Board was established. Now all that was needed was power!

The George Power Station

“For eighteen months or so the high prices of material held them up, but as soon as there was evidence of things coming back to normal, they went ahead.” 1

The first stage of the Teviot power scheme was the ‘George Station’. Water flowed from the old mining race to a head pond above the station before being piped down the steep hill to the station’s turbines. Otago’s first commercial power station generated enough supply to light up houses from Coal Creek to Raes Junction.

On 27 March 1924 thousands of people flocked to Roxburgh to the celebration.

“Proceedings commenced with fancy dress procession… with the band in full strength. The displays in the procession were well worth seeing and the prettily decorated motor cars and the celebrated trotting horses ‘The Dingo and the ‘Kingsdale’ created plenty of amusement. During the evening the main street looked very pretty lit up with numerous lights of coloured bulbs… Everyone had a very enjoyable evening’s entertainment, which came to a fitting conclusion somewhere about 2:30am on Friday morning. The district continued the celebrations on Friday with a monster picnic at Teviot Station.”

1Mt Benger Mail, 2 April 1924

The subsequent Central Otago Power Boards were amalgamated in 1960 when the Otago Central Electric Power Board (OCEPT) was formed. Amidst, the electricity reforms in 1999, OCEPT chose to sell its lines and retain its generation business to become Pioneer Energy. Today Central Lakes Trust retains 100% ownership of Pioneer Energy.

On 23 March 2024, Roxburgh will once again come together to celebrate electricity coming into the valley, with many activities planned for the 100-year celebration. The Teviot Valley celebrates turning the lights on 27 March 1924

THE WINDING TRAILS TO WAIKAIA

The 31st Goldfields Cavalcade was a stunner! This year, the week-long event included wagoners, horse riders, trampers, mountain bikers, and runners. Apart from bumpy rides, a few sore muscles, fog and a couple of chilly nights, everything went without a hitch. The trails traversed through the best of Central Otago and Southland scenery, all finishing at this year’s host town - Waikaia.

The heavy wagon trail spent the first part of the week riding through the historic Argyle, Glenaray, and Glencairn Stations. The walking and running trails were not for the faint-hearted. Starting at Ohai, the trail runners covered 30-40 km each day across the Eyre Mountains, and the mountain bike runners had some big climbs up in the Old Man Range.

“This year we covered huge distances. It’s as far west as we’ve ever been with trails starting at Te Anau Downs and Mount Linton Station. It was an incredible combined effort from landowners to set these trails,” says Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust’s Cavalcade Coordinator, Terry Davis.

With over 500 participants across the eleven trails, it was an impressive sight at Waikaia on 2 March, with over 2,000 people turning out for the grand parade, market day and hoedown celebrations.

“The Topp Twins were a fantastic drawcard this year, with the hoedown sold out weeks beforehand The Waikaia Host Town Committee pulled out all the stops to make the finale an awesome event.”

Riding the Gavin Hogg Domebusters Trail

Photo courtesy of rider, Amanda Buller

WHAT’S IN A NAME - BANNOCKBURN

Early New Zealand colonists were eager to make their mark by bestowing place names that signified allegiance to the British Empire. These place names were often chosen to reflect British heroes, historical events or family connections to places ‘back home’.

For New Zealand Surveyor General, John Turnbull Thomson, who mapped Otago in 1857, ‘back home’ was Scotland. This is perhaps why many of the place names he assigned in our region, such as Bannockburn, have Scottish origins.

Bannockburn in Scotland is just south of Stirling and is named after the Bannock Burn, a stream running through the town. The flat, leafy green countryside there bears no resemblance to the desert-like landscape of Central Otago’s Bannockburn. So why did Thomson choose this name?

Military heroes and famous battles became popular choices for place names further north - Auckland, Napier, Hastings, Havelock, and Nelson to name a few. The historic Battle of Bannockburn was recognised by Thomson here in Central Otago.

The medieval Battle of Bannockburn was fought on 23-24 June 1314, between the army of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and the army of King Edward II of England, during the First War of Scottish Independence. It was a decisive victory for Robert the Bruce and formed a major turning point in the war, which ended 14 years later with the restoration of Scottish independence. For this reason, the Battle of Bannockburn is widely considered a landmark moment in Scottish history.

The origin of the name Bannockburn has also been explained in an old Scottish legend. 'Bannock', a type of flatbread made from oats, played a crucial role in the history of the town.

When famine struck, a local baker used his bannock-making skills to unite the community. The ingredients were pooled together from near-empty pantries to bake a colossal flatbread. Friends and neighbours worked side by side, kneading the dough and sharing stories. The aroma of the baking Bannock wafted through the town, symbolising hope and togetherness. This strong sense of community is still alive and well today in the Bannockburn of Central Otago (see page 18).

Robert the Bruce statue Bannockburn, Scotland

THE STORY BEGINS ON THE TRAIL

The Otago Central Rail Trail Trust have pulled together a world-class educational resource on their dedicated websiteRail Tales. This labour of love was a team effort that included Trustees, volunteers and educational specialists.

The idea started with Trustees brainstorming how to use their existing website stories and rail trail interpretive panels to build an integrated education resource for teachers and students.

The first step in the 3-year project was to update the existing interpretive panels along the trail. With help from MBIE and Pub Charities funding, the Trust contracted Museograph’s multidisciplinary design and education team. As part of this project, Rail Tales was born.

A series of six learning modules were developed targeting different age groups and learning levels. Each of these modules align with NCEA subject and learning areas.

The design and compilation of the interactive Rail Tales website was undertaken by e-learning specialist, Anthony Breese and his Historian wife Alison Breese. A map of the trail and surrounding areas is peppered with clickable markers that lead the reader to a range of stories covering geological, environmental, historical and social aspects of the district.

New interpretative panels

An animation of a moving train across each webpage is a quirky cue that keeps the Rail Trail at the heart of the learning tool. Historical images are also incorporated to create a visual balance of text and imagery.

I wanted to build a resource to support teachers and students that incorporated hands-on learning with our local history and could also be integrated across the curriculum,“ says Anthony.

Another key aspect of the project was to see the trail itself as a classroom. Students start their learning on bikes then go back to school to extend their knowledge through accessing the website and learning modules.

“Trustees are delighted with the website and initial feedback from schools has been very positive. The Trust will continue to work with Anthony and Alison Breese to ensure the website remains current with New Zealand’s learning curriculum.” says Tania Murphy the Trust’s Manager

The website is not only for young learners. It is a wonderful resource for adults who want to know more about Central Otago’s rich history and heritage. It’s well worth a look!

Rail Tales: Webpage on the history of Oturehua

PROTECTING & PRESERVING OUR HERITAGE

RECOGNISING JAMES NG’S CONTRIBUTION TO HERITAGE

Dr James Ng (Ng Tak Ming) died unexpectedly on 6 March in Dunedin aged 87.

James (Jim) Ng was born in Wing Loong Village, Guangdong Province, China. He came to New Zealand in 1941, at the age of 5, where his family owned laundries in Gore and Ashburton and a fruit shop in Dunedin.

As a GP in Dunedin, Jim developed his passion for New Zealand Chinese history, publishing his comprehensive four volume literary works ‘Windows on a Chinese Past’ in the 1990s

He and his wife Eva founded the New Zealand Heritage Research Charitable Trust, whose "Ng New Zealand Chinese Heritage Collection" is recognised by UNESCO

This historical research collection comprises comprehensive documents compiled by Rev. Alexandra Don, including diaries, letters, and other records of the 3,500 19th-century gold seekers in Otago. Ng continued to expand on this collection, which tells the stories of the changing nature and lives of the Chinese community in New Zealand and their relationship to China.

Realising the importance of Chinese pioneers in Otago gold mining history, Dr Ng bought the land of the Lawrence Chinese Camp in 2004 and established its charitable trust, now chaired by his daughter Denise.

Dr Ng’s awards include the Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Member of the Order of the British Empire, and the Medal of the Dominican Order.

Windows

Jim’s legacy and contribution to Chinese heritage will forever be remembered. We offer our sincere condolences to the Ng family at this sad time.

on a Chinese Past, James Ng

Dr James (Jim) Ng

TELLING OUR STORIES - ORAL HISTORY UPDATE

Volunteer oral history interviewer, Sue MacKenzie, sat down with Peter Ryan in October 2023 to talk about his family’s enterprising business activities in Central Otago.

Peter Ryan’s family history is firmly embedded in Central Otago. His greatgrandfather, Laurence Ryan, came from Ireland in the 1860s via the Victorian Goldfields, initially to Lawrence and then on to Alexandra. Laurence and his two brothers made their mark on the goldfields by running hotels in Alexandra, Clyde, and Ophir, all of which were named The Bendigo. Three generations later, the Ryan entrepreneurial spirit is still strong.

Born in Dunedin in the mid-1930s to Marie (née Scully) and Stanley Ryan, Peter was the eighth of their nine children. Like many young lads growing up at this time, he tried his hand at different jobs, including plastering, bricklaying, forestry, and working as a freezing worker at Tapanui.

Eager to take his newly purchased 1921 Model A Ford for a spin, Peter went on a holiday to Queenstown in 1953 where he met his future wife Mavis, who was performing in the Dunedin Ladies Pipe Band.

In the early 1960s, Peter and Mavis purchased the Becks Hotel. For the first five years, the hotel was under the 6 o’clock closing curfew. Like many rural hotels at the time, this rule was often ignored. Peter joked that sometimes it was closer to 6 am when last drinks were called.

Peter and Mavis embraced life in Becks and made lifelong friends there. But after eight years, they needed to consider secondary education opportunities for their four children. Reluctantly, they moved to Christchurch, where they grew tomatoes and ran a poultry farm on the outskirts of the city.

Peter Ryan 2023

Painting of the Ryan’s Bendigo Hotel

The Ryans returned to Alexandra in the 1970s and took over the Four Square in Centennial Ave, which was located where Paper Plus is today. At this time, supermarkets in Otago were few and far between. In 1984, the Ryans turned their very successful Four Square into a supermarket - Alexandra New World.

The grocery business has changed over the years. In the early days products had to be hand packaged, orders used to be taken down with pencil and pad and delivered to customers. Technology has also changed and tourism now plays a big part of the business, accounting for about 25 per cent of turnover. However, some aspects of the grocery business have stayed the same.

When Peter and Mavis retired, their son Kevin took over the business. After 27 years, Kevin passed the reins to his son, Shane. Until recently Peter’s other son, Philip, owned New World in Cromwell

Peter is very proud of the Ryan family’s Central Otago heritage. Many descendants of Laurence Ryan are buried at Drybread Cemetery. The Omakau Races are an annual meeting place for the Ryan clan and Peter still goes back to Becks for a spot of duck shooting.

The Ryan Clan at New World (2017) Peter with his sons and grandchildren

THE MANUHEREKIA JUNCTION CEMETERY

Near the confluence of the Manuherekia River and the Clutha Mata-au River at Alexandra is a burial site known as the Manuherekia Cemetery (and by some locals as Graveyard Gully Cemetery).

This cemetery predates the 1868 start of the Alexandra Cemetery and is possibly one of the oldest European cemeteries in Central Otago. However, it was only legally established in 1899, well after it ceased to be used.

Today, set behind a stacked stone wall, this small cemetery has a memorial at its heart commemorating those who lost their lives in the early part of the district’s European history. No actual gravestones remain today.

Manuherekia Cemetery is thought to be the final resting place for some hardy miners who ventured out to claims in the rugged and unforgiving Roxburgh Gorge and the Old Woman Range

The burial ground had its beginnings at the peak of the Central Otago gold rushes. Before being formally named Alexandra in mid-1863, the nearby tent township was known as the Manuherekia Junction.

The first known burial here was in February 1863. A seven-year-old lad, William George Robertson, had drowned in the Manuherekia River. This site was probably chosen away from the gold mining claims that took up most of this general area.

The junction of the Manuherekia and the Molyneux Illustrated London News, 14 November 1863

Some miners who perished in the notorious snowstorms on the Old Man Range in 1863 also rest here. The last confirmed burial was of the well-known local punt proprietor, John Duley, in May 1869. Before 1879 all communication across the river was by punt. Restricted space and the need for an easier-of-access burial ground led to the opening of the ’New Cemetery’ - the present one to the north of Alexandra - in 1867.

Over time the gully in which this burial ground stands came to be known as ‘Graveyard Gully’ , a name that stuck. In 1892 two local men inspecting the cemetery counted no fewer than 41 pioneer graves. Their description of its neglect led to a restoration.

A communal stone was engraved with as many names as locals could recall. The crumbling stone wall was re-built. The cemetery’s original name was revived. Work was completed in 1905. Nothing more was done for over sixty years and the decline resumed. In 1967 another reconstruction was carried out. The wall was rebuilt again, and the old damaged headstone was replaced and the inscription was carried over to the bronze plaque seen today.

Unfortunately, the original stone turned out to be full of errors with many of the names misspelled and only a handful of the original burials listed. The most wellknown of all the burials was that of George Hyde and John Love, mates who perished in the same storm on the Old Man Range in December 1863.

The cemetery is well worth a visit and the location also offers a starting point for an easy walking trail on the east side of the Clutha Mata-Au River.

Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust

Graveyard Gully Cemetery

THE STORY OF A TOWN - BANNOCKBURN - A PLACE TO STAND

The people of Bannockburn are fascinating. We know, because we have spent the last few months making their portraits and writing their stories. Well, we couldn’t do all the people, especially as the population has exploded, with new developments and extensions of what we call Bannockburn - and home.

I’m Jan Hawkins, and it was my photographer husband, Tim, who first thought of the concept of our project, Bannockburn - turangawaewae - a place to stand. Some years ago, Tim helped Paul Crump to put his historical documents and photographs together in such a way that the website ‘Old Bannockburn’ could be set up by David Olds www.oldbannockburn.nz

It occurred to Tim that the current history was not being recorded in a way that could be interesting in 50, 80 or 100-years’ time. This is a time of great change. We decided to do something about it.

As we walked our dog, Louie, we dropped a letter into local letterboxes, asking locals to text us if they were keen to take part. There was such an enthusiastic response that we did not get to all letterboxes before being oversubscribed.

Graeme Stewart and his son James at the exhibition opening at Central Stories

It’s been a great joint project for us. The selection of interviewees was completely random. We had thought of selecting a cross-section of locals, by interest and diversity, but we decided that a random group, self-selected, would be a better option. As Tim says, “All people are interesting.”

Tim photographed people in locations that had meaning to them - at home, or around the village. My part was to interview the participants and write a story to accompany each photograph - a longer job, brewed down to about 20,000+ words, but very enjoyable. Each person was able to review their story to check for inaccuracies or omissions. They didn’t get to see their photographs until the exhibition opened!

The exhibition is on now at Central Stories till the end of the Easter holiday. We intend to present the exhibition in digital form to the Cromwell Museum and perhaps other groups after the exhibition closes. We are humbled by the support and trust shown to us by the 40-plus people involved.

Jan Hawkins

MUSEUM UPDATES

Central Otago Museums Trust

Professional-looking collection photographs will now be available for all the museums in Central Otago thanks to the grant from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage supporting the Central Museums 100 project (CM100).

Some of the museums already have this ability, but now - thanks to our newly purchased cameras, lighting equipment, backdrops and tripods - all museums will be producing great photographs of their collections.

Two complete kits have been bought so that more than one museum can make use of the equipment at the same time. These kits are portable, so it is easy to set up and pack down. Training is being provided for museum staff and volunteers, which will cover how to use the camera and edit the images.

Once the photographs have been edited for quality and accuracy, they will be loaded onto the online eHive database. All five Central Otago museums are moving onto this New Zealand web-based cataloging system. Cromwell and Teviot Valley museums have been using it for several years and now Central Stories, Clyde and Maniototo Early Settlers museums are in the early stages of moving onto it as well. eHive is available to everyone with an internet connection, so the reach of the museums will be increased.

Central Stories volunteer, Margaret Jarrold, working with the new photography equipment

Not only will the museums be taking photographs of the chosen objects for the CM100 project, they will also eventually photograph their entire collections.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in learning more about and are able to volunteer some time, contact your local museum or Amanda Griffin, the museums coordinator and project manager: amanda@museumscentralotago.org.nz

Amanda Griffin - Central Otago Museums’ Trust Coordinator.

Central Stories Museum & Art Gallery

Bannockburn - A Place to Stand

by Jan and Tim Hawkins, is a celebration of 40 people who have made Bannockburn their home. New and not so new memories are shared by a diverse group of locals, accompanied by wonderful photographs of their small slice of paradise. 1 - 31 March

Around the World

The team at Central Stories are bringing out their collection of dolls from around the world for you and your family to enjoy over the school holidays. Come and explore countries and cultures through workshops, clue hunts, craft activities and virtual reality.

So grab a passport from Central Stories during the April school holidays and get it stamped as you complete each activity. Prizes to be won! 13 - 28 April

Cromwell Museum

Cromwell Museum trustees applaud the decision of the Central Otago District Council to proceed with the construction of the Cromwell Memorial Hall and Events Centre

Trust chair, Martin Anderson said, “It is gratifying to note that all the features of the final approved design from Jasmax, including a cafe, auditorium and a museum are to be a part of the complex. The Museum Trust wishes to acknowledge the support of the Cromwell Community Board and the people of Cromwell for this project and is confident that such a fine resource will be of significant benefit to a growing town.”

Concept plan of the Cromwell Memorial Hall and Events Centre

Teviot District Museum

Volunteers have been busy over the holiday season both inside and out. An access ramp is near completion and in the newly named ‘Robin Christie Room’ walls have been painted and wool carpet tiles are currently being laid. We’re very grateful to the Lions and Roxburgh Fire Brigade members who recently helped us shift a fivemetre-long heavy bench into the museum.

The Lodge Museum building will be the site of the installation of the first Roxburgh power pole as part of Pioneer Energy’s 100-year celebrations on 23 March 10am - 3pm.

The new access ramp at Teviot Lodge Museum

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