Meri Kirihimete - back online at last!

Kia ora katoa

Apologies for the long silence - there was definitely a gremlin in the works somewhere as I could not sign in to the blog, hence it was impossible to post.......not the greatest but, the whizzkids in IT have done their thing and here we are back online! Hoorah!

So much has been happening Aotea Utanganui - Museum of South Taranaki....the funding for the exhibition was secured in October thanks to a generous grant from the South Taranaki District Council so the exhibition development has proceeding apace. Object lists, communication goals, interpretive media - all the jargon is in full use and the museum team is working to capacity and beyond to get the doors open.

We have been fortunate to get all sorts of help from our friends and volunteers - the Machinery Restoration Group has been busy with wire brushes and borer treatment, cleaning off rust and zapping those pesky borer beetles before they can get out and about. A lot of the collection needs restorative work before it can go on display so we have a lot to do.........

This gorgeous little jigger is looking much better now that it has been cleaned. I really like the bright red paint. Imagine the excitement you would have felt if you were five and found this under your Christmas Tree in 1920! Oh happy day!

Meri Kirihimete to you all and best wishes for health and happiness in 2011.

Crossing the Road

Kia ora katoa.

We have had a most exciting time in the last few days because the men from MWH have been completing the traffic calming and crossing place between the museum and the library. While this may not seem terribly exciting to you, it is exciting to us because the project has been stalled for months by bad weather, and we have had partially completed traffic islands overflowing with water and collecting assorted rubbish. but this week the sun has been shining, and the men have been out with their machines......................



and with their hammers and cool Braille bumps so that people with a sight disability can find their way…………………
And after much drilling and gluing, sweeping and sticking, the crossing is complete. I really like this as it will it will slow down the traffic and make it much easier for people to get from the library to the museum safely. Hoorah! Thanks to Kat and her team at MWH – good work!

I have been having problems uploading images; the format has changed and I am struggling to get beyond a grey square with a circular series of dots in the centre..........so until I can figure this out there will be no illustrations on this blog. I do apologise for this.

If you know how to resolve this please let me know via comments, or
email me at: kristelle.plimmer@stdc.govt.nz or  phone the museum on 0064 6 273 8354.

I will keep trying

ka kite ano

Butter Marking

Kia ora katoa

a couple of posts ago I published some photos of a large wooden screw-type thing; we now know that it is a butter auger. Curious indeed - what does it do? Well, a butter auger came  into it's own towards the end of the process - once the cream had been churned and the butter formed, the whey was drained off and the butter fell into a large funnel where the auger was situated. As the auger turned, the butter was pushed along and out into a mould. It was then marked with a textured rolling pin-type device like this:

Thus labelled as being an example of New Zealand's finest, the butter was boxed up and packaged for export.

The rolling-pin butter labeller we have in our collection is very worn in places, attesting to a long and useful life and, no doubt, much scrubbing at the end of every shift so it was clean and ready for the next day's work. 

I have to say that I am very impressed with all these wooden tools that were used in the dairy industry; it must have taken a lot  of work to create them and  to keep them clean and hygenic. My hat goes off to the man who carved this particular beauty; it is so detailed and evenly cut, yet retains a  freshness of design. Tools that suit their purpose and that work well are a joy to the user, and this is one of them - enjoy!

Pests and Predators

Kia ora katoa

Rob Groat, our museum educator is very busy today as it is Conservation Week and he has a full schedule of bookings for his Pests and Predators programme. The class, which has a range of options to suit the different needs of younger and older students, looks at the range of pests and predators that live in Taranaki and the effects that have upon the environment. As we have only one example of the taxidermists art in the collection, this fine Harrier Hawk:

Rob has managed to borrow some very cool stuffed critters to enable the children to study these creatures close-up. No touching of course, but it is important that they can see the details of tooth and claw that make the opossum, the ferret and the stoat, amongst others, such successful predators.

He will be asking the students to look at such questions as: is a predator always a pest? What makes a successful predator? Are all introduced species pests? How do we define a pest? The students will then be challenged to design the ultimate predator.

Rob will be offering the Pests and Predators programme until the end of 2010. All our education programmes are free and any school or group of home-schoolers within South Taranaki is welcome to take advantage of this educational opportunity. Contact the museum for more details or to make a booking.

Ph: 06 273 8354  or email: rob.groat@stdc.govt.nz

ka kite ano

Kristelle

Curiousities from the Collection

Kia ora katoa.

When you have a collection that has been packed up in boxes and wrapped up in bubble wrap the process of unwrapping is one of discovery - what is this? What does it do? How does it work? Those items that have accession numbers can be looked up in the old registers, but sometimes they are not much help........for example, today we unwrapped two wooden screws or augers, about 600mm long and 220 in diameter that were, apparently, used in the butter churning process. We haven't worked out the how yet - but we will. Here is a photo of one - if you have any clues  - don't keep us in the dark; share your knowledge please!

The best bit is - we have two of them!

One is slightly longer than the other and has a metal bit that looks as if it could attach to something, but I don't know what...........we shall keep on looking...............

and keep on unwrapping the curiousities in the collection.........

Ka kite ano.

moving on.........

Kia ora katoa

We have been very busy these last two days making the MOST of the fine weather to get the rest of the Archives shifted into the museum. We must have been back and forward across the street a hundred times or more with loads of boxes, drawers, trays, more boxes, plan cabinets and shelving. The Patea Library Plus staff have been absolute angels as we traipse through the library and back again. Jay, Christina and Moana from Patea BP have been extremely generous in letting us borrow their sack barrow for the heavier items and, huge thanks to MWH for the new traffic islands that have occasionally stopped the traffic. You all rock!

Whilst there is still quite a lot of sorting and shelving to do, the Archives are in the museum - and we can get on with the real work of exhibition development and working towards re-opening. We still need funding for exhibition design and installation so all donations gratefully received!

This photo allows you to see the traffic islands (don't you love traffic calming?) with Terry and Rob as they carry the last of the plan cabinets, sans drawers, into the museum. Happy days indeed.

Ka kite ano.

busy week

kia ora katoa;  it has been a very busy week at the museum. We have had  two exhibition development meeetings and we are moving forward, slowly, at times it can seem agonisingly slowly but - we will get there. We have been shifting the archives from off-site storage  to the museum and this takes ages. So many boxes to move, so many heavy cabinets and drawers.......so many papers and photos. Each box has treasures that we have to look and consider for inclusion - it is a huge task!

In addition to all that work we have been out in the community, reading to the children at Patea Library Plus as part of Library Week. Mr Muggs, the Library Cat bears a remarkable resemblance to Sassy, the Patea Library cat. They could be related, except that Sassy tends to catch small birds rather than rats - so many feathers!

We have had to accept that we willnot ghet the museum open before Xmas - the funding has not been forthcoming and it is nonsenical to set a date until we have the funds.

So, we soldier on. One more busy week in the life of a small museum that desperately wants to get the doors open to the public...........calling all benefactors..............

ka kite ano.

and the winner is..........

kia ora katoa

the winner of the raffle Prize Draw 1:  Milly Mitchell-Anyon; Prize Draw 2: Judith Jones.
They are both delighted as I am sure you would have been had you won, but the real winner here is the museum and I want to say a huge Thank You to all the ticket buyers for their support. You can bask in the warm glow of knowing that you have done a good thing! You are all wonderful people!

Now that the shelving donated by Puke Ariki has been installed in the Archives Storeroom we are busy moving all the books and boxes of archival material from off-site storage to the museum. This is quite a big task, made all the harder by the distractions each box offers. Today we came across an apple crate full of advertising slides from the cinema. These are lovely - the colours are fresh and vibrant and the advertisements are a microcosm of twentieth century commerce in South Taranaki.

"Pop into Mike's Milk Bar for a shake and listen to the juke box - that will while away a relaxing Friday evening before you take your best girl to the late show."

Fortunately the slides are printed on glass so we can scan them relatively easily; once we  have had a chance to do this I can post some pictures for you to enjoy.

It is all to easy to forget what treasures we have when they are stashed away in a distant location; and it is exciting to open the boxes and see what gems we have. Now to fit them into the exhibition..........

ka kite ano

Term 3 Schools Education Programmes

Education programmes are an integral part of contemporary museum practice and Aotea Utanganui is no exception. Rob Groat, our Educator is offering two programmes in Term 3 Pests and Predators and Secret Suitcase.


Pests and Predators examines the relationships between native and introduced animal species. Students will research the attributes of predators and some of the ways to control the impact of these animal pests on South Taranaki’s unique ecosystems.
Rob will lead this free programme at venues around the district for participating schools and he also hopes to run the programme in some of the district libraries during Conservation Week in September.
Secret Suitcase has a collection focus – it features a suitcase full of unusual and mysterious objects from the collection and asks the students to consider what they might be and how these objects could be used. The original intent of the object is as much a question as the possible uses it could have today. This programme is designed to tap into the imagination whilst exploring design and the use of materials.
The development and delivery of these programmes is a result of a partnership agreement between Aotea Utanganui and Puke Ariki. They are intended to connect to the curriculum and will be appropriately adapted for different age groups and learning levels. There are pre- and post- visit teacher resources available to enable maximum use of time and enhanced learning outcomes. Participation is free.

Kia ora katoa

its Te Wiki O Te Reo Maori and there are no macrons on blogspot! We should start a campaign!

What a huge day we have had; we had planned to move the framed works from their off-site storage to the museum in a controlled fashion that allowed us to check, sort, collate and condition report each object, but when we set off to do this we found half of the glass in the door had been kicked in so we had to move everything in that storage facility out today. Now all the framed works are propped up and lining the walls of the gallery, waiting to be sorted, cleaned, checked, collated and condition reported - suddenly the task seems huge! But, it is like eating an elephant - so one bite at a time...............

We do have some gems in the collection and I am looking forward to seeing them free of dust, bubble wrap and tyvek - there are some real curiousities such as World War II cartoons drawn on old cardboard boxes and nailed to rough wooden frames. I have to figure out how to conserve these whilst retaining their innate character and special qualities - collection management is replete with such conundrums.

Bookworms and art lovers, fans of Taranaki and museum friends - this is the last opportunity to buy a raffle ticket. If you would like two chances to win luscious books on Taranaki; get back to me asap at kristelle.plimmer@stdc.govt.nz or phone the museum on 06 273 8354.
Raffle is drawn on Friday morning under police supervision. Proceeds go to support the exhibition design development so be in to win!

Here's what the books look like:

I shall look forward to hearing from you by close of play Thursday

ka kite

Kristelle, museum curator.

book book book!!!

Kia ora


last post I mentioned that we are short of funds - well we are having a raffle, not that one raffle will cover the costs of designing and installing the exhibitions, but every penny counts! First prize is six luscious books about Taranaki and second prize is five luscious books about Taranaki.

The complete list of titles for the first prize is: Te Ara Tapu - Sacred Journeys: Whanganui Regional Museum Taonga Maori Collection, Taranaki Fortunes: Lost and Won, Te Maunga Taranaki - Views of a Mountain, Taranaki Stories, Len Lye, The Sacred Hart - Terry Urbahn.
Second Prize is: Taranaki Whenua - Life Blood Legacy,  Taranaki Fortunes: Lost and Won, Taranaki Culture - Fresh Out of the Box, With Spirit - Don Driver, a Retrospective, Ann Shelton - A Kind of Sleep.

Tickets cost $5.00 and there are 400 tickets in total.
The raffle will be drawn under police supervision on Friday July 30.
Let me know how many tickets you wish to buy - kristelle.plimmer@stdc.govt.nz or phone 06 273 8354

Happy Thursday
Kristelle

P.S. There is a mystery prize for whoever sells the most tickets, so I am counting on all of you to buy a ticket from me!

Kia ora katoa

it has been a fabulous week weatherwise - calm, clear and cold with heavy frosts since Sunday......the most delicious aspect of winter. Te maunga, Taranaki has been looking absolutely majestic and the frost has frozen the plants around the Aotea Memorial in Patea. These pictures were taken on Tuesday, July 13, about 7.45am - brrrr!

What's happening at the museum this week? Well, today is judging for the Building of the Year Awards so we have been cleaning and polishing in order for the building to look its shining and beautiful best. Right now there is a faint scent of furniture polish and glass cleaner pervading the otherwise empty galleries. Exhibition development is proceeding and, although it can seem agonisingly slow, it takes time to create stunning exhibitions, particularly when your collection is a range of the gloriously random and the outright eclectic!

The other component of exhibition development that we are sorely missing is funds. Marie, the secretary of the Museum Trust Board is a whizz at writing funding applications but so far we have come up with - nothing. There are more applications out there that we have not had a response on yet, but we are in dire need of money if we are to get the exhibitions on the floor by the end of November. All donations gratefully received!

If you have any suggestions  on how we might solve this dilemma, or if you have recently won Lotto and are feeling generous, please get in touch - 06 273 8354 or email: kristelle.plimmer@stdc.govt.nz

ka kite
Kristelle

Kia ora katoa.

There is so much to do to get this museum open - exhibition development is challenging at the best of times, but when large parts of the collection are still in boxes and the roof on your collection storage area leaks it is downright frustrating. What to do? Well, we decided to fix the roof so, having scrounged a large pile of "good" second hand corrugated iron and a couple of sheets of long run roofing we peered at the sky and declared Saturday June 19 to be the day.

Fortified with coffee and cheese scones we lifted the old leaky roof and replaced it, sheet by sheet with new or nearly new non-leaky roof. The team worked brilliantly; no one fell off or through - which is a good thing as they would have most likely landed on a precious collection item and damaged it - and we finished the day with three-quarters of a new roof.

Here's the crunch - we need another 52 metres of material to complete the job, so if anyone out there has good quality roofing iron to spare, please can we have it? We can collect it and you will be rewarded for your generosity - you will be suffused with a warm glow that comes from knowing you have done a good thing!

I can almost certainly promise you a very waggy response from our site supervisor who spent the day on the ground keeping a close eye on things!

To contact us with news of your generous donation call 06 273 8354 or email me on kristelle.plimmer@stdc.govt.nz

It has rained an awful lot since our working bee and I am pleased to report that we have not had any leaking from the new roof - so our work is proving worthwhile; gosh, we might even get the collection unpacked sometime soon................ 

ka kite ano

Kristelle Plimmer, Curator. Aotea Utanganui - Museum of South Taranaki 

Kia ora katoa.

This is the best weather to be at work - chilly grey days with frequent spatters of rain.......so what is happening in the museum?

We have had our textile collection fumigated and now it is being condition-reported and carefully placed in these delicious new textile cabinets. It is a privilege to have safe storage for these fragile collection items and I really appreciate the work that Marie McKay, secretary of our trust board, and Libby Sharpe, our manager at South Taranaki District Council put in to obtain the funding for these - thanks very much.

As you can see the cabinets are just luscious.

The other  photo is of Ena Baker's  bridal veil and wedding dress. Ena and her husband Livingston Baker were married on June 11, 1953. She looked an absolute picture in this gorgeous frock with the long floating veil. Ena and Livingston were very active in the Patea Historical Society and founding trustees of the museum that is now Aotea Utanganui - Museum of South Taranaki. 

It is lovely to have her wedding dress in the collection and now, to be able to store it safely and give it the best care for posterity. 

ka kite ano

Kristelle

every day............

Every day in this job I am learning something, about South Taranaki, about the collections and the rich history of the area. Yesterday I was hunting out some images of the Freezing Works for the display further down the street - worth checking out if you are ever passing through Patea, by the way - and a colleague was looking at the album pointing out her relatives in the various photos. It just makes it more personal.

Here's some photos of a couple of the union protest posters that we have in our collection

Lord Vesty did Patea no favours and the whole district suffered when the Works closed but, in the immortal words of Chumbawamba " I get knocked down but I get up again - you're never going to keep me down"

Kia kaha, stand proud!

Another glorious day............

It's another glorious autumn day in South Taranaki. Right now the Machinery Restoration Group, some of our dedicated and fabulous volunteers, are busy converting the packing cases, that the new textile storage drawers arrived in, into shelving units. Nothing goes to waste in #8 fencing wire land!!!

Here area couple of pictures of some of the volunteers in the workshop - they are a pretty happy lot, but so would you be if you  spent the day pottering about fixing  stationary engines and manure spreaders.

more soon
Happy Monday
Kristelle

where does the time go?

Kia ora - and where does the time go? it seems like only yesterday I was starting this blog and now it's a week! eek - I will get better!]

It is a gorgeous autumn day in South Taranaki and we are busy at the museum hunting through the collection for the hero items - that which we cannot leave out of the show. It is terrifically interesting to unpack all the boxes and unwrap the treasures, and, although not every thing comes into that category, it's surprising how cool a lot of the things are. What is most important is that each item contains the story of where it came from,  who made it, who used it, what they did with it and why it was given to the museum.

We are also adding new things as they are donated or collected; just last Monday we spent a coupleof very profitable hours at the beach collecting a large rock that contains the fossilised jawbone (we think) of a baleen whale.

We had the rock blessed by our kaumatua, Jim Ngarewa, before we set about removing a lot of sand and then, Jim Baker, one of our trustees, arrived with his mighty green tractor and lifted it out - hoorah!

Rob Groat, our education programmes person, and discoverer of the rock-bearing fossil was extremely pleased. The rock is now sitting in our collection storage waiting to go on display in the new galleries.

Our grand adventure at the beach concluded with chocolate bikkies for afternoon tea.

So you see, it may not be all fun and treasure hunting, but we do have a good time occasionally.

ka kite ano

kristelle x

Well here we are at last...........

Kia ora katoa and welcome to the MOST blog! hoorah! I have been here nearly three months now and I am loving it. Lots to do, lots of challenges, but ultimately, it is very satisfying work.

Aotea Utanga Nui - Museum of  South Taranaki is a work in-progress. We are currently closed while we develop the exhibitions that will ensure your visit to our fabulous new building is a rich and rewarding experience so, while it may seem as if not much is happening, under the surface we are paddling like crazy to get everything done. In order for the new museum to be built all the collection had to be packed up in layers of tissue, bubble wrap and PET, stored off site, then moved back. This process is continuing as we are unpacking, unwrapping, checking the condition of everything and putting it into the lovely clean safe storage areas. Each step in this process creates paperwork that has to be entered onto the database. Lots to do!

Simultaneously, we are developing the opening exhibitions - plans for these are well underway; we have themes, storylines and a list of key objects that we simply cannot leave out. These items are being cleaned and conserved so that they are all ready to go, so to speak. We have also been finding some exciting new things from around the district including fossilised molluscs and a huge rock containing the jawbone or ribs of a baleen whale. These fossils are about 3.6 million years old so just a teeny bit older than me - but evidence of the long history of South Taranaki.

We intend to be open towards the end of this year. Now that we have the blog and Facebook page I will be able to keep you all informed - watch this space!

ka kite ano
Kristelle