Issue No. 88 Newsletter June 2020

Waimate Historical Society

Bill Scott — Local Artist

Well, what a year it has been so far!! A lot

has been happening in the world in this

crazy time but there's also been a lot

happening at the Waimate Museum and

Archives too. This news letter will be about

some of those things.

Where to start? Bill Scott's Mural was

unveiled a couple of weeks prior to lockdown

on a rather rainy day. We were lucky enough

to have Councillor Fabia Fox come in and

unveil this for us with a small crowd of about

15. The Timaru Herald Photographer even

made the trip in the rain. It’s always good to

have the publicity.

The mural depicts an early Waimate scene.

The murals faces are hinged so they can be

popped out and replaced with your own face

for a unique photo opportunity.

This fits in nicely with the murals that Bill

has painted around the town. The large

mural sits at the Shearman Street end of the

Pavilion building. The structure is covered

due to the the generosity of local builder,

Rob Wilkins and his great team. This allows

the mural to be used in bad weather as well

as providing a little shade in Summer.

Come on down and take a photo and send it

to us — we would love to see them. You can

email them to us at:

admin@waimatemuseumandarchives.org.nz

Bushtown

Waimate Historical Society

Chairperson Glenda Begg, receiving

a copy of “The Passing Years”,

written by Colin Shackleton and his

father Allan. Colin is the nephew of

Bernice Shackleton– author of the

fifth schedule( The story of the

Waimate hospital) The Fifth

Schedule can be purchased from

the Museum for $5 per copy. It was

lovely to meet Colin who later in the

week came in for a visit.

The Waimate Museum Site at Bushtown’s 2020 Steam Up Day

Left: 2 young

ladies trying out

the photo boards.

Right: Tracy, our

office lady joining

in the fun at the

wood sawing

challenge

Douglas School

A massive job is currently being undertaken

on the Douglas School Building. A number

of sills and 8 sashes have had to be replaced

due to rot. This is no mean feat. Local

carpenter Alan Mitchell (Also helped by his

wife Rosina, daughter and son in law) has

been busy over lockdown tearing out and

remaking all of the sashes and sills.

The weatherboards have been replaced and

the building is ready to be painted.

Our team of painters will be onto it when

we get some finer weather . We are lucky to

have some dedicated volunteers willing to

help.

There is still work to be done to clean the

lichen off the roof and to borer bomb the

inside.

As a very important and much loved

building onsite, we are proud to see it being

restored ready for lots of visitors now that

we are once again open to the public.

There are also a few children's costumes in

the school so bring the children and

grandchildren down, let them try on the

outfits supplied and have your own Douglas

School photo shoot. They look fantastic.

The windows coming out

Sashes made and waiting to be fitted

Police Lock - up toilet and Courthouse kitchen

There are so many little unseen jobs that happen around the place and you forget when it

comes to writing the Newsletter just what has been done. We have had Martin Mlcoch

replace the vinyl in the Courthouse Kitchen and the Police lock up with a hardwearing vinyl

with a realistic wood design which is so much easier to keep clean and just tidies the place

up. They are areas that the public don’t generally see but are just as important. This

follows on from the purchase of a new fridge and the donation of a new kettle.

Our Latest project is the old Waimate

Carnival Chair-o-plane. Our amazing

team of volunteers are undertaking the

task of renovating this and getting it into

a useable state so it can once again be

used in the community. Do you have

photos or memories of the carnival? If

you do we would love to see them .

Do You Remember this?

Checkout our resources online

https://waimate.pastperfectonline.com/

http://www.waimatemuseumandarchives.org.nz/

https://www.facebook.com/Waimate-Museum-

Archives-396148900536598/

We have received a Heritage Grant from the W.D.C. for

the design and installation of an interpretive panel for the

back of our notice board. Our Archivist Sue, has spent

hours planning and coming up with a great design to give

visitors a greater understanding of what we have to offer.

This also enables visitors to gain information outside of

office hours which are Tuesday - Friday 10am until 3:30pm

Thank you to the

following for support and

donations of resources.

We are overwhelmed by

community support:

Haywood Engineering

GlenKeith Autos

Mark Williams

Ross Hedley

Alpine Products

Wattyl Paints

Resene Paints

Barry Caird

Interpaint

Artifax Café & Queens Lodge