Women's ProbusThis has been an eventful month at the museum. On the 19th, we hosted a presentation and morning tea for the Winton Women's Probus Group. Their bus stopped at the hotel, and they took a stroll through the town, checking out shops and gifts stores on their way to the museum. One by one they came into the big meeting room which we had prepared for the event. We wanted to feature some of the things in our collection that don't normally get put on display so we had a few women's dresses from the 1920s, petticoats and pantaloons along with some very fine lace collars. We also had our large scrapbooks from the Women's Division of Federated Farmers Otautau Branch on display, as well as part of the Pipe Major's uniform from our Otautau & District Pipe Band collection.
Graham Barkman welcomed our guests, and I gave a brief presentation on how we care and store our clothing and photographs. Afterward we had morning tea and lots of conversation. It was great fun and left us museum people buzzing. We hope to see these women back here again soon.
Family HistoryThe very same morning that the Women's Probus were here, we had a gentleman here from Australia researching his family history. His great, great-grandfather, James Mackintosh, was one of the early pioneers and landowners of the Gladfield estate and surrounds. He actually had far more information than we had so we encouraged him to email us a copy when he had time. But, as our current display is of the Bayswater Gladfield area, I think he enjoyed looking at pictures and studying the maps.
We continue to get 2-3 inquries a month of people looking for information on their Otautau & District ancestors. This is a growing field for us, and we are seeking volunteers to help us do the research. If you like digging through the past and helping others make ancestral links, please contact us.
We're open Wednesdays and Sundays, 2pm-4pm, and by request. Your comments are always welcome!
Dr. Claudia Bell, a sociologist at the University of Auckland, is researching Kiwiana. Her project's aim is to explore why things that were once common, everyday items (the Buzzy Bee toy and Weetbix tins) have became valuable collector's items, and how this relates to NZ identity. She will be talking to people all over NZ about their private Kiwiana collections.
