Monday 30 April 2012

A Peak at the Comments

At the beginning of the bridal display, it was suggested that we make a comment box and have people choose a favourite dress or leave a comment. Here is a peak at the 41 comments left in the box.

General Comments
"All lovely."
"Another idea for an exhibition would be to have bridesmaid dresses. Perhaps even extended to 1990s."
"Like all of them! Really interesting, the different styles."
"Absolutely gorgeous exhibition."
"Great display and wonderful to read the backgrounds."
"Excellent display."
"Should have bridesmaid dresses next time."
"Fabulous display. Know all the brides except one."
"Actually, all are beautiful."

Comments About a Specific Dress
Audrey Campbell - "Beautiful," "Loved all the lace,"!!!Amazing!!!" "Beautiful dress, flattering style." "I like Miss Watt's dress best and Miss Campbell who is my nana. I love both dress best."

Jean Watt - "I loved the 1930s dresses and materials. Overall, Jean Watt is the favourite. "I'd happily wear it now." "Loved Jean Watt's dress - that could be worn in 2012!!" "Beautifully made." "Lovely, cool."

Nellie Shaw - "I like the work and the age." "So feminine. I also loved her head dress and flowers." "A beautiful gown."

Heather Guise - "Very beautiful, lovely lace."

Judith Gimblett - "Simple but with draping of fabric addes interest."

Peggy Manson - "Beautiful embroidery."

Catherine Beck - "Plain but nice, not too much going on."

Thanks everyone for leaving comments!

We're open Wednesdays and Sundays, 2pm-4pm, and by request. Your comments are always welcome!

Friday 27 April 2012

Brides About to Go and What's Next

Sunday is the last day of Brides of Otautau. It's been a great privilege to have these gowns for three months, and soon we'll be packing up them up to send them back to their owners.

The next display will highlight Māori culture and history from our area and beyond. This has been one of the more challenging displays we've ever done, but we've learned lessons along the way. More on that later. : )

We're open Wednesdays and Sundays, 2pm-4pm, and by request. Your comments are always welcome!

Saturday 21 April 2012

Southland Heritage Forum

The first ever Southland Heritage Forum began at Te Rau Aroha Marae in Bluff last night. A good-sized crowd of heritage enthusiasts were welcomed onto the marae just after dusk.

Inside the colourful wharenui (not pictured), Dean Whaanga (Te Ao Marama) told some of the stories behind the symbol-rich interior. It was a most enlightening experience especially for those who had never been on a marae before.

Afterward, a delicious meal was served in the wharekai (pictured above), and Dean (pictured at right) continued with a deeper discussion on Maori heritage.
Today, the forum continued at Southland Boys High School. Keynote speakers included David Wilson of Victorian Oamaru, Jackie Gurden (pictured below right), Heritage West Coast, and Jock Phillips, General Editor of Te Ara online NZ encyclopedia. All were inspirational, but Jackie's presentation lit a few fires among us. The successes of West Coast towns in heritage tourism are impressive because much is due to the work of volunteers. She showed us how to embrace new technologies to make heritage more accessible to the tech-savvy people of today.

Participants enjoyed a full day of workshops and guest speakers. I left before the evening meal at the Masonic Lodge and presentations but I'm sure they were top class. Business sessions take place on Sunday.

Thanks to the Southland Rural Heritage Trust for organising this event and creating the possibility of a positive and prosperous future for Southland heritage.

We're open Wednesdays and Sundays, 2pm-4pm, and by request. Your comments are always welcome!

Thursday 12 April 2012

Auction on Trade Me - Vitalogy

There are a couple of books on TradeMe that, if sold, the proceeds go to the Otautau Museum.

One of them is Vitalogy. This is the 1923 edition and it's in pretty good condition. No markings, lots photographic plates and a few fold-out anatomical illustrations. The TradeMe listing is Listing #: 465361452



We're open Wednesdays and Sundays, 2pm-4pm, and by request. Your comments are always welcome!

Wednesday 11 April 2012

Final Days of Dresses

The wedding dress display is in its final days this month and will close on Sunday, 29 April. We've rotated the dresses so each has been on a mannequin for its best presentation.

We've really enjoyed this exhibition and hope you have too. Our thanks go out to the generous women in the community who didn't hesitate to say yes when we asked them for their wedding dresses. Maybe in a few years, we'll do it all again but bigger and better.

The dress pictured is the oldest and most unique of all the dresses in our display. It is made of a very sheer fabric - unlike the others which are either satin or white crepe. It's sleeveless and has a ruffled jacket. It was bought from H & J Smith's for the wedding of Nellie Shaw, Rose Drain's mother, in 1934 which makes it 78 years old.

We're open Wednesdays and Sundays, 2pm-4pm, and by request. Your comments are always welcome!

Tuesday 3 April 2012

Mounting Objects Workshop

Three of us went to the Mounting Museum Objects for Display workshop at Te Hikoi yesterday. The instructor was Chris Currie, Design Specialist - an expert at making museum things look good. It was good to see familiar faces from near and far. Folks came from West Otago Vintage Club, Gore Historical Museum, Awarua Communications Museum, Anderson Park Gallery and Rakiura Museum.
 We learned about welding stainless steel to make holders for objects.
 Chris also showed us how to make a book holder out of foam core. It could be put on a flat surface or mounted on the wall.
 This ship in a bottle is supported by ethafoam which was cut to its shape.
 Hugh Brown of the Wallace Early Settlers showed us how to make a nice-looking tuck with Tyvek in this shaped-to-fit piece of ethafoam.
Sarah made this wire mount for her mask. It involved bending wire, adding tubing, and drilling holes into the wooden base. The results are great!

Thanks to Chris Currie for sharing his tricks of the trade and to Te Hikoi and Wallace Early Settlers for hosting us and making us feel at home.

We're open Wednesdays and Sundays, 2pm-4pm, and by request. Your comments are always welcome!