Winton Probus Visit

 About 22 members of the Men's Winton Probus Group visited the museum today.

 Peter Campbell, our Display Manager, was on hand to show folks around the display on Isla Bank.

 Peter Teviotdale (left) comes from a long line of Teviotdales and Tavendales from Scotland. They originally started during the gold rush days and eventually found their way to Isla Bank.

Group visits are wonderfully stimulating and we welcome anyone who wants to bring their group (big or small) to the museum.

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

August Update

Women's Probus

This 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 History

The 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!

Probus at the Museum

We had about 40 men (and one woman) from the Winton Men's Probus Group at the Museum on Monday. After a short presentation, a delicious morning tea was provided by Betty Barkman. Also on hand were Graham Barkman and John Low, the display managers of the Museum.

The visitors looked around at the new installation Bayswater - Gladfield which is about the history of farming settlement of those areas. I had also pulled out some things from storage such as our 1899 copy of 'The Otautau Mail' and some medicine bottles from Sinclair's Chemist shop. We also had a croquet dress, possibly from the 1940s, and the scrapbooks from the Otautau Branch of Women's Division of Federated Farmers. Lots of comments and interesting discussion ensued as people worked their way through the building. To be in the Courthouse surrounded by lively conversation is always a really gratifying experience.

Before long it was time for our Probus friends to get on the road to their next destination. The weather was quite cold. We thanked them for being with us, wished them a safe trip and waved goodbye.

If you are interested in a presentation about the Museum plus morning or afternoon tea, just drop us a line. We are more than happy to oblige.

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