Culture Waitaki Blog
The collaborative blog of Culture Waitaki, featuring thoughts and ideas from the Forrester Gallery, North Otago Museum, Waitaki District Libraries and Waitaki District Archive.
This installment of Current Reads comes to you from Julia, Social Media and Digital Support Librarian.
I recently came across this beautiful non fiction book called 'Improbable Libraries' by Alex Johnson.
There might not be much to see in our gallery spaces right now. That is because we are working hard on the Cultural Facilities Development Project. We are doing a lot of work behind the scenes on our Collections and developing our top Themes and Stories.
Something very cool has been happening in the Forrester Gallery lately. Students from Waitaki Girls’ High School and St Kevin’s College have been visiting. It has been wonderful having the youth of Waitaki attending and performing at the openings and Artist talks.
This installment of Current Reads comes to you from one of our fabulous library volunteers, Ethelwyn.
Ethelwyn is also part of our monthly Book Chat group and shared this book there too.
Her current read is non fiction book, The Prison Book Club by Ann Walmsley 365.609 WAL
The following excerpt was sent to us from Ben a DOC worker on Raoul Island. He describes his work and experiences living on a volcanic Island. If you want to see more photographs from the Kermadec Islands pop up to the wonderlab.
This installment of Current Reads comes to you from Library Assistant Maclean Barker.
Her current read is Harvest by Jim Crace.
Here's Maclean's review:
Harvest was the first Crace novel I read, and sadly (he says) his last.
This installment of Current Reads comes to you from Library Assistant Maclean Barker.
Her current read is And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Here's Maclean's review:
This installment of Current Reads comes to you from Library Assistant Maclean Barker.
Her current read is fiction novel, Life after Life by Kate Atkinson.
Here's Maclean's review:
Long awaited by fans this is an unusual new Atkinson novel.
Summer Holiday programme at the Forrester Gallery
We had a fun week of activities from January 18 to January 22 in the community gallery. Called Miniature Mania the activities were based on Val Griffith-Jones’ current exhibition WICKED STITCH-on till 28 February.
This installment of Current Reads comes to you from Social Media and Digital Support Librarian Julia de Ruiter.
Her current read is fiction novel, The Last Quarter of the Moon by Chi Zijian. You can find this book on the fiction shelves at Oamaru.
Here's Julia's review:
Our records show that this ‘primitive’ school chair was used in the first school in Oamaru. It is made of Kauri and though in original condition, it is clear that is has been stored outside for some time.
This edition of Current Reads comes to you from our former Youth Librarian and current North Otago Museum volunteer, Alison Sofield.
Alison reviewed the latest Jacqueline Winspear novel-A Dangerous Place. Here's her review:
Bentwood chairs were first made in the early 1850s by the Austrian Michael Thonet. Manufacture of these chairs soon spread to other countries. They were incredibly popular over the next century as they were cheap and easy to import.
This chair was made by Walter John Yardley in Palmerston in 1866. Yardley was born in 1842 and so would have been 24 when he made the chair. Walter worked as a haulage carrier, driving a team of horses around the district, delivering goods and supplies.
The Albion Press is an early cast-iron hand-printing press. It was first designed in 1820 by Richard Whittaker Cope and later manufactured by Hopkinson Cope and other licensees until the 1930s.
The North Otago Museum has a small collection of printers and printing-related objects from the era of movable type. These range from the large and heavy cast iron Albion Press invented in 1820 right through to early typewriters like the Remington 12 invented a century later in 1922.
This edition of Current Reads comes to you from one of our lovely BookChat members Jan. Here she reviews a nonfiction/graphic novel called the Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston. You can find this book on the graphic novel shelves at the Oamaru Public Library.
This installment of Current Reads comes to you from our Community Services/Deputy Manager Jean Rivett.
Her current read is A Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman. You can find this book on the fiction shelves at Oamaru Library.
This is the final blog in a series of four focussed on the history of the North Otago Museum.
