Waitaki Museum Blog
Featuring thoughts and ideas from the Waitaki Museum.
Work is underway at North Otago Museum on refitting the permanent exhibition area. The Museum has over 30,000 items in its care. Each item has its own story.
Staff are working hard behind the scenes to select objects for our redeveloped displays. This can be a complex and time consuming process, but it is usually also very interesting. An object is selected because it is able to tell a story or stories about our district.
You might have noticed all the building work happening around the Museum. Most of this work is readying the main display space for our new displays.
Each year, on May 18, museums around the globe celebrate International Museum Day. This year, the theme is ‘Museums as Cultural Hubs: The Future of Tradition’.
As we commemorate Anzac Day 2019 I am reflecting on North Otago a century ago. By 1919 the war was finally over.
In 2019 we will be launching our Collections Online. This will ultimately mean that our community (local and global) will be able to search our collections and view information and images of the collection online.
6 February, Waitangi Day. The current exhibition upgrade project at the North Otago Museum is an opportunity for our museum to confirm its commitment to honouring the Treaty of Waitangi. So what does this mean? What will it look like for visitors?
This year, 2019, the Chinese New Year is on Tuesday, February 5. The date shifts each year because it depends on the lunar calendar. 2019 is the year of the pig. The pig is last animal in the cycle of 12. Next year, 2020, will be the year of the rat.
The 11th of November 2018 is the centennial of the World War One Armistice. An armistice is a truce. Opposing forces might agree to an armistice while they work out peace terms. And that is what happened in World War One.
This year Aotearoa New Zealand is celebrating 125 years since women successfully fought to be allowed to vote in parliamentary elections. There are lots of good online resources connected with this anniversary.
May 18 is International Museum Day. The theme for this year’s International Museum Day is "Hyperconnected museums: New approaches, new publics".
A selection of tea cosies from the collection of the North Otago Museum is currently on display at the Oamaru Opera House.
Some local military stories are well known. Others have come to light only recently. The following biography of local World War One nurse Maria (Ria) Emily Murray (1891 – 1976) took me 7 years of research on and off to uncover.
While the front part of the North Otago Museum is closed to the public we have been using that space to sort out some of our collection objects. Most recently we have been working on the museum’s collection of bird bones.
This weekend the wider Waitaki community has been invited to celebrate Chinese New Year in Oamaru Public Gardens with an International Food Court, Performances, Chinese games and more.
Tomorrow, 6 February, is Waitangi Day. One of the first exhibitions I was involved with at the North Otago Museum was hosting the touring exhibition Treaty 2 U back in 2011.
A selection of interesting men's headwear the collection of the North Otago Museum is currently on display at the Oamaru Opera House.
Today, October 12 2017, is the centennial commemoration of the Battle of Passchendaele. Records indicate that 843 New Zealand soldiers died that day in 1917, including at least 7 North Otago servicemen.
A selection of beautiful fans from the collection of the North Otago Museum are currently on display at the Oamaru Opera House.
Behind the scenes at the museum I am still working on researching our collections. This work supports the Cultural Facility Development Project. I am continuing work on the museum’s collection of agricultural equipment at the moment.