Why,” you might ask, “is someone writing about Tuakau Museum when we live over an hour away from that small and boring little town?”
“And,” you might add, “shouldn’t they be writing about our own museum instead?”
Both of these are good questions, which I hope to answer here.
The Waikato District Council recently invited representatives from museums throughout the region to convene and share ideas about the joys and challenges of operating museums in small communities. This led to lively discussions among attendees and plans to visit each other’s museums with the expectation of learning something new and providing support for one another.
Hence, the visit to Tuakau. Eight of our committee members and volunteers boarded a minibus last Tuesday for the first of these visits and we were amazed and excited by what we saw!
We were welcomed into the old Tuakau Post Office by a group of more than 10 committee members and volunteers who plied us with tea and home baking. They shared a bit of the history before letting us loose to explore. The old Post Office closed in 1983 and was made available for a museum. It didn’t take long before numerous artefacts were donated by local families and since that time, volunteers have worked tirelessly to sort, restore, and catalogue thousands of items to display in this beautiful historic building. The Mission Hall, another local historic building (established in 1899), has been moved onto the site and restored over the past year. The museum also has the added advantage of being situated on a large section in the centre of town, allowing them to accept the gift of a beautiful settler cottage, which will very soon join the other buildings.
The collection emphasises the rich history of the local area with colonial and Māori exhibits, a military section, natural history items, and an extensive collection of tools and agricultural implements. A reading and records room is available for those conducting family research, as is the growing collection of old photographs.
Tuakau was famous for nurturing two very notable New Zealanders. Sir Edmund Hillary attended primary school there and enjoyed the freedom of a rural community. His father, Percy, established a weekly paper, the Tuakau District News. (The original printing press is housed in the Mission Hall.)
Douglas Wright MNZM was an outstanding dancer and choreographer. Dancing was not really an option for a farm boy in the ’50s, so he only started his dance career when he was 21. He was also a published author of poetry and two semi-biographical books, as well as an artist and sculptor.
Our group was impressed not only by the amazing collections and stories but also by the tireless work of the many talented and dedicated volunteers. This is a thriving organisation that succeeds with the support of over 100 paid-up members, local benefactors, and the completion of ongoing funding applications.
We came away with a renewed appreciation of the importance of preserving the culture and history of our own small town. We have the same population as Tuakau, and we both serve the uniqueness of our communities.
We, too, need the ongoing support of our local community to do this. Our visit to Tuakau reminded us of the power of people and their passions in preserving our stories for posterity.
So, come on Raglanites! Do your bit to ensure that our museum continues to grow and remains a vibrant reminder of our past! Join for just $20 per year for a family or $15 for an individual. Not only do you get free entry and invitations to openings and events, but you will also have a stake in the future of Raglan Museum.
