Project forges ahead

• By Janet Pates, Tuakau and District Museum

The annual general meeting of the Tuakau and District Museum Society was held recently
electing Keith Brasell as president, Dudley Peterson as vice-president, Browyn Keown as
treasure, and Sandra Brassell as secretary. George Archer, Eric Muir, Janet Pates, and Phil
Rodgers are the other committee members.

Two important matters were proposed and adopted at the meeting; the adoption of a new
constitution and the re-registering of the museum under the Incorporated Societies Act 2022.

Thanks to the efforts of volunteers, and support from local (and not so local) organisations, the Feather Cottage project is forging ahead.

An accessibility ramp, funded by the Manukau Counties Community Facilities Charitable Trust, is in place. Internally, the old gib had to be removed to install insulation as per council requirement. This was supplied, heavily discounted, by Wool Insulation NZ Ltd.

Old wiring has been removed and replaced by Dave Collett and his helper, new gib installed and stopped by Summit Homes, and the walls are now ready for painting. Some interesting wallpaper samples were recovered and will be featured in the completed result. A panel will also be left uncovered to show the traditional old sarking timber and scrim covering of the walls.

Counties Scaffolding have erected, free of charge, scaffolding around the cottage so the roof and exterior weatherboards can be painted. Volunteers have been working hard restoring the corner fret work pieces on the verandah, replicating those which are missing.

A myriad of tacks and staples have been removed from the floor.

The progressive information boards on the front fence continue to spark interest from passers-by.

We hope they will take note of the long list of contributors and be encouraged to support them.

The committee hosted the Tuakau Rotary Club at the museum recently. Rotary and the June Gray Charitable Trust have very generously donated the funds for the painting of the cottage roof.

Meanwhile, the day-to-day activities of the museum continue; record keeping, updating displays, preserving and providing access to research material, welcoming visitors from near and far.

Thought is also being given to making best use of the extra space which the completion of
Feather Cottage will provide and to long term planning for the future of the organisation; a future which it is hoped, will encourage more people to access the rich heritage of our district, our arts and culture and to foster active participation in the affairs of the museum.