Last Friday (5 July), around 65 people gathered to celebrate the opening of the Stage Two building at Aotea Utanganui - Museum of South Taranaki in Pātea.
The new building, blessed on the day by Ngā Ruahine Kaumatua John Hooker, was designed to display large collection items which includes the Pātea Freezing Works fire engine and other machinery from the District’s past.
Mayor Phil Nixon noted the hard work that the Trust had put into fundraising for the project and the support that the Council has provided over many years. He commended staff for the installation of the large agricultural items, many of which he recognised from his own farming background over the years.
Council’s Libraries and Cultural Services Manager, Cath Sheard, says the new building gives the opportunity to tell new stories.
“It’s not just about the small objects we can hold in our hands, but the larger items that many of us know so little about,” she says.
The new exhibition is open to the public by appointment only.
