Mourning: once an art and an industry

Mourning is typically a very personal and complicated process. We often confide in others and tell them we are grieving, but in many cases it can be hard to tell at first glance whether a person is in mourning. Apart from people wearing black during funerals and the use of black remembrance armbands by sports...

A brief history of fizzy drinks and Ashburton’s own bottlers

Pshhhhhhttttt. Click. Riiiiiiiiiiiip. There are many sounds of summer but the one I remember with childhood fondness is the treat of opening a cold can of soda on a blistering hot day. The history of beverages spans centuries, cultures and many ingredients. However, the advent of that fizzy carbonated sweet drink stored in a sealed bottle...

Ashburton Museum through the years

The Ashburton Museum has come a long way since the Ashburton Historical Society first met on 30 October 1958. Individuals with a mutual interest in this district’s history came together with a common goal: to preserve and display materials that were deemed important to Ashburton’s past. 63 years and several Museum buildings later, the Ashburton...

Season’s Greetings: Holiday Memorabilia from the Collection

Holiday greeting cards are synonymous with the season, and over the years, whether home or abroad, Ashburtonians have made sure to pass along their Christmas wishes to friends and family. The Ashburton Museum & Historical Society Collection contains a number of Ashburton-themed Christmas cards, as well as various photos and memorabilia relating to Christmas in...

Gallery: Coldstream Estate, Frederick Rogers album

These images are from a photograph album which was kept by Frederick Walter Rogers (1896 - 1971), who was the son of Harry Rogers, Coldstream Estate manager for the period these photographs were taken. Not only does the album feature images of normal life on the Coldstream Estate in the 1910s, but it also contains...

Under the Big Top: An old metal toy story

When working with historical objects, few items evoke more excitement than those that represent childhood. It is hard not to feel a flood of nostalgia and wonder when coming across a faithful old bear loved from years of play, or when working to preserve the remnants of a game used over and over again for...

Gallery: Historic houses big and small

Below you will find a selection of images from the Ashburton Museum & Historical Society Inc. collection, which showcase an interesting variety of houses from our District's past. The architectural styles, sizes, and shapes of these homes say something about the people who built them. Their ambitions, their self-perceptions, access to resources, and of course...

Early Ashburton History: The Dairy Industry

So many of us love our milk, butter, and a good bit of cheese. Even the most lactose intolerant among us can seldom resist the allure of ice cream and a good choccy milk (surely the stomach ache is worth it!) Dairy contributes roughly $10 billion to our economy and is one of our top...

WW1: Local soldier’s P.O.W story

Personal diaries and letters, in many cases, provide us with some of the most interesting historic stories that have ever, or never, been told. Every memoir is special, but those that vividly recall events of war, adversity, triumph, failure, and hope through the eyes of someone we can easily relate to are perhaps the most...

Explosive fishing… and other tall tales

Historic newspaper reports of strange and unusual events, crimes and encounters never fail to amuse, and the Ashburton Guardian is full of tall tales from over a hundred years ago. If there's one lesson to learn from these old stories, it's that we, as people, have always been a bit odd. We often look back...