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... Continue Reading →
Buildings come and go, this is something we are used to in Ashburton. Right now, we are going through a period of rapid change evidenced by projects such as the upcoming new Library & Civic Centre, the Kmart complex, as well as the numerous houses, outbuildings and businesses being altered and built all around the... Continue Reading →
Tales from WW1 and WW2 about local nurses and soldiers never fail to spark our imagination and they help us to understand their lives and the world they lived in. We are fortunate to be able to share in their highs and lows, triumphs and tragedies via their letters, diaries and photograph albums. Previous blog... Continue Reading →
When it comes to researching your forebears, you can either be pleasantly surprised or sorely disappointed. Cases that fit into the latter category are more common than you would think. Many of our past relatives seem to leave great historical gaps in their wake rather than the opposite. As a matter of fact, is much... Continue Reading →
An interesting recent addition to the Museum and Historical Society’s object collection was the McFarlane Shield for Agricultural Science. Made in 1917, the shield first belonged to the Education Board and was then passed on to the Canterbury Horticultural Society in 1989 when the Education Board closed.
Ashburton District is lucky to have a wealth of museums – from the relatively large Ashburton Museum, Aviation, Vintage Car, Lynn Woodworking and Plains Vintage Railway and Historical Museums, to the relatively small Staveley Museum, Mt Somers’ Foothills Museum, and Corwar Lodge near Barrhill. The Methven Heritage Centre includes several museum activities, including the New... Continue Reading →
If our past exhibitions at Ashburton Museum can highlight how a magnificent story can come from just one object, this is particularly true with the Radiant Hall exhibition. While Meet You At the Radiant Hall ran way back in 2017, we were once again reminded of it with our exhibition, Ashburton: Feels Like Home from... Continue Reading →
Among the staff at Ashburton Museum are many volunteers who undertake various roles. Some act as receptionists, welcoming and assisting visitors with our popular programs, activities and research enquiries. Others help care for collections. A few transcribe records to provide access to fragile or interesting items that it would otherwise become damaged by use. Transcribing... Continue Reading →
Last year we featured the exhibition Make, Do and Mend, which included all sorts of creative ways that people have recycled and re-used unexpected materials. While planning and installing the exhibition, at the same time we were looking ahead to new activities and programmes for the school holidays. One such activity began on Tuesday,... Continue Reading →
Working in the role of Museum Assistant at Ashburton Museum last summer was an extremely valuable and rewarding experience. Having returned for my third stint of museum work, it had once again been an absolute pleasure working alongside my talented museum family in presenting, preserving, and displaying the social history and cultural heritage of Ashburton.... Continue Reading →
Ashburton Museum Blog 