Switched on Switzers
This is a story of sticking to your guns, shrugging off the nay-sayers and not losing sight of the end goal.
And, for those very admirable qualities the entire Switzers Museum Committee, of Waikaia, has been selected as The Southland Times Southlanders of the Year for 2018.
This month, the group of dedicated volunteers in Waikaia opened the doors to the town’s own $1.7m museum, after a staggering 30 years of fundraising.
This isn’t just a story of a town with a population of about 100 people wanting to display its dusty old artifacts in the hope someone will come and see them.
This group of 12 mainly retirees are the core group of a committee have built a worldclass museum, and have given tireless volunteer hours each to make it happen.
After 30 years of being committed to a project, this committee is not short of a few ideas to help other Southlanders to reach their goals.
‘‘Don’t listen to the people who tell you you can’t do something or you shouldn’t, because you can and you should,’’ Wendy Williamson said.
‘‘Put the blinkers on, put your head down and get on with it,’’ Shirley Walker said.
‘‘And be prepared to do a lot of hard work,’’ said Pam Patterson, who joined the committee six months ago.
‘‘I helped out with a catering fundraiser a while ago and it was really hard work. I can’t believe they’ve been doing this for 30 years.’’
While navigating the pressures of fundraising and building, as well handling their expectations of the community, there are two valuable lessons the committee have learnt – to play to people’s strengths and to seek advice from experts and take it on board.
‘‘It’s about the right jobs for the right people,’’ Ray Dickson said.
‘‘We were lucky that we had the skill sets within the district but if we had of just gone and said here’s this amount of money, do a museum and build it for us there wouldn’t have been the community commitment or involvement, and I think that’s really important,’’ chairwoman Mairi Dickson said.
‘‘I can’t do anything physical but I have experience with money so I’ve been the treasurer,’’ Shirley Walker said.
John McCurdy said part of the committee’s success was seeking advice from people who design museums and displays, as well as tradespeople who have the expertise to get the job done.
‘‘I think its been great how we’ve got advisory people in, we’ve got their advice and we’ve accepted their advice. A lot of people wouldn’t take any notice of them but we’ve been given pretty good advice.’’ Wendy Williamson agreed. ‘‘We wouldn’t have what we have today without them, that’s for sure. We have had some amazing people who have helped us.’’
Where they have been able, the committee have used local tradespeople.
‘‘The tradespeople and companies we’ve used have just gone above and beyond to help. There’s a lot to be said for using locals,’’ Ray Dickson said.
While the museum has finally opened, the work hasn’t stopped.
‘‘I’ve always said it was very easy to start the project but to maintain it is the challenge. The challenge is to keep bringing people here and maintaining and keeping up the interest,’’ Ray Dickson said.
That will mean changing displays, restoring the town’s bottle house and then turning their attention to Waikaia’s old court house.
‘‘I don’t think my work here will ever be done but I think it’s important work, and I enjoy it and it keeps me busy,’’ Williamson said.
So far all that hard work is paying off – in the first week of being open there were three busloads of visitors through the doors and the visitors book is already boasting accolades from tourists from as far away as Belgium and Germany.
Chances are if you visit, it will be one of the committee volunteers behind the counter, ready to show off the town’s stories.
❚ Committee members Candice and Crosby Grieve and Doug and Oweena Frew were absent for this interview.
In 2012, The Southland Times started ending the year by honouring an outstanding Southlander. We believe it’s important to champion our region. Part of that commitment is to honour people who stand out by the work they do, how they treat people and the passion they have for living in the south. Past recipients include Meggy BartlettMcBride (2017), Ian Baldwin (2016), Janice Lee (2015), Sir Richard Hayes (2014), Meri Leask (2013) and Nathan Cohen (2012).
‘‘Don’t listen to the people who tell you you can’t do something or you shouldn’t, because you can and you should.’’
Wendy Williamson