Waimate’s history gets a fresh look
Waimate’s history is being retold with an interactive mural unveiled at the town’s museum on Saturday.
The more than 6 metre-long mural of early 19th century settlers and the cuddy – a small house made of straw and mud – they lived in can be viewed as a whole or the faces can be moved and the public can have their photos taken in their place.
A shelter, donated by a Waimate building company, surrounds the mural protecting it from any inclement weather.
Waimate district councillor Fabia Fox officially unveiled the mural in a small ceremony.
Waimate Historical Society chair Glenda Begg said the mural was painted by artist Bill Scott, who is also responsible for the town’s silo murals and other artworks, and was designed for the community to look at local history from ‘‘another angle’’.
The first settlers arrived in Waimate in the 1850s, attracted by the native forests and rich farmland. By 1877 there were five mills operating and a branch railway.
Begg said historically Waimate was a popular area among Ma¯ ori for fishing as it was known for its slow moving water and swamps.
The museum spreads across about nine buildings on Shearman and Innes streets with one in the original courthouse, she said.
‘‘We store the community’s treasures and have the third largest floor area [of a museum] in the South Island.’’
Some of those treasures include an 1887 portable Hornsby steam engine, a large display of farm implements, cars, carriages, a moa exhibition, old school house and a large archival unit.
‘‘We’re always up to something.’’
The volunteer-run Waimate Museum is open Tuesdays to Fridays and by appointment.