February 2019

Greetings from your President.

Another year has passed and with it lots of changes to our Museum. This has been due mainly to the loyal volunteers who have worked tirelessly. I sincerely thank you all for keeping our history alive.

Achievements

This year we have had a new connecting concrete path built from the parking area which avoids having to walk over the grass and/or mud, particularly in winter. As well we have created a concrete path to the toilets instead of the oddly sunken cobblestones. These improvements have been courtesy of a grant from our wonderful Local Community Board.

One of the cottages has been painted due to a further grant from Foundation North. What a facelift it has had, adding extra charm to this cottage. The interiors of all three cottages have also been refreshed.

We have had new doors installed on our storage shed, and some old machinery repaired so youngsters can experience what it was like in the olden days - a huge success.

Events

We had a very successful Live Heritage Day last Labour weekend. Many will have seen our posts on Face Book and will know that we had about a dozen stallholders from the Ostend Market, spinners, flax weavers, working machinery, an old fire engine, fingerprinting in the police cell, butter churning, potting, wood planning, candle making, soap making, and knot tying, etc. We plan a repeat this coming Labour Day.

We were also gifted a sweat shirt by two young ladies on behalf of the Mayor of Ostend, Belgium. They were very excited to visit a suburb named after their home town and to see our Museum.

Additional Services

This year, we found a volunteer who has been able to transcribe some interviews with island residents from forty years ago. At the time, these interviewees were almost all into their 80s, so the memories go back a very long time. These tapes have been in our archives all that time and it is exciting that they are now coming to life. In future we hope to make this a digital resource and perhaps even publish a book. Alison is also interested in interviewing people who have been resident on Waiheke a long time and can add to these earlier memories. If interested, please contact waihekemuseum@slingshot.co.nz.

Volunteers

Maintenance

Although we have made good progress with maintenance of the Museum building and grounds, a lot still requires attention. The committee will soon consider which projects should have priority in 2019.

Visitor numbers

Visitor numbers increased again last year with a resulting increase in donations.

Subscriptions

A reminder that your membership subscription is due by the AGM on 7 April 2019. We look forward to seeing you at our AGM. Let’s make this Museum something Waiheke can be proud of.

Sue Philcox

President

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Membership renewal

Please return this form with your cheque for $20.00 per person to:

The Treasurer

Waiheke Island Historical Society Inc

P O Box 206

Ostend

Waiheke Island 1843

Or, if you prefer by internet banking to:

ASB 12-3011-0960967-00, reference WIHS subs and quoting your name.

Please update your details below:

Name:

Address:

Phone No:                                                 Email: