Waiheke Island Historical Society Newsmail
November 2012

Greetings to all lovers of Waiheke history!

Council submissions

As you have probably heard, we are in the midst of the period for submissions to Council regarding the three leases at Rangihoua Park. Since the Historical Society holds one of the leases, it's important that Council knows your opinion about them.

In the Society's own submission, we make the following points:

The Historical Society and its Museum have occupied the present premises since 1987, back when the land in question was owned by the former Waiheke County Council.
After amalgamation with Auckland City in 1990, the Historical Society's occupancy of the land was governed by a lease under the terms of section 61 of the Reserves Act 1977.
This lease was renewed in 2007, but Auckland City Council failed to notify the lease as required by the Reserves Act 1977. The lease was therefore ruled invalid in 2012.
The Historical Society therefore request that the terms of the lease, after proper notification, remain unchanged from that which we signed in good faith in 2007.

Would you consider making a personal submission to Council in support of the above points? It would be helpful if as many people as possible expressed their support for the Museum and the Historical Society, emphasising what the Museum means to them and to the community (repository for island artifacts, archives and photographs; documentation for scholarly historical and genealogical research; tourist attraction; resource for local schools and iwi).

If you wish to make a submission, it must be done by post, not by the web or E-mail, and it must be received by Sarah Mossman, the Council policy analyst in charge, by Friday, 30 November 2012.

The title of the submission should be SUBMISSION: PROPOSAL TO GRANT COMMUNITY LEASES AT RANGIHOUA PARK/ONETANGI SPORTS PARK.
The submission should show your name, postal address, contact phone and/or E-mail, and the date.

Submissions must be posted to:

Sarah Mossman
Principal Policy Analyst
Auckland Council
Private Bag 92300
Victoria St West
Auckland 1142

Remember to allow enough time for postal delivery by next Friday at the latest.

One other point: If you have strong feelings about the other two leases presently being notified (the Golf Club and the Riding Club), by all means express your views in your submission. But note that the Historical Society has taken great care not to become embroiled in the sometimes heated controversies between the other two clubs, so please ensure that your views are identified as your own.

In other news:

The Museum served as the endpoint of the "Old Onetangi" walk during the Waiheke Walking Festival. About 40 people toured the Museum after the walk.
The Historical Society also had a presence during the "Atawhai Whenua Experience" walk in the form of a 19th-century manganese miner.
Watch for an upcoming Quiz Night -- a quiz with only history questions! Proceeds will benefit the Historical Society.
As always, the Museum will serve as a water stop during the Wharf to Wharf Fun Run in January. Bring the family, cheer the runners, and enjoy the Historic Village while you're there.

What's new on the website?
If you haven't visited the Historical Society's website at http://www.waihekemuseum.org.nz lately, have a look at some of the new items in the 'History Buffs' section:

Cemetery transcriptions
The 1922 subdivision of the Onetangi-Matiatia Estate
A Belgian city in Rocky Bay?

Suggestions and contributions to the website are always welcome.

Volunteers sought
As with all volunteer organisations, the Historical Society is always looking to get its members involved. Would you like to join a great bunch of people in preserving and presenting Waiheke's unique history? Here are some ways you can do that:

Be a Museum host. The Museum is open from noon to 4PM on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, as well as on public holiday Mondays, and we always need volunteers for Museum duty. We'd be happy to show you the ropes once or twice, then you're ready to go!
Join the Committee. The Historical Society normally has a Committee of eight or so active volunteers, who run the Society and Museum on a day-to-day basis. Would you like to become more involved?
Help with the Taonga Heritage Garden. Whether you've got a green thumb or a pink, brown or orange one, come to one of our mucking-in sessions.

If any of these ideas strikes your fancy, get in touch:

Ring the Museum on 09 372 2970 during opening hours, or Judith on 09 372 7760.
Come to the Museum during opening hours.
Speak to any member of the Committee.
E-mail us at info@waihekemuseum.org.nz.
Write to us at P O Box 206, Ostend, Waiheke Island 1843.

Hope to see you soon!