Greytown museum gets $20,000 push

IMPRESSIVE: Work on the new entranceway for Cobblestone Museum, Greytown, is well advanced with most of the work due to finish in June. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

A million-dollar makeover of Cobblestone Museum in Greytown is nearing completion and the project has just received a $20,000 boost to help with interior design.

Eastern and Central Trust previously gave $100,000 towards the redevelopment project, but has now donated the extra money to ensure high-quality design of the exhibition and display fit-out to showcase the museum's collection of historic machinery and artefacts.

Museum trustee John Gilberthorpe said the fit-out was a critical part of the redevelopment as it would include information panels telling quirky stories and providing an interpretation of what people saw when they visited.

"It is what makes the museum work and it is what visitors remember," he said.

The museum houses a unique and educational collection of New Zealand Historic Places Trust category-two buildings, historic horse-drawn vehicles, machinery and artefacts depicting early life throughout Wairarapa.

The building project provides a new entrance, with exhibitions, audio-visual facilities and interactive displays.

The contract to do the work was won by Rigg-Zschokke.

Building will largely be finished in June.

That will then be followed by the fit-out of the new reception area and shop.

Mr Gilberthorpe said further fundraising would then be done for "finishing touches" once visitors to the museum could see what had been achieved by the redevelopment.

About this time last year museum chairman Graeme Gray said Cobblestones had succeeded in trebling visitor numbers to reach around 3000 a year, but that the redevelopment of the front entrance was expected to greatly enhance that number.

He said closer links were being forged with Destination Wairarapa to help achieve that goal.

Included in the redevelopment were audio-visual and interpretive displays telling the stories of Wairarapa's early settlers.

Cobblestone Museum was originally the site of Cobb & Co stables with William Hastwell running a mail and passenger service from Wairarapa to Wellington in the latter part of the 19th century.

The complex takes its name from the cobblestone paving that still exists.

Greytown Jaycees were a driving force behind getting the museum started and nowadays the site includes many historic buildings, including Wairarapa's first public hospital, first Methodist Church, a colonial cottage and a shearing shed.