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Bluff may have lost its iconic Paua House but its spirit will live on at Canterbury Museum, where a replica is beginning to take shape.
Staff at the museum in Christchurch are working on the design for an exhibition using the paua shells and fittings from the famous house owned by now deceased Bluff legends Fred and Myrtle Flutey.
At its peak the house lured thousands of tourists to view the shell collection that lined the interior, but a bitter controversy hit Bluff when the Fluteys' grandson Ross Bowen bought the house, stripped it of the shells and sold it.
Mr Bowen was heavily criticised for his actions in removing the shells and giving them to the museum earlier this year.
The people of Bluff continued to talk about what a "terrible shame" the loss of the paua house was, said Bluff community board chairperson Jan Mitchell.
"I don't think Bluff people will make a pilgrimage to Christchurch [to see the exhibit]," Mrs Mitchell said.
"The town was devastated at that loss, and were disappointed that Christchurch did take the shells."
The museum hopes to have an exact replica of the living room from the paua house open to the public by the middle of the year.
"We have even been fortunate enough to receive the original carpet from the new owners of the house," said exhibitions manager Stephen Ruscoe.
"Working from photos and postcards of both the interior and exterior of the house, we plan to bring to life the special atmosphere of quirky kiwiana that made the Fluteys famous."
Recreating the paua house will involve building a replica facade of the Fluteys' house inside the museum.
The exhibitions team are developing the layout of the exhibition using a computer program called Viewbuild, which allows a virtual 3D model of the space to be created and fitted out with objects and wall coverings before actual construction begins.
