Do you remember when? Can you help the Stratford recollect project?

Hon J.B Gordon opening the new railway station on Broadway South in 1968.

This photo shows John Bowie Gordon, known as Peter Gordon, MP for Clutha, opening the new railway station on Broadway South in 1968.

Stratford-born Peter, son of Dr Doris Gordon and Dr William (Bill) Gordon, was a member of the New Zealand National Party representing Clutha as its MP from 1960 to 1978. In 1968 he was Minister of Railways and it was in that role he returned to his hometown to open the station.

Visitor Information and Library Services team leader Bridget Roper says while staff know the who, where and why of the photo, the team would love to hear from anyone who has more photos from this event.

The photo is one of many the library team is seeking to correctly identify as part of an ongoing project. Bridget says Stratford District Council (SDC) holds a large collection of photos of Stratford District places, people and events, and is seeking the help of locals as they go through and identify the who, what, where and when of the images.

She says SDC used funding from the National Library Partnership Programme to digitise archived photos so they can be easily accessed by family historians, researchers and anyone else interested in the history of Stratford. Library and Visitor Information Centre staff look after the project and are looking for additional help from community members.

“We are looking for helpers to identify and provide metadata for the photos online. Metadata is information that provides a definition or summarises basic information about each image we have.

“The photos are stored safely but many of the details, like their age and origin, are unknown and that’s what we need help with.”

People already following Stratford Library and Visitor Information on Facebook would have noticed that digital copies of these community archives are being shared regularly to help gather this data, using the hashtag #stratfordheritagecollection.

People are encouraged to comment on the posts with any information or knowledge they have on the photo shared, or they can email library@stratford.govt.nz.

Bridget says they’re also interested in hearing from people who might want to help with the project on a longer-term basis.

“People can also contribute by scanning items related to Stratford and emailing them through, or bring the items into the library so staff can scan them for you.”