Visit from Our Museum Development Officer

Otautau Museum Trust members with Judith Taylor, MDO. From left to right: Peter Campbell, Pam Booth, Mervyn Officer, Judith Taylor, John Low, and Muriel Brown. Photograph © 2011 Cathy Onellion.

Today, we had a visit from Judith Taylor, our Museum Development Officer from National Services Te Paerangi. She is visiting museums in our area including Nightcaps and Te Hikoi in Riverton.

This was the first time the whole Trust has met with Judith so it was a special occasion.

We talked about some of the things that National Services could help us with - through the Helping Hands Grant, Strategic Projects Grant, Expert Knowledge Exchange and the Free phone among other things.

We also discussed our recent Standard Scheme Peer Review that happened last October. We had a few questions about the report that was generated from the review. Nothing major though. Our overall experience of the Museum Standards Scheme has been good. It made us look at ourselves but without the pressure to suddenly become something we're not. Taking reasonable steps to improve is within our grasp and that is what we've tried to do. The support of people like Judith has made the process easier.

Judith mentioned there will be workshops in governance and exhibitions coming our way so that is something to look forward to.

Disaster preparedness was also a topic of discussion. Because Judith is the MDO for the South Island, she has seen the devastation of small museums by the Canterbury quakes. She said Methven, Lyttelton and Kaiapoi museums have all been hit hard. We need to get our own disaster plan so that we can mitigate the effects of flood, fire, or quake.

After a cup of tea and a quick tour of our recent display on Isla Bank, we farewelled Judith. We don't know when she'll be back again but she is always welcome at our place. Thanks, Judith!

We're open Wednesdays and Sundays, 2pm-4pm, and by request. Your comments are always welcome!

Volunteer Vacancy - Collection Manager

We're looking for a new Collection Manager for the museum.

This position is responsible for cataloguing all incoming items and for looking after the collection - labelling and storing things according to good museum practice. We can show you how!

We are looking for a person who can spare approximately 1 to 4 hours a week, working at their own pace to manage the collection. Ideally, you'll have some computer skills and are open to learning how to use museum software.

If this sounds like you, email us and we'll send you a job description. If you'd like to see firsthand what a collection manager does, just let us know and we'll arrange an informal demonstration.

Applications close 12 July 2011.

We're open Wednesdays and Sundays, 2pm-4pm, and by request. Your comments are always welcome!

Annual General Meeting

Our Annual General Meeting will be held on 14 June at 7.30pm at the Otautau Courthouse. Terms are up for three of our trustees. We hope they all choose to stay on, but even if they do, this is a great time for new people to come in and see what we're all about. You too can make a difference at the museum!

What the museum does
The Otautau Museum is unique in that we put on new displays three or four times a year. Most museums of our size have displays that don't change. But we want to keep things interesting for our community so we try to come up with new ideas.

What trustees do
The museum board is made up of trustees who create the vision for the museum. They meet once a month and handle all matters dealing with the governance of the museum as well helping out with the day to day duties of the museum.

What volunteers do
Volunteers are essential. We're all volunteers, and we know that if we want the museum to grow, we'll need more volunteers with different skills to make it happen. Some jobs are just a one-off while others could entail working a few times a year or even more often.

If you have any of these skills, you can make a real difference at the museum:

• visual/creative - you can help with our displays


• interested in children and youth - you can help us make the museum more meaningful to young people and schools


• money/business - you can help us with a business or marketing plan


• putting things in order - you can help with cataloguing our collection


• computer work - you can create flyers, update our webpage/blog or design a museum brochure for us


• family history - you can help fulfill requests for information


• fundraising - you can help put on fun community events


• meeting the public - you can be an attendant on Wednesdays or Sundays and connect directly with our visitors

What we offer
The Museum Trust has been around since 2002 and has a culture of good old-fashioned values - honesty, comraderie, and trust. They are a great group to work with and joining them links you into the cultural heritage of the community. You'll learn a lot about Otautau's history just by becoming involved.

We offer access to workshops and training through Te Papa/National Services. For those who are really keen, we have a lot of reading materials and guides to help get familiar with how a museum works.

So think about joining and making a difference at the Otautau Museum and email the museum to find out more.

We're open Wednesdays and Sundays, 2pm-4pm, and by request. Your comments are always welcome!

Coming Soon - Isla Bank District Display

Trustees Mervyn Officer and Peter Campbell working on new display. Photograph © Cathy Onellion.

Our new Display Manager, Peter Campbell, has been diligently putting together the Isla Bank District display these past few weeks. He's relied heavily on photographs, newspapers clippings and handmade items that were loaned by residents of the district.

Isla Bank is following a similar pattern as many other local communities. Sheep farming has given way to dairy, and many longtime residents have slowly left the district. Still, it remains a very beautiful and special place to live, work and raise a family. With new people moving in, bringing new ideas and energy, it can once again be a place to thrive.

In the past, we've created district displays for Bayswater and Gladfield, Aparima, and Fairfax. We hope this will be just as successful. Watch this space for the opening day.

We're open Wednesdays and Sundays, 2pm-4pm, and by request. Your comments are always welcome!