Oral History Workshops

The Essentials of Oral History Research is a two-day workshop coming up 4 May and 8 June, followed by Abstracting Oral History on 29 & 30 June. Both are sponsored by the Alexander Turnbull Library and taught by oral historians, Helen Frizzell and Judith Fyfe respectively. Here is a pdf on the workshops.

Collecting oral histories from Otautau & Districts identities has long been a goal here at the museum. If you'd like to receive top-notch training and do some oral histories for us, please contact us. Funding is available from the Jack Ilott Oral History Education Operating Fund which is administered by the Alexander Turnbull Library Endowment Trust.

We have the equipment - which just need people trained to conduct the interviews.

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

Family History - Miss Rimmer

This week, we had a couple from Auckland asking about their relative, Miss Alice Rimmer, a singer/musician/teacher from Auckland. Her forteit was opera and sacred music, and she came to Invercargill in 1912 to teach. She performed at the annual Otautau Methodist Church concert at the Town Hall in May of that year as well as at the Methodist Church in July. Interestingly she also taught singing and music in Otautau. She was not long in Invercargill and returned to Auckland. If you know anything about Miss Rimmer, please get in touch with us. Thanks!

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

Family History

Just a reminder for those who email us about family history. Please check your junk mail as our replies may be going there until you denote that we're 'safe'. I've answered many family history questions only to never hear back again from the inquirer. I can only think they never got my email because they never checked their junk mail for a reply. So please check your junk mail.

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