It's no secret the Whanganui Regional Museum is a trove of Wanganui treasure.
Therein you'll find all manner of amazing exhibits and displays, carefully assembled, arranged and lit for the amusement and education of people from all over the world.
Meanwhile, lurking in the recesses of the museum, in a huge concrete area once the domain of parked cars and boy racers, are countless thousands of artifacts of real historic value. What's more, the collection keeps growing.
Every year, the museum acquires everyday items from parts of Wanganui's rich history.
Like a meat carving set owned (and probably used) by the late Rev Richard Taylor, missionary and prominent historical figure. The set was bought at auction by a private individual and given to the museum.
“Isn't that amazing, that people are willing to donate this type of thing?'' says Trish Nugent-Lyne, museum collection manager.
This donor, a former member of the museum board, has given several precious items of Wanganui's heritage. “This is the type of calibre of things we get donated,'' says Trish.
The knives are in their original pressed leather case lined with red satin and the set is intact. The handles are either ivory or bone (the test to establish the material would harm the set, so it will not be done) and the set, consisting of two knives, two forks and a steel, was produced by Joseph Rogers & Son of Sheffield in the UK.
With them are other museum acquisitions from last year: a set of spurs and a flask, all once owned by Wanganui resident, the late Major Durie. They were donated by his great-grandson. The flask is made of lead and probably carried some kind of strong drink.
A small collection of hat pins; a Plunket donation box; a hearing trumpet, once owned by Bertha Scott, the subject of a previous Vaults story; and a most unusual rag doll are also part of the recent acquisitions. The doll, donated by the Bignell family, is a Struwwelpeter, a representation of a character in a popular children's book of the mid-19th century. An impressive item is a huge collection of erasers, gathered in the late 1960s, early 1970s by a young girl in Wanganui. Tragically, she was killed in a car crash, just before starting her first job.
“This is a small array, because we get about 500 donations through the door every year. A donation could be a collection of objects consisting of anything from one to 1000,'' says Trish.
Also accepted were an old 1950s Pacemaker wireless of singular design, made to run on mains or battery; a programme from the inaugural dinner of the amalgamation of the borough of Wanganui and town districts of Gonville and Castlecliff, dated April 1924; a young readers' book called Wanganui Adventure by Ken Saunders; a selection of bottles used by Wanganui industries; a cup and saucer set from the Marton Town Hall; and a packet of egg preserver made by Gilberd and Sons, Wanganui.
Original article appeared in the 'Wanganui Midweek on 22nd May 2013, and republished here with permission from the editors.
