News from the Heritage Park
The last month has been a fairly quiet time at the Westland Industrial Heritage Park with a slow-down of visitors, although the railway, in particular, still attracts a steady number of patrons every week when weather allows.
WIHP members, however, continue to progress their various projects and there is a lot of planning in the background.
Two new displays are planned:
- With the expansion of the Livery display the Boatshed display has become very cramped and so a new Maritime Centre is planned to house the existing boat collection and tell the story of water transport in Westland.
- A new shed is also planned to display some of our large plant items. This has been christened the Wheels and Tracks display.
The contract for the construction of these new sheds has been let, the consenting process is underway, the sites have been cleared and we hope construction will start at the end of the month and be finished by the end of the year. In the meantime, planning and fundraising to fit out the two new buildings is also progressing.
Members are excited that WIHP will host this year’s Junk2Funk Wearable Arts Exhibition. The show will be held in the Heritage Centre at the Park on Sunday 1 October from 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm. The exhibits in this show must contain at least 75% recycled materials.
The Mudfish railway has continued to operate on Saturdays weather permitting. Following the success of the night runs on King’s Birthday and Matariki weekends we will have an evening run on Saturday 23 September to celebrate the end of daylight saving. Watch for the advertising for this event.
Want to win an ounce of GOLD? We are running a raffle to raise money to buy a new electric locomotive for the Mudfish railway. The 1000 tickets are $10 each. Sales are going well with about half of the tickets sold. First prize is an ounce of gold (worth about $3,000); the second prize is a Helicopter trip for up to 4 people (value $1200); third prize is 2 nights’ accommodation for a family of up to 5 people at the Kiwi Holiday Park (value $440); and the fourth prize is a Family entry to the West Coast Treetop Walk (value $85). The draw will take place in November.
We are open to the public on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but look out for additional events. Come and see our displays, talk to our members and join us if you like what you see.
Westland Industrial Heritage Park: 9 Brian Waugh Lane, Hokitika 7810
Email: wihpark@gmail.com
Website: http://www.rustyrelics.co.nz
Text and images: Bob Gaiger
