After almost two years of ongoing renovations at the Waitaki Museum and Archive, the work is complete.

The museum, which has new spaces and increased accessibility, will hold an opening weekend next Saturday and Sunday (March 11 and 12), with extended opening hours of 10am to 4pm.

Work done on the building included earthquake strengthening of the historic athenaeum building, installing a lift to make the upper floor accessible to all, adding two new exhibition spaces, a new education space, a refurbished archive enquiry area and a refurbished museum collection store.

The completion of the works at the Waitaki Museum followed the re-opening of the Waitaki Archive in December, and the team was thrilled to have both projects completed.

The first of the new exhibition spaces is to house temporary exhibitions. 

Cultural Facilities operations manager Chloe Searle said the museum team was looking forward to regular changing exhibitions, showcasing more from its collection, and highlighting local events of significance.

“We also now have the capacity to host touring exhibitions.”

Museum exhibitions and collections curator Henry Buckenham said the first exhibition Snapshot sought to demonstrate the rich diversity of the community through objects collected, photographed, and talked about. 

“Sharing the stories of recent migrants through personal treasures.”

The second part of the new exhibition spaces focused more on recent history, from 1900 to the near present, with spaces divided out into different eras, Chloe said.

“Similar to the displays which opened in our downstairs galleries in 2020, this space has been designed for the museum’s small team to be able to change out sections on a regular basis. 

“The exhibition has lots of familiar local stories like Lane’s Emulsion and the story of the Memorial Oaks scheme but also some less well-known parts of local history.”

The opening exhibition in this space is Ballad of the Waitaki.

Mr Buckenham said the exhibition was chosen as it was easy to dismiss the events of the recent past as being insignificant compared to the grandeur of our Victorian heritage. 

“However, it is important that us and our children understand how we came to stand where we do, and this period is a vital part of that story.”

The renovations were made possible through funding from the Otago Community Trust, the Lottery Significant Projects Fund, and Waitaki District Council, Chloe said. 

“We are so grateful for their support and look forward to sharing the changes we have made with this funding, with our community and visitors.”