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Museum manager Emma Gray says she has always been interested in local history.
Mangawhai Museum has had a steady start since opening in December and a number of special exhibits are opening soon.
Museum manager Emma Gray says there have been over 2000 admissions, averaging about 40 people a day.
“Weekends have been extremely busy, but we are also steady through the week, which is great,” she says.
“We are getting group bookings from schools and other community groups, which is promising.”
Emma is from Auckland but has been living in Kaiwaka for the past two years and was manager at Bennetts Cafe in Mangawhai before taking on the role.
“I’ve always been interested in history and it’s fantastic to be involved with the museum.”
Mangawhai Historical Society chair Christine Bygrave says she is very pleased with the response from the public.
“It’s all working out very well. It’s quite different to what people expect. I think a lot of people think museums just have a lot of old stuff, but our museum is much more than that. It tells great stories of the area and the local people.
“It’s lovely to see children enjoying the museum too.”
There will be a special exhibition for Anzac Day.
“It will be an opportunity to share the stories of Mangawhai folk who were involved in the world wars, and we will have some memorabilia on display and will be making poppies.”
In May, there will be an exhibit commemorating the 75th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Niagara, which hit a German mine while carrying more than eight tonnes of gold.
“We have the bell from the Niagara on display but we are hoping to get other artefacts and go into greater depth on the story, with help from Keith Gordon who has the salvage rights to the ship and wrote a book about the ship.”
People can join ‘Friends of the Museum’ and pay an annual fee to visit the museum any time and be notified of special events and exhibits.
