History – A tribute to Jim Wintle

It feels wrong to write about anything except Jim Wintle in this issue – an obituary isn’t enough, the History column belongs to him, too.

Jim’s fingerprint is all over Mangawhai, including its museum. Even after he moved away last year, he continued to watch over the place he’d help build and open – whether it was recalling the exact brand and name of the stain on the stingray’s soffits from memory (Wattyl’s forestwood natural oil kōwhai), pulling into the carpark to lean out his old ute window to check non-slip grit was being spread across the building apron as precisely as he had done it for 10 years previously, or swaggering inside to check the latest manager was doing okay (which he did each and every visit) – Jim kept caring.

In the words of Christine Bygrave:

“The [museum] site was covered in scrub and bush, but when it was cleared, Jim realised immediately that if we shifted up the hill to the east, it would enable us to build a basement area for storage and workspaces, a huge plus, so that is what we did! After initial fundraising grants, clearing and preparing the land, the work started. Jim’s ute was our office until Jim managed to procure a small building to house our plans and safety equipment. Community members stopped by to offer help, machinery, time and skills. Jim used everyone who offered, and the work included tying all the reinforcing in the trenches, laying the concrete, lining the walls and ceiling, and then building the interior and finishing the grounds, where Jim was always on site and actively involved himself. The museum opened in 2014 after five solid years of constant work by Jim and his main team – Bill, and wonderful friend and offsider Bert Sainsbury, working closely with museum designer Chris Currie. But it was a real community effort organised by Jim.”

Jim’s name is engraved at the museum’s entrance and his voice is immortalised in our Big Dig exhibit, but his heart and humour speak louder in echoes all around:

“Within every community there is possibly one individual who stands out as leader. Mangawhai is a fortunate community with many facilities and community assets. Almost all have enjoyed Jim’s contribution toward establishment. Jim’s ability to negotiate, and liaise with bureaucracy, and keep control of a team of men (all experts in their own field), is a talent very few possess.”

B.C. Ross, They Dared the Impossible, 2007