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Projects
Family History
The Museum’s family history files are an ongoing project but special emphasis is being given to expanding this information in this our 30th birthday year. Previously the information held largely depended on what family or friends had passed to us, or material from old press clippings. Many local families have contributed generously, being wonderful sources of information over the years, but there are still many gaps.
It is a good feeling when someone comes in searching for information on a long dead relative and we can pull out details such as how much coal for how much pay that person moved in a certain week long ago; show them a photo from our archives; or show an second generation Australian family their great-grandmother’s wedding shoes.
New sources of information, such as PapersPast, have opened windows to the past by providing searchable articles from New Zealand newspapers of long ago. If you haven’t already discovered this try www.paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Miners’ Voices
An Oral History project focusing on the Waikato Coalfields.
Recording the memories of mine workers and their families. If you know of anyone with mining connections who would like to share their knowledge and experience with us please contact our Registrar to arrange an initial meeting.
Photographic Project
The Museum has an extensive photographic collection documenting the lives and work of miners and other residents of the district over many, many years. Most of these are digitised and catalogued to give easy access to researchers, family historians and history buffs.
HUNTLY HERITAGE TRAIL
An exploration of the historic buildings and sites of Huntly.
These important buildings and sites reflect the town’s coal mining heritage, religions and businesses which are being fully researched and compiled in a trail brochure.
Educational Resources
Thanks to the generosity of WEL Energy Trust we are currently involved in a project to upgrade our Educational Resources. This may take a few months but we expect the finished product to provide an interactive and informative resource, updating and greatly improving the existing educational package with material for both students and teachers.
Many of these projects have been researched by Museum volunteers, if you would like to help research Huntly and District using the Museum’s various collections please contact us.
Special exhibitions
Through the Lens
Waikato Coalfields Museum is going to the cinema! It’s time to buy your ticket, find your seat, settle in and reminisce with us, for movie-going is almost a universal experience and has been for a century.
Older folk may recall the spark between Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, where Sam [Dooley Wilson] did indeed, “play it again”. Was it really as long ago as 1942? Yes it was. Or perhaps Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot conjure up memories of cinematic magic from the late 1950’s. It would be easy to trawl through each decade since then; delving into the rich heritage of stars, music and script to find a stylistic memory, an icon of culture indebted to the fictions of the screen. 
However, the cinema has never been solely about what is screened to an audience. Many will recall the excitement of intermission, of ushers with pill-box hats, ice-cream trays and, eventually, Jaffas. Saturday matinees may have included singing competitions or quizzes. Over the years the non-cinematic aspects of the movie-going experience have increased in sophistication and expense.
At the museum we have decided to curate an exhibition celebrating the relationship between Huntly and the silver screen. We aim to evoke memories of the several local screening venues and the films that they hosted. To this end we invite people to bring in their cinematic memories and memorabilia and share them with us as we begin to plan for this new exhibition. Anything from ticket stubs to posters would be suitable for consideration for inclusion. We are also very interested in any home-films that depict Huntly or its districts. Please contact the museum if you have any stories or objects that might be of interest in this exciting new exhibition.
Jane Ferrier, Registrar
Seldom Seen Objects
Selected objects from our collection.
Object #1 Image of object from collection is mid-Victorian wedding dress, c1830-1850. It was worn by Jane Russell. Her husband had the dubious honour of being New Zealand's first mining death.
Object #2 from collection is a Proficiency Certificate. These were the bane of many student's lives until the 1930s. Students were frequently unable to leave school or get a job without one - we are not even talking High school! Most students sat for their Proficiency Certificate at the end of their Standard 6 year - Year 8 in today's parlance. Getting your Proficiency Certificate entitled you to two year's free secondary education; although for many people, even that was a pipedream - their parent's could not afford to send them.
'Oral History Station'
The old switchboard from the Te Kauwhata telephone exchange has been converted into an oral history station; courtesy of Castle Trust.
By plugging in switchboard pegs while listening through the handset, you will hear voices from the past.
OBJECTS
