Work to catalogue History House collection under way

Experienced historian John Taylor, of Reefton, has begun assessing the History House Museum collection.

The museum closed in 2017, after the building was found to be earthquake-prone. It will shortly be listed for sale.

Mr Taylor will recommend what happens to every item. Some may be offered back to the family who donated them; others may be offered to museums.

Every item will have its title, dimensions, and date recorded, and every plan allocated a reference number and barcode.

He has started with historic Grey County Council engineer’s drawings.

Mr Taylor, the curator of the Blacks Point Museum, is working out of Greymouth’s Regent Theatre, due to the museum’s earthquake rating. Items are brought to him for assessment.

They are then returned to History House for the time being. Some items will go to the new library, including a large diving suit used in Greymouth Harbour.

“I have started with old Grey County Council engineer’s plans,” Mr Taylor said.

The collection includes filing cabinets full of digital photos which date back to 1943.

Mr Taylor has previously held Government contracts, including cataloguing and arranging for the best of the remaining old mining maps to be scanned, for NZ Petroleum and Minerals (MBIE).