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Wyllie Cottage heritage restoration
Tairāwhiti Museum and Gisborne District Council have just begun the first phase of an exciting new project for Gisborne, the heritage restoration of Wyllie Cottage. Wyllie Cottage, built in 1872, was the first European building on the Taruheru side of the river. The cottage is named for its first owners Kate (née Halbert) and James Ralston... Read more »
Caring for Wyllie Cottage collections
I’m Megan, Collection Technician at Tairāwhiti Museum. I am responsible for processing all objects currently housed in Wyllie Cottage before the heritage restoration begins. With approximately two hundred and fifty objects made from materials as diverse as silk, wood, leather, iron and paper, from the size of a fountain pen to a double bed, and... Read more »
Kate Wyllie’s Māori New Testament
The history and conservation of a 6th edition Māori New Testament held in the Tairāwhiti Museum collection.
de-shingling Wyllie Cottage
The second phase of work on Wyllie Cottage has now begun. Tairāwhiti Museum staff completed the removal of all the objects from the cottage earlier this month, and the building has now been handed over to project contractors Bothwell Construction, to begin work on the restoration of the cottage proper. Spending much more time than... Read more »
A glimpse inside
An important part of undertaking a heritage conservation project – in addition to a comprehensive study of the physical building – is compiling as much photographic and archive evidence as possible to piece together the building’s history and help inform decision making. Since the Wyllie Cottage project got underway last year we’ve been poring through... Read more »
Cottage Congoleum considered
The removal of collection items from Wyllie Cottage has been completed, and work on the restoration of the building is now well underway. A total of 316 museum collection items including 35 large domestic items, framed works, and smaller items consisting of soft furnishings (textiles), clothing, ceramics, glassware, books, small framed works, children’s toys and... Read more »
Appealing objects – decorative arts at Tairāwhiti Museum
New to the Jack C Richards Decorative Arts Gallery: Chinese-style glass vessels by Alexander Lamont Workshops (Thailand); Japanese-influenced ceramics by New Zealand potter Aaron Scythe; decorative paintings by British/New Zealand artist Melanie Mills and three, early twentieth-century Japanese wedding robes.
Tracing the inhabitants of Wyllie Cottage
While the cottage is closed for renovation we have been researching the inhabitants, and have been surprised by the number of people who have lived there, albeit briefly. As is always the way though, our research has raised as many questions as answers, and we are hoping that some of the names in this blog... Read more »
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Wyllie Cottage heritage restoration
Tairāwhiti Museum and Gisborne District Council have just begun the first phase of an exciting new project for Gisborne, the heritage restoration of Wyllie Cottage. Wyllie Cottage, built in 1872, was the first European building on the Taruheru side of the river. The cottage is named for its first owners Kate (née Halbert) and James Ralston... Read more »
Caring for Wyllie Cottage collections
I’m Megan, Collection Technician at Tairāwhiti Museum. I am responsible for processing all objects currently housed in Wyllie Cottage before the heritage restoration begins. With approximately two hundred and fifty objects made from materials as diverse as silk, wood, leather, iron and paper, from the size of a fountain pen to a double bed, and... Read more »
Kate Wyllie’s Māori New Testament
The history and conservation of a 6th edition Māori New Testament held in the Tairāwhiti Museum collection.
What’s Happening at the Museum
Teleological Destination Heart Brain Coherence Expanding Consciousness – Tish Scott
Opening: 17/04/26 5:30 pm
Morphic Resonance is the collective memory influences of form and behaviour via nonlocal fields where individual minds tap into shared patterns. These fields provide blueprints not just of DNA but of mental fields – implying that consciousness isn’t just internal but extends into subtle interconnected fields of ‘patterns”. “I explore these fields within my consciousness... Read more »
Ā Mua – Melanie Baldwin
Opening: 03/04/26 5:30 pm
This exhibition is the first showing of work that was made while I was resident at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (UK) in November/December 2024. The residency allowed me time to consider the history of the British class system, of colonialism, of material, of human labour and mineral extraction, of capitalism, of solidarity and mutual aid,... Read more »
Conversations of the Soul Whakawhiti kōrero a te wairua Weaving and ceramics by Julia Gould and Gemeaux Riddell
Opening: 13/03/26 5:30 pm
Weaving runs alongside my life, warp and weft, whenu and aho, the over and under and interlacing of life’s journey. Encompassing the inspirations, the challenges, the successes, the stumbling and the meditating on all of that. Harakeke, wool, cotton, wood and jute form the basis of my work, with the addition of the dye pot... Read more »
1964 – 2026 and still going – A retrospective by Jean McGreal Loomis
Opening: 20/02/26 5:30 pm
Ko wai tō tūrangawaewae? Jean McGreal discovered her passion for art at an early age, beginning lessons with a nun named Sister Ligouri in Auckland at the age of nine. After leaving Elam School of Art, Loomis was invited to teach art in the Catholic schools in Apia, Samoa, presenting an opportunity to experience Polynesian... Read more »
New Old
Opening: 08/09/25 10:00 am
Every month the museum receives generous offers of material to be added to it’s collections. New Old is a cross section of some of the historic photographs the museum has had donated over the last five years. We have made a selection to show the broad variety of images that have extended our already diverse... Read more »
There are no upcoming events at this time.
We welcome ideas for new projects and exhibitions so if you have something in mind, please get in touch – we would love to hear from you!
