The 1:250 scale model of Greytown’s Main St circa1918. PHOTOS/SUPPLIED
GIANINA SCHWANECKE
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The chance to take a step back in time more than 100 years is on offer as part of a new exhibition at Greytown’s Cobblestones Museum.
The ‘Greytown: 38 Sections, 38 Stories’ features a three-metre 1:250 scale model of the town built by Thomas Nieuwenhuis, a graduate architecture student from Victoria University.
Exhibition co-ordinator Annabelle O’Meara said the exhibition had generated a positive response to date.
“We are just so excited with the feedback we’ve had so far.”
It celebrates the town’s architectural heritage, taking visitors along Greytown’s Main St as it stood at the end of World War I.
The display covers 38 sections, with wall-panels detailing the stories of those who occupied the land and what it was used for.
She said the model was put together by a small group of volunteers, wanting to “go beyond” the town’s period architecture.
“That was the impetus which drove the theme of this exhibition. We felt many people don’t appreciate what the land was like before [the Pakeha settlers arrived].”
The exhibition also features artwork by Tina Rae Carter, a hand-painted interpretation of the Waiohine River and a continuously running slide show of historic photos, and an immersive piece with the sounds of Main St Greytown playing in the background.
It took more than a year to plan how the stories would be represented and O’Meara described it as fitting with the “number eight wire” mentality.
She called upon Wairarapa residents to check out the exhibition and learn more about their history.
“There’s an open invitation for people to learn about our local history. We encourage locals to come and see the exhibition especially.”
‘Greytown: 38 Sections, 38 Stories’ is set to become a permanent feature at Cobblestones Museum.
