Mataura Museum

Mataura Museum Our collection reflects Mataura's rich social and industrial heritage. We are based in a 1880s Cottage which we have restored as the town's Museum.

Interactive technology helps bring our Town's stories to life & our Cottage garden adds colour and charm.

Willie Martin was a man of many talents. As a boy he was a champion highland dancer. He trained as a florist, establishe...
16/08/2026

Willie Martin was a man of many talents. As a boy he was a champion highland dancer. He trained as a florist, established Rosedene Floral Studio in Gore and was an active member of the Mataura Horticultural Society. He also ran a dance school in Mataura called the Manifold School of Dancing. We hold numerous items relating to Willie's life and it is worth searching our records to get a wider sense of his interesting life.

Mavis Milne at work sewing mutton cloth bags in the bag room at the Mataura Freezing Works. Mavis worked as a machinist ...
22/07/2026

Mavis Milne at work sewing mutton cloth bags in the bag room at the Mataura Freezing Works. Mavis worked as a machinist at the Mataura Freezing Works for 45 years. On her first day at work, Mavis sewed 2,000 bags which was a slow day by later standards. So you do the maths, as to how many bags Mavis must have sewn during her career.

Mavis’ father was a solo butcher but he died when she was ten. Mavis wanted to become a nurse but necessity pushed her into the Works as a 15 year old in 1935. For a number of years, Mavis was the only woman employed there. A life time of stooping over a sewing machine ended up bending Mavis’ back out of shape.

Mavis was a spinster, in good part because she cared for her sick mother. After her mother’s death in 1961, Mavis purchased her first home on Forth Street and lived there for the rest of her life. Mavis never had a car, cycled everywhere and in later years pushed her bike around as a zimmer frame. She was a mine of local information, loved visitors but ‘watch out’ if you came unannounced!

Mavis was ‘old school’ Mataura; she knew all the original families and it saddened her that the town lost the vibrancy of her heyday. Mataura rallied around Mavis in her later years bringing her groceries, meals and company. This support enabled Mavis to remain independent and stay in her own home. Mavis never wanted to live in a rest home and the community granted her that wish.

Group of Mataura Fire Brigade members from the 1980s. Two members are holding 3 year certificates, and two are wearing m...
21/06/2026

Group of Mataura Fire Brigade members from the 1980s. Two members are holding 3 year certificates, and two are wearing medals.
Named , Lewis Brown, Warren Beattie, Rex Ramage, Robin South, Graeme Brown, Grayson Brown, Stephen Burrows, Trevor Wilson

Mataura Rugby Football Club is having their 140th years celebration on the 22nd - 24th May 2026. This is the 6th decade ...
19/05/2026

Mataura Rugby Football Club is having their 140th years celebration on the 22nd - 24th May 2026.

This is the 6th decade group at the Mataura Rugby Club's Reunion in 1995.

Identified: (left to right)
Back row: John Graham, Hamish Cameron, Jim McIntosh, Ian Grant, Doug Horne, Hugh Jenkins, Des Horne.
Middle row: Keith Henderson, Maurice Balloch, Bernie McConnell, Alan Weatherburn, Clive Ball, Jack Mutchin, Colin Thompson, Dan Taylor.
Front row: Maurice Barclay, Bill Jenkins, Jack Linklater, Andy Richmond, Gilbert Thomson, George Dixon, Peter Folster, Ian Herbison.

If anybody would like some quinces they can be collected from the Museum on Thursdays after 10am.
27/04/2026

If anybody would like some quinces they can be collected from the Museum on Thursdays after 10am.

We will be closed tomorrow for Anzac Day. This is the RED CROSS WAR-TIME RATIONING COOKERY BOOK. It is a flip type, pape...
24/04/2026

We will be closed tomorrow for Anzac Day.

This is the RED CROSS WAR-TIME RATIONING COOKERY BOOK. It is a flip type, paper covered book that has a recipe for every day of the year, as well as hints for coping with stress and rationing. Every page has a hint using a Hansells product. It was issued in 1943 by the New Zealand Department of Health.

02/04/2026

We will be closed from Friday the 3rd of April till Friday the 10th April. Have a good holiday don’t eat too many Easter eggs!

Address

68 Kana Street Mataura
Mataura
9712

Opening Hours

Friday 1pm - 4pm
Saturday 1pm - 4pm
Sunday 1pm - 4pm

Telephone

+6432037924

Website

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