QUIRKY
TOP: Elvis Presley Museum © Kevin Wasley BELOW: Claphams Clock Museum © Whangārei District Council
If people want to visit your museum, where can they find you and what can they expect to see? My museum is at 51 Argyle St in Hāwera and people need to phone 0274 982 942 or
Shared Treasures What do you do when your collection gets too big? Open a museum.
email elvisroom@xtra.co.nz to arrange an appointment – so I can come home from work to welcome people. My collection contains 78’s, 45’s, 10”, 33’s, cassettes, 8 tracks, reel-to-reels as well as a multitude of memorabilia and souvenirs.
• Archibald Claphams liked clocks, big
time. You know this when you step into Claphams Clock Museum in Whangarei’s Town Basin because that’s where his personal collection of more than 1300 clocks now resides, tick-tocking away, many of them chiming on the hour.
• Mt Maunganui is home to another fine
example of a personal obsession getting right out of hand. A private collection of too many surf boards, classic relics and historic surf memorabilia needed to be preserved, displayed and shared and so the Mount Surf Museum was born.
• Perhaps not surprisingly, the only bowls
museum in the world is in New Zealand. The TSB Bank Bowls New Zealand Museum in New Plymouth has over 8000 exhibits including trophies from historical events. Yes, you guessed it – the museum started as a private collection; it was donated to New Zealand Bowls to develop into a museum for lovers of lawn bowls.
We Love You New Zealand! September 2020
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