Selwyn Times: February 03, 2021

20 Selwyn Times Wednesday February 3 2021
SELWYN RURAL LIFE
Blowing away cobwebs on heritage
A group of Selwyn heritage and
historical organisations is calling for
the district council to back its voluntary
endeavours.
The Selwyn Heritage Network is mostly
run by a self-described group of “ageing
volunteers who are passionate about
being able to tell the stories of our past
to the children and general population
of the whole district”.
“The council have clearly identified
that preserving the heritage of the
district is important, and we applaud
you for that. However, history isn’t just
old buildings. It’s the stories about the
area and the people who lived here, and
the tools and devices they used in their
everyday lives,” members of the Selwyn
Heritage Network told councillors and
staff.
Individuals who were voluntarily
collecting, collating, cataloguing and
displaying the important i tems, such as
articles, buildings and machinery were
the ones who have the knowledge to
tell and record the correct story behind
every item. In a few years these people
would not be here and other younger
people may struggle to be accurate.
“These passionate people deserve the
ability to see this work to complete, or as
near to, now,” the council heard.
“While we as a group do not presume
to advise what options are open to the
council, thoughts from the meeting
were suggestions such as, borrowing a
significant sum of money to assist with
some of the ‘big ticket’ items needing
to be completed now rather than later,
and then use a district wide rate to
support that loan and leave a reasonable
contestable amount to fund the annual
costs for the organisations of the sector.”
The network said while council had
The ‘Selwyn
Huts’, a
popular weekend
resort of
Christchurch
anglers
near the
mouth of the
Selwyn River,
Canterbury.
The annual athletic sports of the Canterbury Agricultural College,
Lincoln. A general view of the sports ground, showing the college
buildings and the War Memorial Hall in the background.
been proactive in offering some annual
grants and contestable funding streams
to assist in the day to day costs of some
of our sector, “with the current level of
commitment there will never be enough
fiscal resources available to do the
important large projects that have been
discussed in these chambers in the past”.
Fundraising sausage sizzles and raffles
would not raise the money required to
fulfil this task and network members
have needed to make applications to
outside organisations for funding to
cover running costs.
As a group, the network would like to
see significant funding towards, among
other things: buildings and display areas
made fit for purpose to properly house
the history of the district in museums
and historical buildings and story
boards at specific sites throughout the
district, in townships and rural areas.
A call also went out for the
development and promotion (perhaps
with an app and brochures) of a heritage
trail that leads visitors from one place to
the next, from one end of the district to
the other. This would bring money into
the district (e.g. service stations, dairies,
restaurants, local craft shops) and make
Selwyn a destination. The network also
called for monetary support of all the
heritage and historical societies in the
area, an on-going contestable fund and
an appointed staff member at council
to whom all enquiries can be made and
who could promote the sector, with help
from these organisations.
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