The Dunedin Gasworks Museum redevelopment project is gaining momentum, with more than $300,000 raised, and community support also growing, organisers say.
The Lottery Grants Board last week provided $52,165 towards some of the costs of the recent fitting shop restoration, at the museum's Braemar St complex, including brick repointing ($24,430).
About $900,000 has been spent restoring the brick fitting shop- which had been in danger of collapse. It has also been converted into a visitor entry point and meeting facility.
Most of the fitting shop funding had been provided by the Dunedin City Council, which owns this building and all the other category 1 listed historic buildings on the site.
The museum trust is paying $220,000 towards fitting shop costs, $160,000 of that already paid.
On public display at the "shop" is a recently completed scale model of the gasworks complex in the 1960s, which was organised by architect Damien Van Brandenburg.
Through the city council's annual and long-term plan process, the trust will seek $1 million for maintenance and restoration spending to better protect other buildings at the site during the financial year beginning on July 1 next year, and a further million dollars a year will be sought over the following two years.
The trust was "extremely grateful" for the council support, including $50,000 a year recently earmarked for maintenance, he said.
The trust is also seeking further community grants in order to complete three tasks by next March: installing a new metal fence on the Braemar St frontage ($30,000), restoring and reassembling P3 gas manufacturing equipment, and providing public toilets ($65,000).
The museum needed to establish "an income stream" and hoped to eventually appoint a curator-manager in order to expand the public opening hours. The museum opens from noon to 4pm each Tuesday and on every first and third Sunday of the month.
By next March, organisers want the museum to be open for at least one day every weekend and later wanted to open each weekday.
Trust member Ann Barsby said an increase in community activities hosted at the redeveloped fitting shop had helped increase the museum's annual attendance by 50%, to about 3000.
• The fitting shop will be the main venue for the South Dunedin Heritage Festival on March 17.
