Central Stories Museum and Art Gallery no longer has the capacity to manage the nearly 120-year-old mud brick cottage in Alexandra and, to ensure the building is taken care of, the Vincent Community Board is seeking community interest.
Board chairwoman Clair Higginson said while the Central Otago District Council was the owner, there was no budget for maintenance of the Samson St cottage and its grounds.
A guardian was needed to manage the residence, built in 1896.
''We'd love to find another lead group to keep an eye on the cottage and look after it in the future. It would be good to see school groups visiting it again for education about how simple life was in those days, or perhaps it could be a residence for artists.''
Diana Maskill, grand-daughter of Jesse Vallance, the daughter of the builders of the cottage, said the family was grateful for hard work put in by previous volunteers who had helped restore and open the cottage to the public.
''Without their efforts the cottage would have been demolished and we are so pleased the community rallied together to ensure it was saved.
''The cottage is a special place to our family. On a recent visit we were sad to see the grounds had not been maintained and that more work is needed to preserve the building and funding is an ongoing issue. We are hoping that the community will help us find a way to preserve the cottage and ensure the history of the area is kept for future generations.''
The board, along with the Central Lakes Trust, the Otago Community Trust, and the Vallance family, who gave the building to the community in the mid-1990s, had recently funded repairs to the cottage floor.
However, other parts had fallen into disrepair.
Ms Higginson said it was still in a usable condition.
''What may need to happen is we may need to get a conservation plan done, which will give us guidance for the programme of work needed.
''Until we get the conservation plan we won't be able to assess what needs to be done.''
All parties involved agreed it would be ''great'' to see the historic building being used again.
Until 2009, the house had been open at weekends and by appointment.
The residence, on council reserve land, was on the district plan's register of heritage buildings.
However, it was not on the New Zealand Heritage List.
A community picnic is planned for early in the new year near the cottage to bring people together to share ideas about management of the cottage.
It is hoped a group of custodians will then be formed.
People with ideas or interest can contact communications@codc.govt.nz
