Gasworks shop ready to be opened to the public

Celebrations ahead: Dunedin Gasworks Museum Trust board members (standing, from left) Bill Cowan,...
Celebrations ahead: Dunedin Gasworks Museum Trust board members (standing, from left) Bill Cowan, Ann Barsby, (front) Lloyd Smith and maintenance team leader Tom Galletly are delighted with the completion of the fitting shop restoration project. Photo by Brenda Harwood
February is shaping up as an exciting month at the Dunedin Gasworks Museum, where trustees and volunteers are putting the finishing touches to the restored fitting shop.

Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the official opening of the gasworks museum, on February 3, 2001, by patron Sir Neil Cossons, then chairman of English Heritage and a world authority on industrial heritage.

"The Dunedin Gasworks Museum is one of only three preserved gasworks in the world, and by far the best and most complete," Sir Neil said at the time.

Dunedin Gasworks Museum trust members and volunteers were delighted that the two-year project to restore the fitting shop had been completed in time to coincide with the museum's 10th birthday, trust board member Ann Barsby said.

The $600,000 project had involved stabilising the building's structure, straightening its walls, restoring and repairing its roof, creating a library area for housing information and archives, and installing joinery to enable the fitting shop to become the museum's new public entrance.

The project was supported by the Dunedin City Council, which contributed $400,000, along with funding organisations, and through fundraising.

"The fitting shop will be a place to introduce people to the museum and its history, before they go over to the engine house to see the working machinery," trust member Bill Cowan said.

With the fitting shop restoration completed, it only remained to refurbish the museum's fence and gateway to be more in keeping with the structures within.

The Dunedin Gasworks Museum's 10th birthday will be celebrated with a birthday cake and guided tours during an open afternoon on Sunday, Waitangi Day, from noon to 4pm.

Funders, trust members and volunteers will gather for a private function next week to celebrate the completion of the fitting shop restoration.

The fitting shop will then be revealed to the public during open days at the Dunedin Gasworks Museum on February 19 and 20.

The museum is to be a main attraction of the South Dunedin Heritage open day, along with St Patrick's Basilica and the Mayfair Theatre, running from 10am to 4pm on February 19.

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