Port Chalmers Maritime Museum and its supporters will star in the third season of history-based television documentary Heritage Rescue.
The film crew for the television series, which revitalises museums and historic sites around New Zealand, has been in Port Chalmers this week filming inside the museum and around the historic township.
Host Brigid Gallagher and the film team have worked with volunteers and members of the Port Chalmers Historical Society, which operates the museum, to revitalise the Pioneer Room, entry lobby and reception area.
The footage will be used to create two episodes for the third season of Heritage Rescue, set to screen in mid-2018 on Choice TV.
Museum curator Norman Ledgerwood said the Pioneer Room was ‘‘chockablock’’ with material and it had been a struggle to display it effectively.
‘‘It is great to have the help of the the Heritage Rescue team to better organise that area and to brighten up our lobby and reception,’’ he said.
Heritage Rescue director Laurie Clark said the project aimed to highlight the Port Chalmers ‘‘characters’’ represented in the Pioneer Room, and give the displays a more human side.
Heritage Rescue tended to focus on smaller museums, mostly operated by local societies and volunteers, and assisted them with presenting the history of their area, Mr Clark said.
‘‘Doing this show, we meet a lot of exceptional people who have great pride in their community, and we discover amazing stories.’’
Port Chalmers Maritime Museum has been closed this week for the project and will reopen with a bang this Sunday, December 10, at 1pm.
The public are invited to attend, to look around the refurbished sections of the museum, and to hopefully witness the firing of one of the restored cannons from the 19th-century sailing vessel Don Juan.
