A collection of Taieri history has been growing in Outram for 40 years, helping people remember, and others learn, about the area's rich past.
Run by the Taieri Historical Society, the Taieri Historical Park is home to the former Outram courthouse, jail, railway engine shed, town board office and school, along with the former Berwick Church.
The buildings hold a broad-ranging collection of items, including the last threshing mill to be used on the Taieri, 1950s radios, a school strap, honours board, lolly makers, and Anzac memorabilia.
Society president Neil Gamble said "wads and wads of stuff" had been donated over the years, and the biggest problem was just finding room to display it all.
About six items a month, from milk bottle tops to photographs, were donated. One of the latest was a "clock thing" from the Waipori power station.
While Mr Gamble was not 100% sure what it did, a bit of research would soon reveal all and it, too, would take pride of place on display.
The society was formed by a group of Mosgiel residents who felt the increase of antique dealers "buying a lot of the early stuff", was "a bit off".
When pieces became available, the group began collecting them and storing them in their homes before the Department of Conservation site overlooking the Taieri River was found.
The first buildings moved to the site were the Outram court and jailhouse, followed by the Outram school, which became surplus to requirements in the 1990s.
The Berwick Church was then decommissioned and became available, about the same time as the Outram railway engine shed was being offered to the Fire Service to burn for training. It was subsequently redirected to the society.
The last building to be moved to site was the Outram town board office, built in the 1920s, which would be turned into a period home. Mr Gamble said the group was " not looking for anything else", but would still "love a smithy".
The park and museum were popular with people looking for an interesting picnic spot, schools and various community groups.
The relaxed setting was "quite touchy-feely" as the majority of items were not sitting behind glass, and people could freely move into and around exhibits.
"Kids love those kind of things [and] a lot of older people remember the tools on display, it's quite nostalgic for a lot of people."
Along with visitors and tour groups, the society frequently received requests for information from all over New Zealand and the world.
"There is a tremendous number of people who have had forebears on the Taieri and they are contacting us for information about their family history."
The society, of about 50 members, "runs on a shoestring" and did not pay for any of its collection.
"We don't have the money."
However, inheriting wooden, often run-down, buildings, meant much money needed to be spent on maintenance.
"We are always looking for assistance, whether it's financial or physical," Mr Gamble said.
On its wish list were display cabinets, church memorabilia, family histories, new members, and a computerised catalogue.
"This organisation is not doing this because we happen to like local history, what we are trying to do is safeguard as much local heritage as we can for future generations.
"No-one is doing it in this area. We are it for the Taieri, for things that come from this area in the early days."
