Vallance Cottage was built about 1896 and later given to the community. It is on Central Otago District Council reserve land and listed on the district plan's register of heritage buildings.
On Monday, the Vincent Community Board will consider a request for $6000 towards the cost of replacing the floor and exterior weatherproofing. The board has also been asked to support funding applications to the Central Lakes Trust, the Otago Community Trust or the Lotteries Commission to cover the rest of the cost - up to $6000.
The mud-brick cottage was built by goldminer William Vallance, who had a claim across the Manuherikia River, and one of his daughters lived in the cottage until the 1970s.
In a report to the board, council property and facilities officer Tara Bates said a group rallied in 1994 to save the building. The building was restored and furnished before being opened to the public in 1996. It remained open, mostly on weekends or holidays, or by appointment for school groups to view, until 2009.
The Alexandra Historical Society, and later the Central Stories Museum and Art Gallery, managed the building, which was seen as a valuable historic resource, as it typified what life was like for a mining family in the early 1900s, she said.
In 2009 the cottage was closed to the public, as the floor was considered unsafe for visitors.
An estimate of $12,000 had been received to repair the floor and weatherproof the cottage's exterior.
To attract grant funding from other sources, the council, as building owner, would have to provide at least half the cost of the project, she said.
