Big plans for Strathallan anniversary

Timaru will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the Strathallan with a re-enactment of its landing, a free concert and a fireworks display at Caroline Bay.

Those are the tentative plans of the Timaru District Council committee formed last month to decide how to spend the $50,000 set aside for next year's celebrations.

Committee chairman Warren Barker said a ‘‘day on the bay'' event was planned for January 17, the first Saturday after the January 14 anniversary date.

The committee was investigating whether it could get a sailing ship to Caroline Bay to stage a re-enactment of the Strathallan's arrival, complete with rowboats and actors in period costume.

The event would include a free concert and culminate in a fireworks display, he said.

Entries for the council's Design a Logo competition closed on August 20, he said. The winning entry, which will be used to promote anniversary events, will be announced on August 23, with its designer receiving a $500 prize.

Another major 150th anniversary event will be a Strathallan-themed exhibition at the South Canterbury Museum.

Museum director Philip Howe said the as-yet-unnamed exhibition would open on November 29 and continue until mid-May.

In planning since last year, the exhibition will portray life on board the ship during its voyage to New Zealand and the conditions immigrants found here.

It would ask ‘‘what motivated them to up sticks and come on a very small vessel and come to a strange new land?'' Mr Howe said.

The exhibition would have interactive elements, such as ship cabins that visitors could walk through, giving them an idea of conditions on board a 19th-century sailing ship.

There would be a preview of the exhibition on November 29 for descendants of the Strathallan's passengers, he said.

Mr Howe encouraged descendants to register with the museum in advance.

On the day of the exhibition's opening, the museum would launch a ‘‘fantastic'' book about the Strathallan, which Timaru writer Alan McKenzie had spent three years writing, Mr Howe said.

Last month The Courier asked for feedback from readers about how Timaru should celebrate its 150th anniversary.

The following suggestions were the most popular:
- A re-enactment of the Strathallan's arrival, attended by descendants of its passengers.
- A public fireworks display.
- Guided tours of historical sites in the district, suitable for children and adults.
- A family picnic including music and children's competitions.
- A short story competition.

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