Two registrars were hired to help the museum itemise and catalogue everything in its collection on software system PastPerfect.
The audit was also to record the status and condition of the items in the collection.
Museum curator Gary Ross said it was a significant undertaking.
''A complete collection audit from the back gate to the front door hasn't been carried out since the objects were brought in in 1986.''
It was ''fantastic'' to be at the point where every object had been handled and catalogued.
All the collection's 3500 objects were photographed and processed to be recorded in the searchable database.
The software enabled the museum to record the unique number of an object and its location, as well as include a description and classification system to an international museum standard.
''You can see what it is, where it is, why it is in the collection, the provenance [and] the history.''
It was possible to link related items in the search engine.
Mr Ross said it also helped identify items the museum did not have, such as the cement barrows used in the construction of the Balclutha bridge.
''We have ... a strong photo collection but no physical objects of the construction or maintenance of the bridge.''
It was evident the community saw the bridge as a motif or icon that identified it, he said.
He hoped some members of the community might know where some of the historical construction tubes might be.
The two registrars, Pip Harrison and Kate Smith-Bingham, started the audit in February and it was completed ''as of 5pm'' yesterday, Mr Ross said.
Ms Harrison, originally of Wellington, said it had been ''extremely challenging''.
She had little knowledge of the
area before travelling down for the audit.
Part of the research for the audit involved meeting local people and getting to know the history of the area, which Ms Harrison said was ''brilliant''.
Having unearthed and catalogued everything was ''a means to an end''.
