Mercury Bay Museum: A Walk Down Memory Lane

The Mercury Bay Museum is excited to announce the opening of A Walk Down Memory Lane, a permanent exhibition, on September 30 2022.

The new exhibit is a blast from the past and will reignite familiar memories from many locals and visitors to the area. It is a nod to the Old School Room Exhibit that the museum closed in 2021, the local general store and haberdashery shop.

A Walk Down Memory Lane has many exciting artefacts, including a hat and jacket that belonged to Miss Kathleen Hodge - who owned the local haberdashery shop for many years. Many of the artefacts in the exhibit were once from her shop once it closed. Keeping in line with the Hodge family, there are also a pair of boots that were made by the local bookmaker - Mr Hodge.

The school room will feel familiar whether you attended school in the Bay or visited the previous school room. The Museum has included a nod to the “murder house” and has reinstated the dental nurse corner, with all artefacts from the original Mercury Bay Area School Dental Clinic.

“In 2021 we made the decision to close the old school room exhibit but we had lots of calls for its return - so we have recreated it in this space. We also wanted to create a space that has a link to Whitianga's history - so we added a general store and haberdashery. The stores are modelled on actual stores that were in Whitianga around 1950s - 1960s - with links to families." says Rebecca Cox,

Mercury Bay Museum Manager. “The new exhibit links to the new Aotearoa New Zealand Histories curriculum being rolled out next year.”

This exhibit was funded by the Aotearoa Gaming Trust Grants. Local community involvement included: Steve Tull from Steve’s Building Maintenance, Damon Christensen from Diode Electrical, Ange Gregory from Firefly Design, and Darren Hartley from Coastal Signs. As with all exhibits at the Mercury Bay Museum, the volunteer team were key - they collectively helped to pull this exhibition together.

29 September Private Exhibit launch to local business and teaching staff

30 September Exhibition opens to the public

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