Museum Educator
Keely Kroening has heaps to share and she does a wonderful job as the Museum Educator at the South Canterbury Museum. We thought you might like to learn about the discoveries that Keely made about her own home on Beverley Road in Timaru.
I have lived in Timaru for 15 years and originally moved here because my husband had a job here and I got a teaching job at Timaru Girls’ High School. I have worked at the Museum for 9 years as an Museum Educator, which is a job I love. There are so many interesting things all around us both in nature and in our community and my job lets me explore these every day. The more you notice things and wonder about them the more you learn and the more curious you get!
We have lived in our house in Beverley Rd for 15 years. One of the things that attracted us to the area was the range of houses of different ages and styles. We can look out and see wooden villas with clay tile rooves, brick bungalows and imposing art deco houses. Our house was built in 1959 and has some interesting features like a gull wing roof and a front door with a tūī etched into the glass. These features made me curious about who built it and who has lived here in the past. Over the years I have found out snippets of information from a variety of places.
House plans: In the property file at the council there was a copy of the original plans. There were some interesting things to be discovered. The builders name, the name of the person who drew the plans and what the original floor plan looked like.
Materials: Our house was built of some kind of blocks but had been painted over. When we had to drill into it to as a gate to the property it turned out it is pink summer-hill stone. A local builder told us that the floors are rimu.
Quotable Valuation: https://www.qv.co.nz will tell you when your house was bought and sold since the early 1980’s. Ours had changed hands a few times, each family adding to the history with their decorating, renovation and gardening choices.
People: Timaru is a small place, neighbours will remember bits and pieces about houses in their area. An example of this is when we first moved here I met a lady who it turns out had lived in our house as a child. Her family were the first to live here and her father built the garage. She also told me that the man who designed it was from Holland which might explain why the ‘sunway’ was on the south side of the house and the bathroom was on the north side in the original plans!
I wonder what future families will think of the changes that we have made to the house while we have been living here. They will be able to look back at the plans and see what the vision for the house was and then they will make their own changes in turn.
- Keely Kroening, Museum Educator. 2020
Did you know...
The South Canterbury Musuem has over 30 curriculum linked programmes in the museum and the field throughout the Central South Island. They are LEOTC (Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom) funded by the Ministry of Education their programmes are free, flexible and fun. Booking is easy, just select your programme and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. the Museum: Free phone 0508 Museum (0508 687 386). Or fill out the online booking request form
For ALL your Central South Island Heritage educational experiences: Pass the planning, preparation and presentation to the team: museum.timaru.govt.nz/education