Rural History Society

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31724, 6 July 1968, Page 9

Rural History Society

To pool and exchange information on matters relating to rural history in Canterbury and to acquire and display machines, artifacts, records and photographs of aspects of it, it is proposed to form a Society of Rural History. For this purpose a meeting will be held at the office of the Department of Agriculture at 131 Victoria Street, Christchurch, at 8 p.m. next Thursday. People whose interests He in such varied fields as vintage tractors, old farm machinery, blacksmithing, cheese and butter making, the early cocksfoot industry on Banks Peninsula, or in historic aspects of plant and animal breeding are invited to attend.

Friends and supporters have already been active in this field and their first combined effort was the display of 26 vintage ploughs at the world ploughing match at Prebbleton - Broadfield last year. Some of these ploughs were more than 100 years old. And at the last Christchurch Show they organised a wider display of farm equipment, which included four stationary engines, all of them in going order and viewed in motion by young and old. Apart from their interest in the historical aspects, those engaged in the restoration of these vintage machines have found it to be an engaging hobby. The Society of Rural History will be one of the many societies and clubs that support the Museum of Science and Industry at Ferrymead, which will be the site of its activities. Already the museum has

purchased and leased more than 60 acres of land. The site abounds the embankment of the first railway line in New Zealand. By the spring a storage shed of 3600 square feet of floor area will have been completed, and the museum executive is at present making the preliminary plans for its first exhibition hall—a building of about 200 ft by 70ft—that will be the display area for the museum and the clubs and societies that support it There is adequate space for future exhibition halls and working and display grounds, and among future plans are the provision of a Hall of Agriculture and Food Technology, a vintage rural village built near the railway station on the restored line rebuilt on the original site, and a model farm with live animals. All of these activities will be the focal point for people with an interest in the history of agriculture in Canterbury. As yet supporters of the society have only scratched the field of rural history and many absorbing aspects remain to be uncovered and made known.