Accession HL-2026.041
14 June. Glass plates from the old timber mill
A crate of workshop plates, all machinery, men, and enormous logs. This one, from 1935, shows a log mounted on the big lathe. We are cleaning and scanning them one at a time.
Volunteer archive · established 1978
The town's memory, kept where the town can find it.
We are a small group of volunteers who look after Port Kowhai's photographs, ships' records, and the stories people bring us. We copy them, we label them carefully, and we put them somewhere everyone can look.
The ship Rimutaka at Port Chalmers, Burton Brothers, 1880s. Look closely: the studio's own number, 4527, is written on the plate. Photographers were cataloguing by hand long before we were.
This is a real New Zealand glass plate, out of copyright and free to use. On a real build, your town's own photographs sit here, with captions naming the real places and years.
Bring us your photographs.
Come in Wednesday & Saturday, 1pm to 4pm
Email hello@example.org.nz
Phone 03 xxx xxxx
Voices from the town
People bring us more than pictures.
Every photograph has someone who remembers it. These are the town's own words, filed and kept like everything else.
HL-STORY.07On file
I found my grandfather in a boat crew photo I had never seen. I sat down in the reading room and cried, and nobody minded.
Moana T., grew up on Wharf Road
HL-STORY.11On file
They copied my mother's letters so I could keep the originals safe at home. Careful, gentle people. It felt like handing my family to good hands.
Gareth W., retired harbourmaster
HL-STORY.19On file
Our school class came in to look up the old fishing fleet. The children asked better questions than I did. That is the whole point of the place.
Ruth A., teacher at the local school
Recent acquisitions
What has come in lately.
A living page, easy for a volunteer to keep fresh. Each new thing gets a card and a date the day it arrives.
Accession HL-2026.038
2 June. A biscuit tin of harbour postcards, about 1905
Posted, stamped, and kept for a century. The best shows the dredge Whakarire working the harbour entrance. If your family wrote or received one, it may be in the tin.
Accession HL-2026.033
21 May. A 1913 picture book of the waterfront
A plate from Picturesque New Zealand, the working wharves seen from above. It joins the shipping records we are transcribing so the search box can read every page.
Easy Read
About us, in plain words
-
We keep old photos of our town safe.
-
We keep old letters and records too.
-
You can bring us your photos. We copy them. You keep your own photos.
-
You can visit us on Wednesday and Saturday.
-
You can email us. Our email is hello@example.org.nz
-
It is free. You do not have to pay to look.
Search the collection
Find anyone, any boat, any year.
One box that reads every photograph caption, every transcribed log, and every story on file.
This is a preview. On a real build the search works, reading your own captions, records, and stories.
People often look for
- Sargood Point light
- the 1954 regatta
- fishing fleet crews
- Wharf Road houses
- Signal Station logs
- storm of 1968
Keep the memory going
A small amount, once a year, keeps the lights on.
We are all volunteers. The money does not pay wages. It buys acid-free boxes, keeps the scanner running, and pays the small rent on the old Signal Station where the collection lives.
Think of it like a quiet subscription to the town's memory. No pressure, no monthly reminders. Give once, whenever it suits you, and it all stays here.
Charitable trust
Support the archive
A one-off gift, any size. Every dollar stays in Port Kowhai.
- $20
- $50
- $100
- Another amount
On a real build this is a working give button. Here it opens a friendly email, so nothing is ever taken by mistake.