Eight years ago he Maniototo area was not the place to be.  A severe rural recession coupled with the closure of the sawmill

Above: The Centennial Milk Bar - saved and restored to its former glory. Below: Ranfurly's Church of the Sacred Heart, by the Italian influenced Mandeno & Fraser.

Above and Below: Images from Rural Art Deco Weekend 2003.

and Power Board resulted in massive job losses in the region and a population decrease of 9.2%.

So bad was the public malaise that sections in the Central Otago town were being sold for $1 – and even the locals were not optimistic enough to buy them!

Then comes along Edna McAtamney, who had a vision and the ability to gather enough volunteers and support to make that vision come to life.

Edna’s mission started when she heard that the fire brigade was going to burn down the derelict old milk bar for training purposes.  She did not want to see Ranfurly’s heritage and iconic architecture razed to the ground, and so she set up the Rural Art Deco Project Maniototo.  Edna single-handedly promoted a vision involving refurbishment of the town centre’s Art Deco buildings through a community project, which would promote tourism and involve community groups in a positive way to gain economic and social benefits for the area.

While many locals thought she had gone crazy, enough saw merit in her idea to help make the vision a reality.

Funding was raised to restore the derelict old milk bar and turn it into an Art Deco Gallery, which was opened in 2000 (it is one of only two Art Deco museums in the world, with the other in New York).  The Gallery is open six days a week and is staffed completely by volunteers.

Above the Gallery is a four-bedroom apartment, which is home to an artist in residence.  The current artist-in-residence is Henry Youngman from Christchurch who is teaching the region’s young people about radio announcing.

Previous artists-in residence include photographer Tony Bridge, outstanding Art Deco portrait painter Suzie Ruddanclau, water colour artist Norman Sinclair and Matt Gauldie from Wellington, who has recently been named as the official artist for the New Zealand Army.

Forming partnerships with individuals and organisations has been invaluable to the Rural Art Deco Project.  It was thanks to a partnership with Resene Paints that saw all the buildings on Ranfurly’s main street repainted in Art Deco colour and style.  Edna’s networking with Art Deco collectors has resulted in two individuals from Dunedin installing an annual exhibition in the Gallery, showcasing items from their incredible Art Deco collection.

Within two years of the project beginning, Maniototo was already experiencing a revival.  Eight new businesses opened within twelve months (a 20% increase), the railway station was developed to include a radio station and photographic audio-visual display, street gardens were being continuously developed and locals were beginning to shed their depressive air for a more positive outlook.

In 2001 Rural Art Deco Project Maniototo was rewarded for its efforts by winning the Supreme Award at the TrustPower Central Otago Community Awards.  The group then went on to be judged in the top three at the TrustPower National Community Awards.

In the same year Rural Art Deco Maniototo won the New Zealand Creative Places Award, a prize awarded by Creative New Zealand and Local Government New Zealand.

Edna McAtamney says winning the Awards gave the Project a huge boost.

“Winning the TrustPower Community Award and the Creative Places Award validated what we were doing.  We then knew that what we were doing was right,” says Edna.

Since then, this group of passionate volunteers (with a very passionate leader) has continued doing things right!

They have established Rural Art Deco Weekend, held annually in the last weekend in February since 2001.  The weekend involves art exhibitions, a cabaret show and street carnival and is all run within the architecture of the town. 

“Rural Art Deco Weekend really brings the community together.  People open their homes to provide accommodation to the up to 8,000 visitors the weekend attracts and all the locals enjoy the huge economic benefit the event brings,” says Edna.

The Rural Art Deco Maniototo Project’s volunteers have also been involved in saving the platform on the railway station, which was planned to be built on.

“The platform is very Art Deco in design and it’s the only one on the Central Otago Rail Trail, so we had to fight for it!” says Edna.

The entire Railway Station has been refurbished and now houses the Information Centre, and an Art Deco guesthouse build in 1928 has also been brought back to life.

Edna says a major part of the Project has been to educate the community about Art Deco, so they can appreciate it and be proud of it.  A great example of how this community education has worked has been demonstrated by the commissioning of a life-size statue of John Turnbull Thomson, who was the Surveyor General of New Zealand. 

In the 1850’s Thomson surveyed and explored large sections of the South Island, including the area around Maniototo.  Due to the large number of wild animals he saw in the region, Thomson named many of the areas after the Northumbrian dialect for animals (Thomson was born in Northumberland, England). 

Recently, however, people who lived in places such as Fillyburn, Wedderburn, Kyeburn, Mareburn and Hoggetburn protested against the strange place names and wanted them changed – causing great controversy in the district.

Edna says the Rural Art Deco Project team went about commissioning a life-size statue of Thomson to celebrate the region’s unique history, which involved educating the public about why areas have the names that they do.

“Now the community love the statue and love the names!” says Edna.

It is this initiative and creative thinking from the volunteers involved in the Rural Art Deco Project Maniototo that has bought Ranfurly back to life. 

Eight years ago there were thirteen empty buildings on Ranfurly’s main street – today there are none!  Properties that were selling for $10,000 ten years ago are today on the market for more than $150,000.  People are not leaving Maniototo as they once were – in fact, tourists are enjoying the uniqueness of this special part of Central Otago.

For more information on the Rural Art Deco Project Maniototo contact Edna McAtamney on phone 03 444 9196, email riverside@actrix.co.nz  or view their website www.ruralartdeco.co.nz .