Above: The Geraldine Vintage Car and Machinery Museum with its new paintings on the side of the buidling. Below: The 1928 Spartan Bi-Plane

Above: John Britten's Campervan Below: The rare Fordson Leopard tractor

In the tranquil town of Geraldine, lying in the shadow of the Southern Alps, is an internationally acclaimed, multi-award winning museum.  It’s a museum which has been lovingly created and nurtured by volunteers – and thanks to their efforts this museum is one of the finest of its types in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Geraldine Vintage Car and Machinery Museum first came to the attention of the TrustPower Community Awards team in 2005, when the Museum won the Supreme Award at the TrustPower Timaru Community Awards. At that time, the Museum was around 38 years old and had more than 100 vintage tractors, crawlers and graders and more than 60 vintage cars and trucks.  It also housed motorbikes, small engines, ploughs, drills and pieces of vintage farming equipment too numerous to count. 

The only problem the Museum had was it needed more space to store this impressive collection. Fast-forward to 2009 and we have been thinking – whatever happened to those volunteers.  Did they get the new building?  Are they still as successful as ever? 

The answer – yes and yes! 

First – we’ll talk about the much-needed display building.  That was completed in December 2006 after the volunteers at the Museum raised the $230,000 needed for the project.   But just as that project got underway, the Museum’s tractor shed was damaged in heavy snowfall.  Another new shed was needed, with the replacement tractor shed completed in 2007. 

Also in 2007 the Geraldine Vintage Car and Machinery Museum celebrated its 40th birthday with a 40th Anniversary Rally.  This event was held over two days and attracted more than 400 entries of tractors, cars, traction engines and machinery from around the South Island.  The proceeds from the Rally went towards building a new library, which was completed later that year.   

Museum Treasurer and Librarian Jennifer Wilson says the library is mostly home to manuals for tractors and cars, all of which have been donated to the Museum. 

“If someone is doing up a tractor or car they can borrow the manual – we’ve generally got something of use for everyone,” says Jennifer. 

And everyone can usually find something of interest at the Museum.  From John Britten’s campervan to the Queen’s Royal Damler to a 1928 Spartan Bi-plane – the Geraldine Vintage Car and Machinery Museum has an enviable collection. 

Jennifer says they are continually approached with donations of tractors or cars, but often they have to turn the offers down. 

“We keep running out of room at the Museum and now we’re running out of grounds on which to build, so we have to be selective about what we accept.  If it’s particularly old or special though we will always find a place for it,” says Jennifer. 

Some such special items that have recently been restored at the Museum include a very rare Fordson Leopard tractor, the Hupmobile and an Allis Chalmers tractor.  A rare Austin tractor has also recently been restored, but it’s still in its “working clothes” (museum speak for it has not yet been re-painted!). 

Doing all this restoration work is a team of volunteers with a passion for old vehicles, a great depth of mechanical knowledge and enormous amounts of enthusiasm. 

Jennifer says the Museum has around 100 members and about 50 active volunteers who each have a role - from being at the Museum’s front-desk to newsletter, grounds, publicity, library, safety, and workshop – to name a few.  With no paid staff, the volunteers have to be committed to the cause, with the Museum open seven days a week between September and June and then every weekend during winter. 

Jennifer says the Museum is lucky to have a fairly stable membership and some younger volunteers with the skills the Museum needs. 

“Getting younger people on board is great as many of our volunteers are vintage themselves!” says Jennifer. 

Each year the number of people visiting the Museum continues to rise, with around 6,000 visitors to the Museum during 2008.  Most of these people are international tourists, although with the recession and the increase in the number of Kiwis holidaying at home, more New Zealanders are now coming through the doors.  At just $7 per adult (children are free) it is an attraction that is definitely accessible to all. 

In 2008 the Museum’s volunteers were again recognised with the Geraldine Vintage Car and Machinery Club winning the Go Geraldine Award for Volunteers. The publicity that comes with the Museum’s Award wins has been priceless for the Museum. 

“When we won the Supreme Award at the TrustPower Timaru District Community Awards we were in every newspaper possible.  Everyone knew who we were and what we had won – it was just brilliant promotion and a great experience,” says Jennifer. 

This year Temuka artist Wayne Patrick has been commissioned to paint pictures of the Museum’s John Deere tractor and Hupmobile car on the street side walls of the new display building.  The Museum’s members thought it would be a fitting way to remember a long-standing member who had bequeathed funds to the Museum. 

“The paintings are gorgeous – they look like the real thing.” 

And with the real things just inside the Museum’s doors, there’s no doubt that more visitors will be calling in to experience this internationally acclaimed, volunteer run Museum in the years to come. 

For more information about the Geraldine Vintage Car and Machinery Museum contact Jennifer Wilson on 03 693 8228 or email geraldinevintage@xtra.co.nz .