At long last I got around to doing something I’d been meaning to do for ages – I visited the New Brighton History Museum. That’s New Brighton in Christchurch NZ, not New Brighton and Christchurch in the UK, in the event anyone needs that clarified. If either of those places in the UK have a history museum, I don’t know about it, so visiting hasn’t on my ‘meaning to do’ list.  

For years, when it was the only shopping centre in Christchurch that was allowed to be open on Saturdays, the seaside suburb of New Brighton was a thriving hub. Once other shopping centres began being granted the right to open on Saturdays, though, there began a steady decline in New Brighton’s fortunes. Today, the outdoor mall is a sad shadow of what it once was. However, there has been a lot of new intensive housing built in the area in the last couple of years, so with the increase in local population its fortunes may revive.

Periodically, I drive past the New Brighton History Museum, and it has intrigued me for some time. It’s open every day for a couple of hours from 1pm to 3pm, so I finally made a point driving past during its opening hours. The building has had a chequered history of occupation, so even the walls would have stories to tell, if they could.

As I get older, I find myself more drawn to unpolished and quirky volunteer-run places of interest, especially local ones which we can tend to ignore, or manage to never really see when in the midst of busy lives. There’s an element of doing things their own way in these places, and perhaps that’s what appeals to me, as my own life becomes less rule-bound in my semi-retirement.

The museum is pretty much just one room, with a combo of objects and photos on display from the New Brighton area. I grew up in North New Brighton, commonly referred to as North Beach, and although much of what was on display was older than me, I still saw a few things which brought back memories, like this gym frock – yes, that’s what they were called – and Panama hat. I used to wear both when I went to school, as well as a tie. I’m not sure what school’s logo is on the gym frock, although the “NB” part of it would suggest one which was in New Brighton.

Of course, there was the ubiquitous child’s school desk and chair, too. If I didn’t quite sit at a desk like this as a five- and six-year-old, it wasn’t too much different. Check out the carpet on the floor of the museum – that kind of pattern was very popular for a time decades ago.

There was quite a good photographic section devoted to the women’s surf life-saving team, who took over from the men while WW2 was on. They had to use the men’s woollen swimming togs, and adjust them to fit with safety pins. However, the women got the boot from surf life-saving when the men returned, and they had to fight to be accepted back into it again, which they only succeeded in doing in the late 1960’s. Until then, they had to make their own surf club.

The museum also puts on talks and movies, which are advertised on its Facebook page. A part of the room is set up with chairs for this. I spoke to the woman preparing for the talk when I was there, and she said that they get quite good attendance for both the movies and talks, considering that it’s only a little place. Perhaps extra chairs are dragged in from somewhere if the bums on seats number more than 16. In line with the historic theme of the museum, the upcoming movie the next day was going to be about the engineers who tried to save the Titanic from going down.

The museum is free to get into, but there is a donation box, and a wee bit of merchandise for sale. I bought a 2025 calendar for $10, and gave a donation, too.

On the day I was there, there was a steady flow of visitors, as the car park had almost filled up by the time I left, from being nearly empty when I arrived shortly after 1pm. It seems I mightn’t be the only who appreciates not only the slick and flash set-ups on the right occasions, but that which is simple, quirky and un-glorious, too.

I liked the experience I had at the museum – it was interesting in a low-key way and friendly, without the ‘hospitality course’ charm in more sophisticated venues, and I chatted easily to both volunteers and another visitor. Maybe my bum will be one of those on the seats watching a movie, or listening to a talk soon.