Published: Bay Waka magazine, Nov 2019 to Jan 2020, Summer, Issue 17, p. 33.
Inaugurated on 7 July 1952, the Tauranga Historical Society exists primarily to preserve and promote the historical and cultural heritage of the Western Bay of Plenty for the people of the region and beyond. Members are history enthusiasts and contribute to the Society’s biannual magazine, Historical Review: Bay of Plenty Journal of History.
Elva Brain-Watkins (née Brain) was a member and on her death in 1979 gifted the property now known as the Brain-Watkins House Museum to the Society. The Brain family moved from Auckland to Tauranga, where Elva’s father Joseph Brain built the property from a shipment of kauri he received in September 1881. Brain not only built and repaired boats but also operated a local shipping business. He was a major contractor in the district building bridges, The Strand sea wall, the Durham Street fire station, the first Mount wharf, and the Memorial Gates at the Tauranga Domain.
The many stories surrounding the Brain-Watkins House Museum range from the horse given shelter in the hall during the Tarawera eruption to the young couple separated by the First World War, reunited years later, and marrying in their 70s. Occupied by one family for nearly 100 years, much of the house has the original contents, and offers an insight into the life of a middle class Tauranga family. The kauri villa is registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category 2 Historic Place.
Secondly, the Society is responsible for the management, preservation and display of the Brain-Watkins House Museum. Volunteers open the house to the public each Sunday afternoon from 2 to 4pm. Admission for public viewing is $5 (children are free). Private group tours can be arranged on request. There is a hall behind the house for hire that holds up to 25 people ($30 for half-days or $50 for full day).
Yearly membership to the Tauranga Historical Society costs $40 per household, and includes a subscription to their magazine and an invitation to attend monthly meetings, listen to a variety of speakers, and network with other like-minded people. For more details:
Address: 223 Cameron Road, Tauranga City Council | Phone: (07) 578 1835 | Email: tauranga.historical@gmail.com | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taurangahistoricalsociety
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