For most people Thames is the town you whizz though on the way to the more exciting destinations in the Coromandel and to be honest this is what we often do except on this one occasion when it was decided to stop at the small local museum.
The Thames Museum featured in an episode of ‘Heritage Rescue’ during 2016 and as such was brought to my attention fuelling a quick pit stop along with the obligatory pie and coffee. The entry fee is $5 an adult or in our case, $10 for a family of two adults and two children. For this you get entry into an Aladdin’s cave of memorabilia from the 1800s and later. The early fridge and scary looking dentists chair filled both tween and teen with horror.
The first room was divided into spaces depicting life in a Victorian household. Leading on from this was a space where a short film would have been shown (but for whatever reason was not on the day we were visiting) and in cabinets along the walls were a variety of early Maori artefacts. This part of the museum was a little disappointing, there were very few explanatory notes as to what the artefacts were, where they were found or even who donated them. Unfortunately it did give the impression of being an afterthought which seems a shame given the rich Maori history of the area.
A third room held a collection of tools and equipment (including several dreaded dentist chairs which I forgot to photograph) whilst the final room where the spaces which were given a make over by the TV show ‘Heirtage Rescue’.
The brillant blue of the painted walls setting off the easy to read maps and displays. A small side room off this main space was given over to handcrafted models of the towns heritage buildings.
Like so many of our small town museums this one is run solely by volunteers and as such they should be applauded for their efforts in bringing the history of their town to life. Having said that it was at times difficult to navigate visually around the museum, particularly as the general feel is one of an overstuffed Victorian home. There is something to be said for a more minimalist approach. It was a stark and distinct difference between the areas given a make over by museum professionals and those not yet tackled, perhaps to the detriment of the remainder of the museum.
T M Rowe - Writer 
thank you so much for your comments on our wee museum . many things have changed since your visit (its what museums do) the Victorian section has now gone – the area is now being prepared for a display of A&G Price the engineering firm which began 150 years ago . we welcomed your remarks about our Maori display and we are working change it. thanks again
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