Strath Taieri Historical Museum

Open seven days a week 12pm to 3.00pm until April. Entry: $2 per person.

Tucked away on Aberafon Street is one of Middlemarch's best kept secrets. History buff or not, this fantastic little museum has a lot to offer.

Scenes from the past have been lovingly recreated behind a large bespoke wooden structure. In a town with a history rich in farming there is a number of horse-drawn implements.

A recent addition is a restored railway wagon detailing the history of the Otago Central Railway in an elaborate timeline wrapped around all four walls.

An interesting item on show is the submarine Platypus, designed and built in 1873 by an enterprising fellow named R.W. Nuttall. Christened Platypus, It would sit at the bottom of rivers or streams, while prospecting would take place out of a hatch situated where the submarine touched the bottom. Financial problems led to the company going into receivership. The submarine ended up in four pieces on a Pukerangi sheep station, The Reefs, owned at the time by Bill Stewart. In 1991 Mr Stewart gave three of the pieces to the museum.


Mandy McGuire and the Black Pedal-Powered Drill

This video tells the story of Mandy McGuire's astonishing visit to the Strath Taieri Historic Museum in Middlemarch, Otago by Mandy McGuire. By Liz Keast, local storyteller.


Click here to see Liz' latest story: Let's tale Lizzie


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