Many people remember Temuka pottery. In the 1970s, most couples probably received at least one piece - shiny dark brown casserole dishes or more subdued coffee sets - as a wedding present.
Although little-known, Oamaru has probably the world's largest collection of the pottery at the North Otago Museum. The collection has been valued at more than $80,000, although it could fetch a lot more on the open market.
The collection was built up with bequest money from the mid-1980s before New Zealand pottery became collectable, and from donations of pottery from New Zealand Insulators Ltd, which makes it.
Some pieces are extremely rare, and the collection tells the story of changing tastes in New Zealand homeware, along with social changes. It is one of two nationally significant collections held by the museum; the other is the Willetts collection of Waitaha artefacts collected from the mouth of the Waitaki River.
Now, the museum is going through a "de-accession" process - possibly quitting the collection because it is not local, being produced in Temuka. South Canterbury Museum, in Timaru, could be a new home. But that would be short-sighted.
It can be accepted the North Otago Museum's development should be based on telling local stories, at the same time making greater use of the Willetts collection. But relinquishing the Temuka pottery collection is giving away potential to attract visitors to Oamaru.
One solution may be to retain it, separate it from the museum's wish to tell local stories and look at ways it can be displayed in Oamaru to draw visitors. It could form the basis of an attraction in the Oamaru Harbour historic precinct, built around a pottery collective, or something related to the pottery.
It may take some lateral thinking, but Temuka pottery has a special place in the hearts of New Zealanders, particularly older generations, and its potential as an attraction for Oamaru should not be dismissed.
