Display signs about the contents of Ranfurly's Centennial Milk Bar might stop people seeking ice creams and milkshakes inside, the Maniototo Community Board heard last week.
The Ranfurly Art Deco Gallery is housed in the former milk bar building but the exterior signs of ''Refreshment Room'' and ''Centennial Milk Bar'' created confusion for visitors, Rural Art Deco Maniototo chairwoman Diane Paterson said.
She was asking the board for $2100 on behalf of the art deco group to fund three interpretation panels for the gallery - one about the 1930s fires in Ranfurly that led to the art deco architecture, another about the building history and the third about the revitalisation of Ranfurly in the late 1990s.
Ms Paterson, who is also a member of the board, declared an interest when the matter was discussed and abstained from voting.
''We want to have a programme of action and have a bit of a story on the panels as to what the gallery's all about. People come in now, looking for a milkshake or ice cream and stay and have a look around, but we want to clear up that confusion,'' she said.
The art deco committee had benefited from a thesis by University of Otago student Ruth Elliot.
The thesis contained useful information when thinking about the future of the gallery and highlighted some issues to be addressed in the short term, Ms Paterson said. The building displays ceramics, furniture, jewellery, clothing and household items from the 1930s to the 1950s.
