The ''wheeler and dealer'' behind Wanaka's Transport and Toy Museum, Gerald Freeman Rhodes, died at his Christchurch home on Thursday, aged 78.
Mr Rhodes' son Jason, who runs the museum with his sister Debbie, told the Otago Daily Times yesterday his father had suffered from Parkinson's, but had still been actively sourcing material for the museum until a few years ago.
Gerald Rhodes became involved with the Warbirds Over Wanaka Airshow at Wanaka Airport in its early days, and bought 8ha of land at the airport in 1994 to use as a museum for his extensive transport collection.
The collection now includes 15 aeroplanes, 600 vehicles and 70,000 toys.
Jason Rhodes said his father was a ''wheeler and dealer'' in the tractor industry in New Zealand and his motto was: ''striving to preserve''.
Mr Rhodes' funeral is in Christchurch tomorrow. An obituary will follow.
