New Wānaka history plaques follow new website

The Upper Clutha History Society has installed their first two plaques for the Wānaka History project.

The plaques are at the historic sites of the Wānaka Hotel in Ardmore Street, and the Queensberry Inn.

These plaques are the first of many to be erected in sites of historical importance, and follow rapidly on the heels of the launch in January 2025 of the new website, wanakahistory.org, along with social media accounts and the Society’s new logo.

The goal is to bring the stories and rich history of the Upper Clutha region to life for the local community, visitors and tourists.

The local history team team with the new Wānaka Hotel plaque: left to right: Bruce Foulds (UCHS), Jason Cossey (Wanaka Signs), Bee Johnson (Wanaka Signs), Elizabeth Irvine (Wanaka Hotel), Catherine Hart (UCHS), Ken Allan (UCHS).

The Queensberry Inn plaque

Cornerstone strategies for the Society are:

• to leverage the forty years of volunteer activities capturing and researching historical records for the Upper Clutha District;

• to continue building its vast data base of paper records, digitally archived documents, images, stories and oral history files;

• to engage with young people, creating valuable educational resources;

• and to launch a new community-facing digital media platform.

Wānaka History is that branded platform, launched in January 2025, with a new logo, website, social media accounts and a district-wide Plaques/QR Codes programme.

Local creative design agency Left Creative has been engaged for all creative design aspects of the programme, including the new website.

The Society works closely and collaborates with other local stakeholder groups to raise awareness of our rich history throughout the region. The Society and Wānaka History has received grant funding support from Central Lakes Trust, Otago Community Trust and Queenstown Lakes District Council for this ambitious project.

Meanwhile, an expanded group of volunteers are engaged in continued capture of historical records, creating digital archives, oral history interviews and content creation.

New members and volunteers are welcome and encouraged to participate through the Wānaka History website. The website also provides for individuals to register to receive the regular Wānaka History Newsletter – THOSE WERE THE DAYS