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The old Grey County Council Museum


There are a few buildings around Greymouth that are closed down due to having issues with being earthquake prone. This one is just outside of the city center named the "Grey County Chambers Museum" established in 1924. The council was formed in 1877 but in 1989 the building was vacated when the county council merged with the boroughs of Greymouth, Runanga and the harbour board.

The project to turn the empty building into a history museum was instigated by former deputy mayor Kevin Brown, Mayor of Grey Ron Hibbs and Kevin Beams of Grey District Council. Volunteers were found to fit out the building and assemble a collection.

In February 2017 a seismic assessment of the Grey County Council Chambers found it was at only 10 per cent of the new building standard (NBS), well below the 34 per cent required for a public building; the standards had been revised following the 2010–2011 Christchurch Earthquakes. The cost to strengthen the building would be $142,000, and it is in a flood zone. The museum was closed and the archives moved to the Grey District Library. Several options were pursued: eventually incorporating the museum into a "Discovery Centre", disbanding the collection, or moving to another space. Information from Wikipedia.

Linking up with Through my lens, Ruby Tuesday, Tuesday treasures, My corner of the world and Wordless Wednesday.

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Comments

William Kendall said…
A shame, but best to be cautious.
26 July 2022 at 09:27
Sallie (FullTime-Life) said…
There was a lot people didn't realize back then about building on flood plains and being earth-quake safe. And fire prevention (not that you talked about it but people have built in areas where they shouldn't.) I'm glad they moved the collections to safety and save d the building for as long as they can.
26 July 2022 at 10:40
Mascha said…
Nice building - so sad for the technical problems!
Greetings from Germany
26 July 2022 at 17:43
local alien said…
I hope they can fix it up and use it for something. Nice old building
26 July 2022 at 20:39
csuhpat1 said…
Awww, hopefully they get the money. What a cool building.
27 July 2022 at 00:36
Sharon said…
It's a great looking building.
27 July 2022 at 02:14
Bill said…
That's too bad, I like the building but it's best to play it safe. You wouldn't want people to get injured if something happened.
27 July 2022 at 04:11
NCSue said…
Interesting architecture! I like the top of it, the way the sky shines through.
Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2022/07/satellite-park-at-duke-arts-annex.html
27 July 2022 at 06:14
Tom said…
...back in those days earthquakes weren't on their minds.
27 July 2022 at 07:48
magiceye said…
Cute little building.
27 July 2022 at 13:57
Veronica Lee said…
Best to be cautious but it really is a nice building.

Happy Wednesday, Amy.
27 July 2022 at 14:27
dee Nambiar said…
That's a charming building. Looks perfect for a museum.
Maybe someday they'll find an easier way to make it safe again and preserve it for future generations.
27 July 2022 at 14:44
Iris Flavia said…
Oh, it looks beautiful, sad you cannot show us the inside.
Glad we are not prone to Earthquakes or flooding here!
27 July 2022 at 15:35
Einari Sinappi said…
Very nice ole building. Hope it´s saveable.
28 July 2022 at 05:28
betty-NZ said…
It's a sad reality of many wonderful building these days. That's why I take lots of photos of them--you never know how long they will be standing.

Thanks for sharing your link at My Corner of the World this week!
29 July 2022 at 13:37
Alycia~Quiltygirl said…
Ohhow sad - but interesting that it is still standing. Its beautiful!
2 August 2022 at 01:35
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