Smith said membership was a reasonably healthy 90 members but it was the declining number of active members that worried her.
''Skills are welcome but enthusiasm is what we want.''
She said there were problems when an incorporated society could not form a committee.
''We need to spread the word and make sure people know there is something to be enthusiastic about and something to look after.''
Smith said members did excellent work and it was fair enough when they decided to move on. They were active in the garden, working with the collection, doing research and as guides when Brain Watkins House was open to the public from 2pm to 4pm on Sundays.
''It is the last little bastion hanging on of what Tauranga used to be.''
She said the society did manage to get new blood, but not enough of the active variety. It helped if members were enthusiastic about the past but they did not need to know everything about Tauranga's history or be a formal historian.
''We need to keep alive and active - firstly for the sake of the house and secondly that the society is worth keeping going.''
The society was formed in 1952 to promote the history of Tauranga and advocate for a museum - clearly successful in its first objective but still waiting after 65 years for the second.
Smith said the society published Historical Review - a high-quality journal edited by Fiona Kean and a real bonus of membership
And she said it was rewarding to be a guide, especially when young people were shown the commode in the bedroom - a fancy potty with a lovely wooden lid.
''It horrifies young people, it makes them count their blessings.''
One of her favourite stories from the days when the house was occupied by the Brain family was when the horse became terrified by the noise and lights of the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera. It was led into the very spacious hallway to calm it down.
The other was how Elva, Tauranga's women's rifle shooting champion, honed her skills by killing rats as they came up from the town's rubbish dump by the estuary.
One of the joys of membership was being part of a friendly group of like-minded people, with the society priding itself on its interesting guest speakers for meetings in the hall.
The committee had just decided to allow children free entry into Brain Watkins House on Sundays, leaving adults paying just $5 for a guided tour.
Tauranga Historical Society
- Subs $35 or $40 for couples
- Monthly meetings in hall at rear of property
- Hall hire $25 for half-days and $50 for full day
- Annual ''unashamedly vintage'' garden party
