Old hearse rides again for Napier's Faraday Centre fit-out

Faraday Centre manager Sharyn Phillips makes the squeeze past the 19th-century hearse soon to be relocated temporarily during restrengthening and upgrading of the building. Photo / Warren Buckland

A horse-drawn hearse which is one of the most prized of many possessions of the Faraday Centre Museum of Technology in Napier is to hit the road again, to be rehomed while the building is restrengthened and upgraded.

The 19th-century hearse, originally used in Waipawa, has sat awkwardly placed in an upstairs walkway overlooking the lower floor and other displays, which include the globally-revered Fullagar diesel generating plant which was built in England and installed in 1925 to power the looming city of Napier.

The 110-tonne Fullagar, standing two storeys above the ground, isn't going anywhere and it is expected the hearse will be the only item relocated during the work on the Faraday St site, between Thackeray and Carlyle streets.

The Coach House Museum in Feilding has accepted the offer to house the hearse and representatives have visited Napier to look at the logistics, which include lowering it to ground level, probably with either a forklift or a working hoist already in the building and manoeuvrable throughout.

Faraday Centre facility manager Sharyn Phillips says the current positioning of the hearse means its axles protrude from the wheels, people knock into it as they walk past on what is already a narrow landing and it doesn't fit the current configuration.

The work, and the temporary relocation of the hearse, are still being planned and it is not yet decided when the work will take place or whether the centre will need to close during any of the renovation.

Founded as the Hawke's Bay Museum of Technology in 1979 - initially based in sheds at a vineyard - the centre has been the domain of enthusiastic volunteers, including founding member Donald Tucker and engineer and late 1983-1989 mayor of Napier Dave Prebensen. It has found a more permanent home on its current site leased from the New Zealand Defence Force.

Among the current volunteers are retired marine engineer Ian McPherson and civil engineer Gordon Hart, a former manager with highways managers the NZTA (now Waka Kotahi NZTA).

In 1993 its trust merged with the Hawke's Bay Cultural Trust, and with concerns for its future, the Napier City Council - with popular support in annual plan submissions - has become involved in managing the centre through the upgrading of the building.

It currently has standard opening hours of 9am-3pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and hosts visits and tours, and such events as birthday parties with a difference.

Among plans is an Art Deco Festival event, which among other things will doff its hat to the role played by the Fullagar after the 1931 Hawke's Bay Earthquake, powering the Tent town at Nelson Park and Tin town, via leads between the sites.