Forum North staff had a Narnia moment when they stepped through the wardrobe and entered a lost world.
Okay, it wasn't a wardrobe... but staff did stumble upon a treasure trove in a closet secreted between the walls in Forum North's booking office last week.
Inside the blocked-up cubby hole, revealed when
staff were renovating offices, was a stash of calendars depicting the large mural on Whangarei's former A and P site.
The mural, painted by artist Chris Wilkie and commemorating Whangarei's march through history, had been something of a town icon. It was destroyed when the buildings it sided were demolished in preparation for the Town Basin road realignment.
Fortunately, Whangarei District Council staffer Kylie Field was on hand to identify the posters, which were probably printed in 1986.
Her fast action saved the valuable haul finding a new home on the rubbish heap.
"I remember when I was little and walking past Chris Wilkie while he was painting the murals. Every day I would ask him how he was going," Ms Field said.
"I was quite disappointed when they pulled down the murals, and I know a lot of other people were too."
No-one seems to know how or why the posters came to be tucked away in the unintentional time capsule, council communications manager Ann Midson said.
"They are beautiful posters, a wonderful snapshot of Whangarei, and very important now that the A and P hall has gone."
They were probably left over from an arts promotion during the 1980s, a period when Whangarei's arts scene was thriving, she said.
? The lost and found mural posters will now be shared with the public.
People can contact the council and ask for a poster to keep for posterity but in return they will be asked to share any memories of the posters or the murals, communications manager Ann Midson said.
A book in which people can record what they know will be left at the customer services department in Forum North. Anyone wanting to take part in an information trade, or request a poster, can contact Ms Midson by email on annm@wdc.govt.nz or call into Forum North.
