Focus On Volunteers: Harpers give heritage a helping hand

Jim and Sarah Harper outside the Nye Cottage. Photo taken with a 1958 Graflex Super Graphic Camera.

Across Foxton are volunteers from every walk of life, helping the community in almost every way you can think of. In this occasional series of 44-year-old photos, the MAVtech Museum’s photographer Jacob Brookie is using vintage cameras from the museum’s collection to show you a day in the life of our town’s volunteers.

Sarah and Jim Harper have been very busy ever since they moved to Foxton in 2012 – to retire, they thought.

Some days see them demonstrating a 144-year-old street organ at local events. Other days could involve hosting tours of their historic cottage and printshop or assisting with tour groups at MAVtech and the Historical Society.

A historical press camera took photos of the Harpers as they opened the doors of their historic buildings during The Foxton Christmas Market.

In 2016, the Harpers purchased the Manawatū Print Limited building and carefully restored it to its former glory. The Herald was printed there from 1879 to 1964.

Jim Harper’s workshop is inside the Herald building, where he works on mechanical antiques such as gramophones and antique clocks and assists collectors and various museums in conserving and restoring their items.

He lends his micro-engineering skills to the MAVtech audio-visual museum across the street and helps bring musical machines back to working order.

The Nye Cottage, photographed August 2022 using a 1956 Lipca Rollop Camera.

He also works on other projects with the Dutch Museum at Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom. Most memorably, this included unlocking a 17th century multi-locking treasure chest that had been accidentally locked years earlier ... with the key left inside.

One mechanical marvel takes pride of place; their Dutch street organ. Built in Paris by the Gasparini family in 1880, it spent much of its life in the Netherlands, where it was rented to street musicians.

It survived World War II and was used until 1960. When the Harpers bought it in 2001, it was in a sorry state, but they resolved to repair it in time for the opening of the De Molen windmill two years later.

Jim Harper had only one cardboard “book” to play on this mechanical organ – but with amazing management by John Langen, new books were air-freighted from Holland and arrived in Foxton the day before the grand opening.

Most importantly, the new books played perfectly first time. The restored organ is a popular sight during The Big Dutch Day Out and other local events.

Soon after the Herald project had been completed, the Harpers found another building in need of help – the historic Nye Cottage.

Wooden early settler buildings are a favourite for the Harpers as they “had to be made with limited tools and resources while making maximum use of local materials”, Sarah Harper said.

“In particular, they had to be fit for NZ conditions. Early unmodified wooden buildings often show the ingenuity and individuality of the people who built and lived in them.

“With demolition and neglect taking their toll, such buildings become rarer every year.”

Sarah Harper in front of the street organ. Photo taken on a 1958 Graflex Super Graphic Camera.

In 2018, the Harpers bought Nye Cottage and relocated it to its present home by the Piriharakeke River Loop. The cottage needed restoration but was in sound structural condition – George Nye had a little luck with sourcing materials for this build as the main structure of the house is made from a single large tōtara log which – reputedly – had floated down the Manawatū River.

In 1867, Nye also built the oldest surviving building in Foxton (and probably in the whole of Manawatū) – the Presbyterian Church, which is now the Foxton Little Theatre.

The Harpers open Nye Cottage for community events and use the opportunity to fundraise for local organisations like the Foxton Volunteer Fire Brigade. The first time they opened the cottage doors saw more than 400 visitors and since then, Jim Harper has used his mechanical skills to furnish the cottage with period technology.

A pair of 1918 telephones has been restored and installed upstairs and downstairs in the cottage so guests can make a call, just like was done over 100 years ago.

“When the cottage first got a telephone, it would have had a shared ‘party line’,” Jim Harper explains, “so you wouldn’t want to have a private conversation – you never knew which one of your neighbours was listening in – or worse yet, might give online comment.”

The Harpers have lived in or spent time in many cities around the world and believe that the design and implementation of New Zealand’s heritage protection regulations could be better informed from policies and practices in other countries.

One key perspective underlying many overseas approaches to heritage is that historic sites, buildings and cultural practices – apart from promoting community engagement – also deliver economic value as a tourist drawcard.

Urban geography also makes a difference, with inner city areas in Europe often having heritage residential housing.

“In New Zealand, central areas are typically solely commercial and living is more often suburban so I think that incentivises maximising commercial return, especially where buildings are small or easily replaced,” Jim Harper says.

The Harpers’ voluntary work for Foxton (including their involvement with the heritage building restorations and Foxton Historical Society) was recognised in 2022 with a civic award from the Horowhenua District Council. And the locked 17th-century treasure chest.

After two days of delicate persuasion, it was opened to find some old books, papers and a coffee pot – but while there may not have been any treasure inside of it, the chest is a marvellous example of Dutch East India company-era security.

Sarah Harper described the construction projects as a “tremendous learning experience”, adding that “the old buildings required a challenging amount of work – but we’ve done it”, crediting the help of Caldow builders on the journey – including incorporating the restored facade of the 1923 Foxton Racing Club building and constructing the house built for their move to Foxton.

Many photographs in this article were taken with a 1958 Graflex Super Graphic camera.

This was the last of the iconic “press cameras” made for newspaper photographers.

Bill Beattie, a New Zealand Herald photographer who took photos for the Weekly News, used a Super Graphic and recalled that whenever he unfolded it, people asked for a copy of each photo he made of them. Jacob Brookie’s Super Graphic used instant film for these articles.

You can find other photographs made using vintage cameras on www.mavtech.org.nz.