Future Plans
Williams Museum
The Trustees believe that the best way to realise the intent of the 1973 Trust is to develop The Retreat as a museum celebrating the life and work of Henry and William Williams and their wives, Marianne and Jane. The extent to which it would be restored or furnished to an original condition will depend on money available to the Trust but both the house and the grounds are sufficiently interesting and historic in themselves to prove a worthwhile tourist destination without any major changes. They are easily accessible alongside State Highway One while the church opposite would also be an integral part of any visit. Interpretive material will be developed to explain the historical and architectural significance of both the house and garden.
The immediate task is to establish The Retreat’s status as a museum able to attract funding. This involves many facets of the Trust’s ambitions to preserve the house and historic garden for the public benefit and to provide for its upkeep. To do this we are commissioning a feasibility study to consider the steps we must take to meet the criteria required of a property describing itself as a museum and the associated costs required to make it suitable for public access, a collection policy to show how items given or lent will be stored, identified and conserved and balancing the demands of public access with suitable accommodation for a tenant. The professional challenges are daunting and the Trustees will continue to look to the wider family for assistance with this ambitious project.
Museum Items
The feasibility study will address acquisition policy and management. We have however already received or been promised a number of interesting items for the museum. To ensure that the focus continues to be on the original four family members, the Trustees have agreed on the following collection criteria:
- to acquire items relating directly to Henry and William Williams and their wives, Marianne and Jane, such as objects which were owned or were used by them.
- to consider also items that fall outside the above criteria but have a close relationship with them or are important in telling the story of their lives.
Two generous gifts from neighbouring Anglican parishes have already been arranged. Holy Trinity Church at Pakaraka has agreed to give us Henry Williams’ original weathered tombstone which is currently lying in the grave below the replacement tombstone. St Paul’s Church, Paihia, has agreed to give us the original plaques of the Henry Williams memorial which were recently replaced. Other gifts will be listed on the website when arrangements are completed.