Howick Historical Village is a re-creation of a New Zealand colonial village using buildings saved from the surrounding area. Despite its name, the Village is actually located in the Auckland suburb of Pakuranga.
Village history
The Howick Historical Society was originally formed in May 1962 following a public meeting of people interested in local history. The development of Howick Historical Village began in 1972 when Bell House was offered to the Society. The local council offered five acres of land next to Bell House to be used to form the Village. This was later extended to a total of seven acres. It took eight years to develop the area into a living museum using volunteer labour. Over this time, a number of historical buildings were offered to the Society which were all relocated to the Village. The work was funded largely from the sale of Christmas cards and from cake stalls. On 8 March 1980, the Howick Colonial Village was officially opened by Allan Highet, Minister of Internal Affairs, on behalf of Governor-General Sir Keith Holyoake, who was unwell on the day. At this stage, the Village consisted of fourteen buildings. It was later renamed to become Howick Historical Village, and it was further developed to incorporate more than 30 buildings alongside a pond and historical gardens. The development and operation of the Village was funded from admission fees, income generated from events and bookings, donations, plus some funding from The Howick Local Board.
Governance
The Village is owned and operated by the Howick & Districts Historical Society Incorporated, which is a registered charity. As an incorporated society, any individual can become a member on payment of an annual subscription. Members elect a board each year at the annual general meeting. The board consists of a president, secretary, treasurer and up to seven members.
Visiting
The Village was open to the public every day of the year from 10am-4pm. On the third Sunday of each month Live Days were held, when costumed volunteers re-enacted daily life in Victorian New Zealand times. There was an admission fee for entry. The Village was used for school groups on their LEOTC studies. School holiday programmes were offered once or twice in each holiday period. The village church was used for weddings or naming ceremonies.
Financial problems
A project commenced in 2016 to restore Sergeant Ford’s Fencible cottage suffered a cost blowout of $30,000. This caused significant financial difficulties for the Village, potentially putting stress on the Society's financial reserves. The Village was ultimately rescued by a grant from the Stevenson Village Trust. For the four financial years from 2015/16 through to 2018/19 inclusive, the Village ran deficits of $54,423, $38,284, $49,893 and $25,822 respectively, depleting the Society's reserves further each year.
Closure
On 22 March 2020, the Village announced that it was closing to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There were no published plans for the Village to re-open. The adjoining cafe, which operates under independent management, remained open. The Village claimed $113,666.40 in wage subsidies for 21 employees as part of the New Zealand government’s assistance scheme for businesses that suffered financially during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 26 May 2020, the Village reported that it had suffered serious financial difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, had cut staff, and was actively seeking financial support from Auckland Council and other agencies. Rather than re-open to the public, the museum remained closed and made the majority of its paid staff redundant. It subsequently claimed a further $30,918.40 of public funding for its remaining 7 paid employees as part of the government’s Wage Subsidy Extension scheme. At this time, it remains the only institution forming part of the Museums of Auckland group that has not reopened to visitors since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted across New Zealand.
