Arthur Harsant is a collector.
Shiny hubcaps line the walls in one corner of his shed, tucked away in the Thames foothills; vintage cars rest alongside antique furniture, old books, and shelves of glass bottles.
There’s no specific era or item represented here – for Arthur, the joy of his collection is in its history.
“The historical research – that’s part of the fun of it really,” he said.
“A very, very important thing to do [is] to either label things or certainly talk about things to people, to your children, for example, so they can keep the history with the item.
“Everything has a story, and it’s so easy for that story to be lost.”
Pride of place in Arthur’s collection at present is an array of colourful, heavily embossed poison bottles.
Informative posters accompany the display, which is being prepared for the inaugural Antiques and Collectibles Show, taking place in Thames on March 22.
The show is being organised by Arthur, Carmen Judson, Chris Buchanan, and other members of the Thames Vintage Bottle and Collectors Club, which was established only 18 months ago.
“The aim really is to get people interested in talking about history and these interesting pieces,” he said.
Carmen said the club wanted to educate younger people, and keep Thames’ history alive.
“Bottle shows go right through New Zealand, but this is the first one ever in our area,” she said.
“The hall will be full of Thames-related history – anything old and interesting.”
Alongside Arthur’s displays will be displays from the Thames Historical Society, School of Mines, Thames Museum and more. There will also be stalls of curios for sale, and outside the hall, Carmen said they hoped to have a vintage car display.
The show is a natural extension of the club’s activities – it’s a fairly casual group of around 30 members, Arthur said, who hail from Thames to Tauranga.
“Everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame… People can show their latest finds,” he said.
“And it’s a great hobby as far as companionship goes. One of the things that’s quite gratifying is the members who have been doing this sort of thing for ages, helping the younger ones, and giving bottles to them and all that sort of thing.
“Because you’re just custodians of the stuff, you know, you can’t take it with you.”
DETAILS: The inaugural Thames Antiques and Collectables Show, March 22, 10am-3pm at the Thames Civic Centre. Gold coin entry.
