Community projects are to receive $500,000 from Otago Community Trust (OCT) August funding round, with the Teviot Valley area benefiting from recent grants.

The Teviot District Museum $50,000 grant will go towards buying and fitting-out the Masonic Lodge building on Roxburgh’s main street, making it an integral home to showcase the district's historic collections. 

Teviot District Museum secretary Barbara Fraser said thanks to recent grants from OCT, Central Lakes Trust ($80,000), and the Alexander McMillan Trust ($25,000) they are now well within reach of the funding target. 

"The current museum, a small stone building, tucked away on Abbotsford St, has had difficulty functioning effectively in terms of developing and promoting collections and activities,” she said.

"It is full to overflowing and has no running water or toilets. It has been difficult for volunteers to effectively work in the museum or to have the doors open to the public for any great length of time.”

OCT chair Diccon Sim said the trust was pleased to support this important heritage project for Teviot.

“We expect the people of the Teviot Valley area to be delighted to have their local museum collections on the main street of Roxburgh and in a building better suited for research, display and promotion,” Diccon said.

OCT also awarded $40,000 to Millers Flat School to help with the construction of a new school playground, to replace the old one, no longer fit-for-purpose and unsafe in terms of today's standards.

An artist's rendering of the new playground design

Millers Flat School principal Hilary Spedding said the small rural school community is very excited about the prospect of a new playground and is grateful for all the community grants that will enable this to be developed for the school.

Hilary Spedding Millers Flat principal

Other Central organisations benefiting from community grants in August include Alexandra’s Blossom Festival ($9,999); Alexandra Community Advice Network ($2,000); and Ranfurly’s Under Rough Ridge Writers’ Trust ($3,000).

Overall OCT approved $506,412 to 26 organisations in August 2022.