Sylvia Wesney has been devoted to volunteering at some of Nelson’s most popular heritage venues for more than three decades.
After serving at Broadgreen Historic House in the early to mid-1970s when it was searching for younger volunteers, she squashed her volunteerism to concentrate on her whānau and her role as a local and national squash coordinator.
In the late 1990s she returned to the historic sites court, and has volunteered at Founders Heritage Park, Isel House and Melrose House, where she is a current trustee, ever since.
“I think it’s something about being at the forefront of meeting visitors,” she says.
“They’re absolutely delighted that Nelson does still keep some of its heritage.
“If we don’t know anything about our past, we can’t really enjoy the future and present, so that’s why I’m still interested in it, and I’m delighted that they’re all community owned, Nelson City Council own them, but they are owned by the citizens of Nelson.”
She says she enjoys showing Nelson off to visitors and locals alike.
“It’s very nice selling Nelson, it makes you feel good, and the public appreciate it.”
Sylvia says the sites she volunteers at all had intriguing characters.
“The wooden part of Isel House at the rear was 1849, and that’s one of the oldest buildings in Nelson.
“And then the new editions were in the late 1800s and early 1900s, it looks like a bit of Yorkshire stuck in Isel Park.
“Melrose, which was built by a surveyor that came on one of the first ships, that’s the next step up, I suppose you would call that a mansion these days of the Victorian era.
“[Founders] without fail, visitors, and especially people from overseas, are all astonished that we have such a good facility here in Nelson.”
Sylvia says she’ll continue giving her time in the coming years and she has persuaded more volunteers to jump on the bandwagon.
“We are finding it hard to get volunteers, and it’s probably because people don’t know how enjoyable it is, and it’s not strenuous, it’s only a few hours,” she says.
“I think it’s a lack of knowledge of what [volunteer work] entails, and some people are a bit hesitant to make enquiries.
“For me, I like that it keeps your brain going, I’m not young anymore so I quite enjoy meeting new people and just keeping myself occupied.”
