To mark the sesqui-centenary of the beginning of Provincial Government in Canterbury an Interpretation Centre is being developed in the old Provincial Government buildings on the south-east corner of Armagh and Durham streets.

The buildings belong to the people of the city and are administered by the Council. The buildings are free to visit six days a week, Monday-Saturday.

The new Interpretation Centre is due to open on Saturday 27 September - 150 years to the day of the Provincial Council's first meeting, on the site that now houses Cathedral Grammar in a building described by Henry Sewell as "a lone desolate looking wooden tenement all by itself in a potatoe (sic) garden".

The centre will outline the social, political and architectural history of Provincial Government and of the buildings, which are the only existing purpose-built Provincial Council Buildings in New Zealand and the finest example of Victorian Gothic revival architecture in the country.

Among the items that will be on display is a large model of the Provincial Buildings complex and its site. Constructed by Andrew Cudworth, Design Group architect and model maker, the model has taken nine months to build.

Other items associated with Provincial Government and the buildings include the tea service presented to Mrs Potton, the former Provincial Government housekeeper. The tea service was returned by the family in 1992 and has been recently conserved for public display.

We would especially like to hear from people who have been involved, worked or those whose ancestors have been associated with the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings. Stories, photographs and the loan of memorabilia in regard to the social history of the buildings would be appreciated.