The Dunedin Gasworks Museum is a small industrial history museum based on the site of the New Zealand's oldest gasworks, in South Dunedin. As one of only a handful of preserved gasworks museums in the world, it is a significant local and World Heritage site. The Museum is entirely volunteer-run, and opening hours are limited to 12 - 4pm on Sundays. They also run regular live steaming days and blacksmithing classes.
While some visitors are happy to look around the Museum, at their own pace, others appreciate a guided tour of the site. To accommodate this, scheduled tours are run by volunteers every Sunday afternoon. They are now looking for another tour guide to join their team.
As a Museum Tour Guide you will be:
- Introducing visitors to the Museum and its exhibits
- Showing small groups of visitors around the site
- Chatting with visitors
- Providing tours at 12:30 and 1:30pm, as required. Tours generally last between 30 and 45 minutes each
Training and Support Provided:
- You will be provided with a full orientation around the history of the museum and its exhibits
- You will always be rostered on with an experienced volunteer, who will be responsible for all other aspects of running the museum
(eg. opening, taking admissions, closing etc)
Benefits of Volunteering:
- A good chance to keep an important part of NZ heritage alive
- Practice your public speaking skills with small, friendly groups
- Gain customer service experience
- Learn all about South Dunedin's grand industrial past
- Connect with fellow heritage enthusiasts
- Witness their (sometimes) working Victorian steam engines and heritage blacksmith's forge
- Impress your pub quiz team with your newly acquired niche knowledge
- Free wi-fi
Requirements
- Effective verbal communication skills
- Comfortable speaking to small groups
- Ability to engage with diverse audiences
- Friendly and visitor-focused
- Knowledge and/or enthusiasm for industrial heritage or local history a plus
- Complete full training - provided by their experienced, knowledgeable tour guides
- No prior knowledge of gasworks is expected!
Time commitment
- One Sunday afternoon per month for 2.5 hours hours, from 12.30pm - 3pm
- Ideally, they ask for a commitment of at least a year from volunteers
Getting started
The first step is to express your interest by filling out the form below.
We will then put you in touch directly with the organisation for more information on the role and how to proceed.
Apply for this role:
Dunedin