On 19 and 20 September, Te Arawhata opened its doors for 2026 edition of the Journées Européennes du Patrimoine.
For this year’s European Heritage Days, celebrating the bicentenary of the invention of photography, the Museum offered an immersive and family-friendly programme inspired by behind-the-front during the Great War.
On Saturday, visitors were welcomed into a reconstructed recruitment station, complete with period décor and team members in 1910s costumes, where they could have their portrait taken in the style of 1914.
On Sunday, the concept shifted to a family portrait, taken in the Museum’s He Tangata room, which was once the dining room of the Carlier family that built the Museum’s 19th century manor.
Last year’s photo exhibition was again on display, tracing the transformation of the building from its former life as a gendarmerie to its current iteration as a New Zealand’s tūrangawaewae on the Western Front.
Visitors were also invited to participate in a photo trail through the building, requiring all their attention to detail as they sought out near-invisible letters hidden around the Museum.
Throughout the weekend, a ration stand was operating in the Museum forecourt, evoking the military canteens behind the lines established to provide small luxuries to recovering soldiers.
Sunday also coincided with Le Quesnoy’s Fête du Lait, a much-loved local event that brought thousands of people into the town. Te Arawhata held an outdoor recruitment stand at this “Dairy Festival”, inviting passers-by to discover the Museum on this special open day.
The “JEP” continue to be one of the biggest weekends of the year for Te Arawhata, with 338 visitors over the two days.
We could not have completed such a large weekend without the help of our partners at the Le Quesnoy Town Hall, the Institut Sainte Jeanne d’Arc, les Vergers Tellier and the Parc Naturel Régional de l’Avesnois.
Our next day for free entry will be Liberation Day – 4 November. See you there!
