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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2005-02-16, Page 14Crossroads 14 Wednesday, February 16, 2005 Exeter Times Advocate Restoration work in New Zealand by SHDHS grad By Pat Bolen TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF THUNDER BAY — Growing up in Hensall, Mindy Bell never thought she would end up on the other side of the world, helping to reconstruct a whale. But that is what the South Huron District High School (SHDHS) graduate did for a year and a half, in Christchurch, New Zealand. After graduating from Lakehead University with a BA in Anthropology in 2001, Bell got a contract with the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch on the Bluewhale Conservation Treatment Project. Speaking to the Lakehead University Magazine, Bell said "Canterbury Museum acquired the colossus in 1908, after its discovery on a beach near the town of Okarito on the west coast. The 26.5 -metre skeleton was transported to Christchurch and exhibited outdoors, on the museum grounds, in cov- ered shelters. In the early 1990s, it was moved to indoor storage, on site. Now, as part of the muse- um's current revitaliza- tion project, the whale is being resurrected as a showpiece for a proposed new entranceway. "My job is to deal with the effects of damage and deterioration to the bones, caused by human interac- tion with the skeleton and exposure to the elements. "Each bone is cleared of its old iron mounts, cleaned, and then consoli- dated (strengthened with an acrylic resin). Broken pieces are re -attached and completely missing pieces are reconstructed." Bell is back at Lakehead working on her Honours Degree, which she is hop- ing will lead to her Masters, although she isn't sure where yet. "I'm kind of working and going to school...I have a contract with Fort Williams Historical Park, who are working on upgrading their library and archives. That will take longer than the school year so I can't jump into a Masters right away." Bell said she is looking at schools out west for her Masters, including the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Calgary, both of which she said have "really good historical archeology programs." Her interest in anthro- pology goes back to when she was young, and was helped to develop at SHDHS by some "great history teachers. it was really interactive and they got people into it...it was motivating and there was some really good stuff they taught you too." After starting out in his- tory at Lakehead, Bell switched into anthropolo- gy, specializing in archeol- ogy. Bell made her contact with the museum in New Zealand while finishing a museum studies course at Sir Sanford Fleming University in Peterborough. Bell received a call from the Canadian Museums Association which has programs to provide work for graduates both nation- ally and internationally. "I applied and I got it," said Bell. Although it wasn't com- pletely in her line of work, Bell said with archeology you work a lot with bones and excavating and she had a background for what was needed on the project. With her speciality in historical archeology and her thesis on the fur trade, "it was a bit out of my comfort zone and I had a learning curve." According to Bell, New Zealand is "fabulous. It's like Canada in some ways but it's completely unlike Canada in other ways...you can drive from the east coast to the west coast in five hours. "The people were great...everyone in Christchurch had heard of this whale. It's the icon of the city and the museum and they're very excited about it...there is a gener- ation of kids who have never seen the whale in one piece." The two year project, started a few months before Bell arrived in February 2003. By the time she left in August 2004, it had advanced to the point where different speciali- ties were required. "I did most of the restoration and by the end of it I was training volun- teers and other interns to do the work we were doing. And then I would take the lead on some specialized treatments that would have to be done." Bell said she enjoyed the whole experience and would go back "in two seconds." She plans to go back when the museum opens, which won't be for a few years. "They have to finish the renovations and get the whale back in...it would South Huron District High School graduate Mindy Bell has spent a year and a half working in New Zealand on a whale restoration project, the skeleton of which (below) is 26 metres Iong.While in New Zealand, Bell was visited by her mother Bev from Exeter and took in some of the local culture (bottom).(photos/submitted) be nice to go back for the grand opening since I've never actually seen the whale all in one piece." With her work on the whale project, Bell said it has given her ideas on other career paths to fol- low. "Other than my Masters in Archeology, it did kind of make me think I should get a Masters in Conservation as well so I can do archeological con- servation." But she said it was a big boost in confidence know- ing she could comfortably be part of a big project. "And it was huge...hun- dreds of thousands of dol- lars, millions maybe by the time they get it all done. "It was good to know that I can do this...and that I can work interna- tionally I think with my experiences and back- ground I could go several different ways.I know that I could be in a museum and I've got the archeolo- gy background so I could go that way...It wasn't a problem travelling by myself so you go where the work takes you. If I end up back in Huron County or overseas or out west working on an Archeology Masters, I'm pretty cool with that." With her interest in his- toric sites, Bell said she likes working in Ontario, especially at Fort Williams Historical Park. "It's the kind of thing I'm really into, combining the history and the archeology and the museum work all together. It's the best fit for me." While in New Zealand, Bell said she was hoping to travel to Australia, but her work permit didn't allow her to leave the country and come back. "If I do go back, I'd like to get to Australia and some of the South Pacific islands." But Bell was able to see virtually all of New Zealand. "It was nice being there for a year and half, so you didn't half to rush and spend every weekend try- ing to get somewhere." Working on six month contracts, Bell was able to take off a month between contracts and explore the country with her mother Bev who came from Exeter. Describing the geogra- phy of New Zealand, Bell said it is quite varied. "It has everything Canada has, in one tiny little country."