Barry and Judy Skinner's Hector Country Music Heritage Museum on New Zealand's South Island

What is it about New Zealand’s west coast that makes it such a hub of DIY music museums? Yesterday I made a visit to the Hector Country Music Heritage Museum in the Buller district of the South Island. Another privately owned and operated museum, this one is run by musician and radio DJ Barry Skinner with the support of his wife Judy.

On the road in New Zealand: a visit to the Taranaki Country Music Hall of Fame

I’m currently in New Zealand doing a road trip that sees me visiting DIY museums on the west coast of both the north and south islands. I arrived in Manaia, North Island, after a somewhat harrowing journey driving the Forgotten World Highway  – 150km stretch of tight winding road complete with fallen tree and boulder hazards, unsealed stretches, and a one lane pitch black dirt tunnel. By the time I arrived at the Taranaki Country Music Hall of Fame my nerves were a little frayed!