Wait!... There's an aviation museum in Ashburton? How did I not know that?!
I'm a North Islander, but I was down in Ashburton for work a couple of years ago and I visited the Ashburton Volunteer Fire Brigade's museum, which is sensational. I was working for Fire and Emergency NZ at the time, so I spent a few hours doing some training at the Ashburton Fire Station, then visited the brigade's museum before travelling on to the next town.
I would have made time to visit the aviation museum as well, had I known about it. Better luck next time!
How's the project coming along?