Thanks to a grant from the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board the Tauranga Heritage Collection is creating a mobile exhibition space that will commemorate the centenary of World War I.

This Patient's Effects Bag was used to store a soldiers personal items while in hospital. It was returned to Private A Smith's wife after his death in 1918. This and other objects will be on display as part of the changing exhibition programme.

Reginald Watkins, the first New Zealand Salvation Army Officer to enlist during WW1, enlisted from Tauranga. He was killed while performing duties as a stretcher bearer in France 23 July 1916. His story will be one of many featured on the digital Memorial Wall as part of the exhibition space.

In partnership with WW100 Tauranga, and the Hauraki Regimental Association, the exhibition will feature World War I related objects and their stories from the Tauranga museum collection, the Hauraki Regimental Museum and other collections within the community.

Tauranga City Council's cultural heritage manager Dean Flavell says the exhibition will give a greater understanding of the local, national and global impact of the war and the contributions made by people of this region. Nearly every New Zealand family was affected.

'These mobile and interactive exhibitions will be transported to a variety of locations around Tauranga, including schools, marae, rest-homes, the city centre and RSAs. Communities will also have the opportunity to contribute to the exhibitions or create their own,” adds Dean.

The exhibition features two customised shipping containers that will be configured in a variety of ways to deliver an ever changing visitor experience.

The containers provide a strong, secure and portable environment for artefacts while providing a unique and innovative place for visitors to view these exhibitions.

A minimum of 10 exhibitions will be designed over a five year period and the first of these opens on 29 August 2014.