A collection like no other

The transformation of Fred and Myrtle Flutey’s Bluff home began in the 1960s when Myrtle decided to put a few paua shells around the living-room mirror. More and more were added over the years until every wall was plastered with thousands of pearly blue shells. More than 25,000 visitors viewed the house per year and when the couple died in the early 2000s, the shells were gifted to the Canterbury Museum for the iconic collection to live on.