WIMBORNE town crier Chris Brown gave a special cry to celebrate the 70th birthday of Wimborne Model Town.
The occasion was also marked by a buffet dinner for volunteers, a visit by local MP Michael Tomlinson and the near completion of buildings for the charity attraction’s Model of the Model Town 70th anniversary project.
The town crier marked the day which 70 years before had seen the start of visitors paying to view the then freshly constructed tourist destination.
Marketing manager Greg Hoar recalled the commercial origins of the post-war tourist destination from August 1, 1952, and its continuing popularity seven decades later.
He said: “The original site was far from complete when it opened but rapidly become a very popular destination for visitors to the south coast area.
“We continue to offer a good value fun destination for all the family, only made possible by decades of support and work by our loyal volunteer force.”
The new miniature model of the model town – which has been constructed to 1/100th scale – has been placed behind the Corn Market in the model town’s diorama, recalling the position the attraction had in the real town in 1952.
Project director and trustee Penri Jones estimated more than 1,500 volunteer man hours had gone into the mini model town so far, adding that production and painting of the smaller scale structures was nearing completion.

Wimborne Model Town chairman Iain Stevenson with Michael Tomlinson MP. Photo by Tom Scrase