Tauranga Moana Museum Trust launches last-ditch bid for funds

Tauranga Moana Museum Trust member Kelly Barclay, pictured at the preferred Cliff Rd site, said the museum would not be a dusty display of objects. Photo / Ruth Keber

The Tauranga Moana Museum Trust has asked the council for $100,000 as part of a last-ditch bid to keep the project alive.

It wants the council to reverse its hands-off attitude towards the museum project, which has largely stalled over the past eight years.

The council was yesterday urged to work with the trust on the idea, which has failed to gain momentum since the original museum-on-the-waterfront plan was axed amid a huge political fallout in 2007.

Trust member Kelly Barclay led the bid to get councillors on board by asking that the museum became a key part of the council's 2015-25 Plan.

"Developing a museum as a centre of local knowledge will demonstrate that Tauranga and the region has come of age and believes in itself," he said. Mr Barclay said without this commitment to the "best fit" museum concept, the trust would need to seriously consider its future and whether to hand the issue back to the council.

He said the museum would not be a dusty display of objects but a place where people could learn about the local region and its natural environment and history.

The trust asked the council for $100,000 to fund the development of a "best fit" museum concept that would then allow the launch of local and national fundraising.

The money would pay for employing a project manager for 12 months and a $30,000 to $50,000 feasibility and economic impact study.

Mr Barclay said they wanted the museum to be a place that taught people about the geography, the harbour and marine area, the range of lifestyles and the rich Maori and colonial heritage.

It would be somewhere that made people want to explore further afield, such as The Elms, Gate Pa battle site and the Historic Village.

Options for a "right fit" museum included a virtual on-line museum, a simple exhibition centre, a small museum of 1000-2000 sq m and a larger museum of 2500-3000 sq m.

"It's not about the building. In many ways a building is the last part of the picture," Mr Barclay said.

Once they had the right concept and it was supported by the community and the Tauranga and Western Bay councils, he was confident they would secure the funds to make it a reality.

Mr Barclay removed any doubts the trust was ambivalent about the Robbins Park site above Dive Crescent. "The trust remains committed to a museum on the Cliff Rd site because we believe it will form part of a heritage precinct."

The trust wants the council to restore the $100,000 which was originally earmarked to be spent on resource consenting processes to build a museum on Cliff Rd.

The council withdrew the $100,000 from the Long Term Plan earlier this year.

Councillor Matt Cowley said the museum project was going back to stage one again and Cr Rick Curach said it would be a huge hurdle to get it across the table.

The council will make a decision on the trust's submission early next month.

A troubled history
1999: Working party set up to establish museum.
2002: "Sluggish" working party overhauled.
2005: A museum cantilevered across the downtown waterfront is announced.
2007: Plan dropped after an election fought on the location dumped half the council.
2008: Museum Steering Group established after council opts for "community-led" project.
2010: Tauranga Moana Museum Trust formed to build the museum.