There'll be a museum all right, says director

By Graham Skellern
Mark Clayton is not about to panic.
He's forging ahead plotting a new museum for Tauranga irrespective of what some politicians and members of the public may think.
Mr Clayton, 47, has been employed by Tauranga City Council as the museum director and he moved here from Shoalhaven in New South Wales five weeks ago.
He has walked into a fiery debate over whether a museum should even be built in the city, with a referendum to be held in February or March next year.
But Mr Clayton, an experienced heritage consultant, is unperturbed. He's seen this sort of debate before and is confident Tauranga will one day have a museum that portrays the region's colourful social history.
"If you look around at other places where museums have been built, there's always been vigorous discussion. It needs to occur - especially when it's enshrined in the 10-Year Plan and people are locked in to spending the money.
"But I'm confident the museum will go ahead and hopefully history doesn't prove me wong.
"I have weighed up what I believe are the risks and I've made my judgment - I'm here to build a museum [it's due to open in 2011] and that's what I'll be beavering away at for the next four to five years."
It wasn't quite the same story for Mr Clayton during the early 1990s when, as executive officer, he helped plan the new National Air and Space Museum in Melbourne.
Millions of dollars were spent and aircraft was acquired but the project was dropped after the 1995 federal elections.
"The museum was torpedoed by the politicians. We didn't pour any concrete but the aircraft we collected all over the world had to be returned to the original owners or gifted to community organisations," said Mr Clayton.
He doesn't believe the Tauranga museum is under quite the same political pressure, saying the opponents are running "a minimalist" argument.
The city might be well served by roading and sewage systems but don't the residents want a bit more than that and be able to take visitors to something special? "Tauranga is the last reasonably sized city in the country not to have a museum. Cities are the sum of many parts and one of the parts in any great city is a museum - it helps define its identity," said Mr Clayton.
Over the past 27 years, he has worked at eight heritage and cultural centres - Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame in west Queensland, Port Arthur Historic Site in Tasmania, National Library and Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Museum of Victoria, Hawke's Bay Cultural Trust, Australia Museum of Flight and Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.
Mr Clayton said Tauranga and the Western Bay had a rich history - from the Maori to kiwifruit/Zespri and Port of Tauranga stories. "What's struck me is an analogy with the Gold Coast. Tauranga was a place where you went and stayed in the bach during the holidays. The population was transient and people never thought the place warranted an identity - which may help explain why a museum hasn't been established.
"Gold Coast was also a place where you spent six weeks getting a sun tan and then you left. Like Tauranga, it also experienced phenomenal growth that until recently never allowed for much more than non-essential services.
"The Gold Coast Museum and Art Gallery are now cashing in on those stories about transient populations and beach culture - and this is just one of many fascinating dimensions of Tauranga's rich heritage," said Mr Clayton.
He said he would build a museum on whatever site the council chose - but he favoured a waterfront/central business district location because it attracted more visitors.
Mr Clayton said it was no accident that Te Papa (in Wellington) was built right on the water.
"Aside from the economic issues, it is in a very striking location.
"And the interface of the land and sea is special for cultural reasons, particularly for Maori."
He said the iwi support for the Tauranga museum was critical.
"It's appropriate that this museum should be in a position to accommodate their interests and the view to Mauao needs to be preserved."