Museum to get new roof in time for sestercentennial

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Tairawhiti Museum’s deteriorating roof will be replaced, Gisborne District Council’s community development and services committee was told last week.

The council has committed $400,000 for the roof in its long-term plan, and it will be completed before Te Ha Sestercentennial commemorations in 2019.

Installing a new roof is on a list of actions, exhibitions and programmes planned for the museum’s 2018/19 financial year, and outlined in its annual plan.

Cultural activities manager Pene Walsh told The Herald the museum roof had been fraught with leaks as internal guttering and complex rooflines deteriorated in the 40-year-old building.

“Simplified roof lines and materials will help protect the building and treasures held within.”

Ms Walsh said the museum was to host special exhibitions associated with the commemorations.

Another big museum project is redevelopment of the long-term regional history exhibition, which will be closed throughout 2018 and reopen in 2019.

A programme of temporary art and history exhibitions is planned for the year, starting with a contemporary art group exhibition entitled Pou Whare Te Kooti rikirangi Te Turuki to open on July 1.

It will be followed by a touring exhibition called The 80s Show, opening on July 13.

Learning Outside of The Classroom museum education programmes will continue to be delivered to meet targets set by the Ministry of Education.

This service is offered to all 65 schools in the region, with around 8600 participating students.

Tairawhiti Museum has a new target of achieving 45,000 “physical users” per year.

Museum director Eloise Wallace told the meeting 40,000 had been the target for many years and the museum was likely to achieve that mark in the current year.

Twenty percent of museum visitors were non-residents, including 5 percent from overseas, she said.

Asked by councillor Amber Dunn if the roof would be completed this year, GDC director of liveable communities Andrew White confirmed It would be done before Te Ha to allow the museum to make a contribution to the commemorations.

The council provides the museum with an annual grant of $722,495 for operations and $18,600 for insurance.

Funding for the roof is additional to this.