Kauri Museum launches sponsorship drive amid ongoing financial challenges

Matakohe’s Kauri Museum is seeking further public support to continue preserving its unique heritage for future generations. Photo / NZME

Ongoing financial pressure has led Matakohe’s Kauri Museum to introduce a new tiered sponsorship programme.

The Kaipara museum is urging individuals, businesses and community groups to help secure its future.

The initiative comes as the 63-year-old museum faces a critical juncture, with cash reserves exhausted and visitor numbers still recovering from years of disruption.

Once a steady fixture in Northland’s tourism landscape, the museum has seen its fortunes rise and fall, faltering again in the unique challenges of the past five years: Covid-19, repeated Brynderwyn State Highway 1 closures and last year’s power pylon failure.

All of the events impacted visitor confidence and left museum finances stretched thin, museum director Dr Jason Smith said.

The museum had taken significant steps to strengthen its position, including streamlining staffing after Covid, shifting its focus towards natural history and appointing a refreshed trust board with a mandate for financial resilience, Smith said.

The efforts were supported by targeted museum funding from the Kaipara District Council, which will see the Kauri Museum receive $15,000 every quarter, starting this October and continuing through to mid-2026.

However, the institution urgently needed to fulfil the next part of its business recovery plan – charitable donations and sponsorship.

Despite generating around $1.5 million annually from tourism, the museum’s financial resilience is constantly tested by its rural location and highly seasonal visitor flow, Smith said.

The new sponsorship programme offers four tiers for donations: Kauri Seed ($500), Kauri Seedling ($1750), Kauri Ricker ($5000) and Forest Giant ($10,000 or more). Each tier comes with benefits such as discounts at the museum cafe and store, preferential access to exhibitions and events, and recognition on a new donor board in the entrance hall.

Funds raised will support essential building maintenance, conservation of artefacts and taonga, development of new exhibitions and multilingual visitor communications. Donations are eligible for tax credits and can be made for one, two or three years.

“This resilient place has weathered good times and tough times, and there’s plenty more ahead,” Smith said.

“Every day we ask our visitors to dig deeper here; now there’s an opportunity for donors and sponsors to join us and do the same.”

Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, most of which she spent court reporting in Gisborne and on the East Coast.