New-look memorial for Peter Blake

Peter Blake

Plans for a scaled-down memorial to Sir Peter Blake at the National Maritime Museum on Auckland's waterfront are being launched today.

Three years after a $10 million memorial at the museum drew a lukewarm response from Aucklanders and sparked a fierce debate about how best to honour the slain sailor, the museum and Wellington's Te Papa have come up with a new $8 million design.

Instead of the controversial ship-in-a-bottle glass building on the Princes Wharf side of the museum, the new design features an extension to the museum's Hall of Yachting honouring the legacy of Sir Peter, who was murdered in 2001 on the Amazon.

The Princes Wharf side of the museum will be pushed out at the northern end and largely wrapped in green, blue and silvery white polycarbonate translucent panels to create a shimmery sense of water.

The 23m-long America's Cup-winning yacht Black Magic will be suspended in the Hall of Yachting surrounded by an interactive exhibition over three levels.

Among the exhibits will be the pair of red socks that Sir Peter Blake wore during Team New Zealand's successful 1995 America's Cup campaign.

Many of the exhibits will be on loan from Lady Pippa Blake, who said one of the most appealing aspects of the project was the opportunity it would offer young people to learn about her late husband's achievements and act as an encouragement to work hard towards their own goals.

"I feel that this is something that Peter would support as it will show others his world, tell the stories of his favourite races, including the Jules Verne and, of course, the success of the America's Cup," she said from her home in England. Sport and Recreation Minister Trevor Mallard has confirmed the Government will give $2.5 million towards the project.

"The tribute to Sir Peter is an important New Zealand story about leadership and resolve and is one that will encourage young people to aspire to great things," Mr Mallard said.

The Auckland City Council pledged $2 million in 2003 and will decide next month whether to match this figure after withdrawing funding in 2004 when the project went into limbo.

That leaves the museum, under a "development agreement" with Te Papa, having to find $3.5 million in sponsorship from a wealthy group who call themselves "Blake's mates" - corporates and funding bodies such as the ASB Trust.

Te Papa has paid most of the development costs to date, including work by leading architect Pete Bossley, and will pay for the on-going maintenance of Black Magic, or NZL 32, which Team New Zealand gifted to the national museum in 2001.

Te Papa chief executive Seddon Bennington said the exhibition was a wonderful tribute, a great design and had significant cost reductions.

Auckland City Mayor Dick Hubbard said he wanted the wonderful story of Sir Peter to be told on the Auckland waterfront.