Rotorua's iconic museum won't reopen to the public until 2025. Photo / File
The delayed reopening of one of Rotorua's most beloved and iconic buildings has been met with disappointment and the fear a generation of children will miss out on visiting the city's historic taonga.
Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa Rotorua Museum was closed in November 2016 after being damaged in the 7.8 magnitude Kaikoura earthquake.
The museum, in the Bath House building at Government Gardens, was initially expected to open next year, with more than $50 million raised for the strengthening and restoration from multiple government and charity sources.
The Rotorua Lakes Council announced yesterday the museum was now expected to open in 2025, with the two-year Bath House construction likely to start in 2022.
The category one heritage building, originally built between 1906 and 1908, is considered by many to be the jewel in Rotorua's tourism and culture crown. In 2018 it provided a picturesque backdrop to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's visit.
By the time it reopens, it will have been closed for nearly a decade.
Former Friends of the Museum chairwoman and current member Jo-Anne La Grouw said she was disappointed and questioned the reasoning for the delay.
"To me, it just seems crazy."
La Grouw said ratepayers needed to know what the new issues were, given they were paying for a lot of the work.
La Grouw is also a member of the Rotorua Trust, which donated $10 million towards the museum rebuild. Despite this, news of the delay surprised the trust, she said.
"We haven't been told about it, other than the [press release], we haven't been informed."
Ryan Gray of Evolve Rotorua said the delay meant "an entire generation of Rotorua mokopuna will go through their school years without an opportunity to see the rich history of our city through the objects sitting in museum storage".
Gray said it would be "fantastic" if the museum ran pop-up exhibitions around the city during the closure to help Rotorua tell its story its way.
It is understood a small exhibition will be held in the city later this year.
Rotorua MP Todd McClay said the museum was the most photographed building in New Zealand and its reopening needed to happen "without question".
Monty Morrison, chairman of Te Pūkenga Koeke o Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa, said the group was aware there would be delays.
"Historically, we knew this building would be difficult so from our point of view, we're not surprised but still disappointed at a delay, yet again.
"It's all about being able to ensure we have a good, safe building. The building is already an iconic building for New Zealand. We want to make sure everything is taken care of for the rebuild.
"While the delay is a pain, hopefully, there won't be any more."
Asked about the new issues, Rotorua Lakes Council operational group manager Jocelyn Mikaere said that as the design reached "the most complex atrium area, the challenge of strengthening a heritage building sited on geothermal ground resulted in buildability and risk questions".
"It is prudent to assess alternatives now versus continuing without adequate risk mitigations in place."
Additional expertise has been brought in to the project to help resolve issues that surfaced during the pre-construction phase. These issues require further investigation and advice regarding structural solutions for the building.
"It's important that we have the best information to get the right solution for the complexities we are dealing with, such as 1908 unreinforced pumice masonry structures, a very heavy roof and challenging geothermal ground conditions," Mikaere said.
Mikaere said key stakeholders, including funders, had been kept informed.
"We want to ensure that when the strengthening and restoration of this iconic building is completed, it will be a safe and much-loved part of our community fabric for the decades to come."
In response to a Rotorua Daily Post reader who asked on Facebook what the director of the museum - Lizzie Marvelly, appointed last year - would be doing until the museum reopened, the Rotorua Museum page replied that the strengthening work was only the first step to reopening.
"During the next few years, the director and her team will be working on extensive community engagement, conservation and exhibition design programmes."
All museum exhibitions would need to be redesigned and reinstalled and other offerings - education and public programmes, outside the walls daily tours, retail, hospitality - needed redevelopment.
"This exhibition redesign project is the largest the Rotorua Museum has ever undertaken."
Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage deputy chief executive delivery Tamsin Evans said the ministry had been kept informed of the challenges with the building but was not involved in the delay decision.
"It is good that new project risks are being directly addressed as they emerge. The project to reopen Rotorua Museum is as much for future generations as it is for present audiences, so it's important to get it right," Evans said.
Mayor Steve Chadwick said: "Our iconic museum is much-loved by both our local community and visitors and we all want to see it re-opened as quickly as possible, but will have to remain patient as these complexities are worked through.
"We've always said it was a complex building and that it wasn't going to be a simple project. We knew we would need to take the time and care necessary to restore it, in keeping with its heritage status and its importance to Rotorua and New Zealand."
Once information from the geothermal and structural investigations is provided by experts, the council expected to host several update events to inform the community on the progress of the project.
A detailed seismic assessment of the museum building the year after the earthquake showed it had met just 15 per cent of New Zealand's earthquake safety standards. Buildings that are at 33 per cent or below are considered earthquake-prone.
The heritage building's location on geothermal ground has contributed to the rebuild being considered as one of the most challenging and complex strengthening projects happening in New Zealand.
Other issues include unreinforced 1908 pumice masonry structures and a heavy roof.
The event returned after halting in the 1990s due to high traffic costs.