Rotorua Museum is largely hidden behind building wrap and scaffolding as restoration work continues. Photo / Mathew Nash
Construction on the Rotorua Museum is due to finish in September, nearly a decade after it was closed, councillors have been told.
It could still be a long time, however, before the building reopens to the public, with Rotorua Lakes Council still short more than $8 million in exhibition funding.
Rotorua Museum – Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa was closed “indefinitely” in November 2016 following damage caused by the 7.8-magnitude Kaikōura earthquake.
Construction on repairs started in June 2024 and the museum’s iconic timber-framed Bath House building – one of Rotorua’s most prestigious landmarks, a category 1 historic place and among New Zealand’s most photographed buildings – is currently wrapped in scaffolding and building wrap.
“Wow,” was the response from an excited councillor Don Paterson during Wednesday’s infrastructure committee meeting, when museum project programme manager Will Bamford said those eyesores would be gone by May.
When funding for the project was confirmed in April 2024, the estimated finish date was 2027.
Bamford confirmed the project is ahead of schedule, with about 72% of construction work complete.
This includes foundation work being finished in four of six zones, with a fifth due last week; external construction at the north end completed; and internal work at the south end done.
He said the internal work has revealed some of the structure’s original and heritage architecture for the first time in about 50 years.
“There’s been a lot of challenges throughout the project that everyone is addressing really well, and the project is in a good place to move forward to practical completion in September,” Bamford said.
Despite this progress, the restriction on public access is likely to extend beyond the 10-year mark.
The $73.55m construction budget has been covered by a mix of funders such as central Government, Rotorua Trust, lottery funding, Bay of Plenty Regional Council and private citizens.
The Rotorua Lakes Council has raised just $1.24m, however, of a $9.51m target for external exhibition funding.
Council community experience manager Alex Wilson told Local Democracy Reporting there had been no change to the about $8.3m shortfall since it was first reported in August.
An indicative $800,000 of funding noted then had yet to materialise.
Wilson said the council was “continuing to apply for external funding where possible” while pursuing the shortfall.
She also highlighted the Friends of Rotorua Museum’s new 1000 Friends project, which aims to raise $1m by getting 1000 people to donate $1,000 each.
The Friends of Rotorua Museum is a volunteer group that has promoted and fundraised for the museum during its closure.
The 1000 Friends campaign launched in January. Donors can give their $1000 through weekly or monthly instalments, or in a one-off payment.
A tour of the under-construction building has been offered as an incentive.
Friends of Rotorua Museum treasurer Julie Parsons said the campaign was still in its early stages but had already received “good uptake” among members.
While she was pleased to see construction nearing completion, she noted the building is “nothing without what’s inside”.
“It’s a spiritual home, particularly for local people,” Parsons said. “People feel the loss of not having been able to go there for 10 years now.”
She said the 1000 Friends campaign was a way for everyday Rotorua residents to get involved in the project.
Even with the $1m the campaign aimed to raise, the museum’s exhibition budget would be well short of the council’s target.
Parsons said she hopes someone with “deep pockets” could help bring the museum to life, particularly for the next generation.
“We’ve almost had a couple of generations of primary school children who haven’t been able to visit the museum and don’t have that experience of learning about Rotorua and its history.”
An operational update on the museum exhibition project is due at a council meeting in March.
According to the museum’s website, work is scheduled to finish between 2027 and 2028.
A breakdown of the external funders for this project:
Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.