Lighthouse and Darkhouse concept proposed for new regional museum
A 'Lighthouse and Darkhouse' concept has been proposed for a new regional museum in Hastings.
The Museum Research and Archives Centre is set to be constructed on the corner of Queen Street East and Hastings St North in Hastings and will be completed by mid-2023.
The Lighthouse will be part-exhibition space, part-work space, and the Darkhouse will be the secure, temperature and humidity-controlled storage component with a focus on protection and preservation of the taonga.
Napier City Council and Hastings District Council will share guardianship of the new facility and have both committed $3.325m each to the project.
The project has also secured $5.47 million worth of external funding from NZ Lotteries.
The regionally owned collection has 88,654 items and is valued at over $40 million. It includes a significant collection of taonga, which Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi has expressed a desire to see made more accessible to whānau, hapū, the wider Hawke’s Bay community and visitors to the region.
Napier mayor Kirsten Wise says the project is more than just about storage for the collection.
“This project will create opportunities for our community to have improved access to the collection, to visit it and see it in a way that ensures the collection is cared for and preserved for our future generations,” says Mayor Wise.
Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst says it will be exciting to have the collection, which includes many taonga from Heretaunga, in its new home in Hastings.
“These taonga are precious to our region, as well as being nationally significant, and to have them in a secure home where researchers, education groups, archivists and other visitors can access them easily is a huge step forward,” says Mayor Hazlehurst. “Having the design phase underway is great progress and we look forward to seeing more detail as it becomes available.”
