Museum’s 30 years on city site celebrated
The building of Waikato Museum marked a ‘‘cultural coming-of-age’’ for Hamilton.
Before its construction on Grantham St in 1987, a purposebuilt museum in the city didn’t exist.
‘‘Essentially there were two facilities in Hamilton in the realm of arts and culture,’’ said curator Dr Dan Morrow.
There was an art gallery in the old Post Office, Money Exchange and Savings Bank on the corner of Grantham and Victoria St that operated from the late 1940s to 1960s.
And a local museum established by Cyril Godfrey Hunt, a member of the Waikato Historical Society, that operated from 1965 in the William Paul Hall.
In 1972, the two institutions were combined into the Waikato Art Museum in London St, which ran from 1973-1986.
October 3 marked 30 years since the purpose-built Waikato Museum was constructed on the site where it now sits.
‘‘There was pride in the building and what it represented for the community.’’
‘‘It was one of the most important cultural events ever to take place in the Waikato,’’ Morrow said.
‘‘It was very interesting that when the museum opened, quite some grand hopes were articulated for it. It was seen as sort of a cultural coming-of-age for Waikato.
‘‘There was pride in the building and what it represented for the community.’’
To commemorate the milestone, the museum is in the midst of four months of festivities.
The exhibition Te Haerenga The Journey, running until November 26, recalls some of the highlights and strengths developed during the museum’s three decades of operation.
A second exhibition, Ngaa Taonga, running until October 29, coincides with Te Haerenga. It features a selection of favourite items from the Waikato Museum archives.
An item of significance is the sword of Captain Hamilton, a young British naval officer and the man for which Hamilton was named. Morrow has worked for Waikato Museum for more than four years.
He’s a historian and curator who specialises in social history. It took him 18 months to sort through the archives.