Rugby Museum to celebrate half-century
If anyone can name a more popular tourist attraction in Palmerston North than the New Zealand Rugby Museum, then send me a smoke signal. The museum is virtually the only significant attraction that sees visitors, 10,500 of them last year, heading east at Sanson rather than skiving off to Wellington,
Up to 90 per cent are tourists, 85 per cent from overseas, who say their only other destinations might be Tui Brewery in Mangatainoka and Southwards Car Museum in Paraparaumu. Few locals darken the museum’s doors, unless they have curious family members visiting.
This week the repository celebrates its 50th and yet two weeks ago in Cape Town, The Springbok Experience shut after only four years, despite 40,000 visitors a year.
The museum proprietors have always been frugal, never taking risks. When they moved to Te Manawa in 2011 they incurred $200,000 of debt, which they paid off in four years, and they now have cash reserves.
Accountant Neil Monro has been the treasurer from the start and to use his words, ‘‘we have never made a deficit’’. He has a copy of the first year’s accounts, which show income of $13.
The NZ museum also saw off the so-called International Rugby Hall of Fame in Auckland, which closed in 1997 after only two years.
In 1979, the museum was struggling and the committee contemplated closing, until Monro stood and uttered a firm no.
The Springbok Experience was set up by the South African Rugby Union, which may have been a mistake. When Palmerston North travel agent John Sinclair was mulling over a NZ Museum, he approached NZ Rugby Union chairman Tom Morrison, who said something like: ‘‘If you want to start a museum, go ahead [in Palmerston North].’’
Which Sinclair did, in 1969, and although the
museum banks a yearly grant from NZ Rugby, its independence isn’t compromised and it opens every day except Christmas Day, staffed by 50 volunteers.
After Sinclair visited the Trophy Room at Cardiff Arms Park he couldn’t get traction from Manawatu¯ grass roots, until former Manawatu¯ Rugby Union president Fred Spurdle became his ally. At the first display in The Square, 16 All Blacks and Governor General Sir Arthur Porritt turned up.
The museum utilised studios and shop windows around town before settling into the old Art Gallery on the corner of Grey and Carroll streets in 1977. A raffle while there raised only enough for a door handle. Next in 1991 came the chilly old Kairanga County Council building on Cuba St in 1991, where visitors would do a double take when they saw one volunteer doing his knitting.
Clive Akers joined the museum in 1975 and has been chairman for 25 years. Preceding him was Austin Riddell for 10 years, former All Black Nev Macewan, John Clifford, George Edmonds and Fred Spurdle. Akers was also curator for 11 years.
One day he was locked in a bank. The museum had storage in a National Bank vault and when working upstairs, someone locked the door. He was freed later when a staff member retrieved his bike.
Bob Luxford answered an ad for a volunteer in the Rugby Weekly in 1987, which read: ‘‘No rugby knowledge needed, all our visitors know about the game.’’ He finished as fulltime curator-manager in 2008, although he quipped, ‘‘never on a fulltime salary’’, and was followed by Stephen Berg.
I can boast procuring the first yellow card waved by a referee. Over breakfast in France in 1995 I snaffled it politely from the Irish referee who had flashed it at All Black Mark Cooksley while playing in Nancy. Richard Loe, of all people was the captain and when the yellow fluttered, he muttered, ‘‘WTF is that?’’ I recall Cooksley had clobbered a Frenchman in the act of head-butting.
One year the museum was gifted two sets of American Football gear so Monro and Akers dressed in it, helmets and all, and walked Broadway as a publicity stunt.
During the 1981 Springbok tour the museum was warned by police there could be trouble. So Akers carted the collection to his billiard room and the only trouble was the footpath being sprayed with red paint.
The museum housed the Ranfurly Shield during Manawatu¯ ’s era and one day it was stolen, part of a vets’ students stunt. While scarfies distracted Fred Spurdle, others snuck out with the shield.
They didn’t win a prize because another group nicked the bronze horse from Collinson and Cunninghames’ department store.