Russell Museum to get major revamp
The little Russell Museum is set for a mighty multi-million dollar makeover.
Te Whare Taonga O Korora¯reka, a big part of the community since 1956, will soon be brought into the 21st century, providing digital, multi-layered storytelling for visitors. Museum Trust chairperson Heather Lindauer says the current building, which will be demolished, is no longer fit for purpose.
‘‘It’s long overdue, our mighty little museum is going to get a little bigger and a whole lot better. It’s an exciting prospect.’’
The initial plans consist of a two-storied structure comprising two rectangular buildings referencing the boat sheds of the surrounding area and Russell’s long maritime tradition. The colour and exterior cladding are still under discussion between the architects and Heritage NZ. Early designs are on show at the museum and work is hoped to get underway by 2019, she says.
Exhibition space being designed by Story Inc will ‘‘allow visitors to better explore the area’s narratives of the arrivals and encounters in the Bay of Islands that centred on Korora¯reka Russell, and that are pivotal to the founding of the New Zealand we know today,’’ Lindauer says.
‘‘Our rich museum collection will be enhanced with digital technologies to provide exciting interaction and multi-layered storytelling that will connect us and our visitors to our dual Ma¯ori and Pa¯keha¯ heritage and to our shared future.’’
Museum curator Kate Martin says Architects Isthmus Group has been ‘‘given the tricky task of coming up with a building design that will have to tick a whole lot of boxes.’’
‘‘It needs to provide the space and amenities expected of a 21st century museum and demanded by visitors these days. It is equally important to produce an empathetic design that is true to the significant site the building occupies both historically and culturally.’’
Martin says the cost will be ‘‘several million dollars’’.
BOI-Whangaroa Community Board chairman Terry Greening says the museum will be ‘‘an economic asset not only for Russell but for tourism in the whole of the Bay and Far North’’.