Karakia held as museum closes
The closure of the earthquake prone Southland Museum and Art Gallery building became reality at 4.55pm on Thursday.
Before the doors to the pyramid building were shut to the public indefinitely, a karakia was held.
Southland Museum Art Gallery Trust chairwoman Toni Biddle, who has shed tears over the closure during the week, said it was a call that had to be made, but it hadn’t made it any easier.
Her devastation was also felt in the community.
The reaction from the public, who poured through the museum doors for one last look during the week, was revealing.
‘‘If you ever wanted to know how people felt about our museum and art gallery you only had to see their reactions and emotions and tears,’’ Biddle said.
The museum was ‘‘genuinely loved’’ by people in Southland and all over the country, she said.
This was shown in the emails and phone calls of support, and offers of help, she had received in recent days.
Biddle said she had cried when telling staff the bad news during the week.
‘‘I cried for them because I know how passionate they are about the museum and the taonga.’’
She also cried when she consulted iwi, ‘‘because they have a real connection to what sits in the museum’’.
Biddle, a city councillor who has been the museum trust chair since November, said the museum board would meet every fortnight from here on in.
It would need to determine whether it was possible to earthquake strengthen the building without redeveloping the entire thing, and how that cost compared with a new museum redevelopment.
‘‘I would love more than anything to see the community consulted first and then the museum concept designed, rather than the concept designed and then the community asked.’’
The trust board had received a signal from the Invercargill City Council it wanted to continue to have a museum and art gallery presence in the city.
The Southland Regional Heritage Committee had also signalled to the museum trust that they would like to see a museum presence remain within the city, she said.
However, money would be needed, and Southlanders alone would not be expected to pay it all.
Funding would be sought from external sources as well as from within Southland, she said.