Western Bay Museum future planning
Te Papa National Services Te Paerangi has recognised that Western Bay Museum is the most progressive museum in the country at present. But there is more work to be done.
We have worked extremely hard to build strong relationships with them. They have constantly provided support, guidance, expert knowledge exchange, professional development and services. Their wise counsel has been and always will be the main influencer in how to navigate the complex world within the museum sector.
With the financial assistance of Te Papa National Services Te Paerangi we have had a professional evaluation of our situation in this regard, and from this came our Museum Development Plan.
The Museum Development Plan has a three-staged prioritised and strategic approach. It will take time and is all subject to working through logistics, processes and securing funding.
Stage one is to focus on a Museum Qualified Collections Curator. As with any professional qualification, there is a science and skillset that enables one to deliver unlike one without this level of expertise. The collection is the heart of the museum. A Museums qualified collections curator plays a key role in our 10-year plan.
Stage two looks at our storage and workspace facility. We are in the process of securing the use of WBOPDC owned land on Middlebrook Drive to hopefully build our own bespoke storage and workspace facility. This facility would be built to museum compliancy design.
From the moment an object is received, we are responsible to care for that object regardless of it being in storage or on display. Up to 95% of our collection is housed in storage and the same care is given to these objects as the ones on display.
Building a design specific, storage and workspace facility will provide muchneeded space for a holding office, conservation and workspaces, specific and separated storage areas for Taonga Māori, textiles and costume as the housing process alters from collection to collection. The 11,000 objects that we hold in our collections warrant adequate care so they are preserved and conserved for future generations. Our current situation restricts our ability to provide the best care possible.
Stage three is about a Cultural Centre and the return of Māori Taonga.
Literally hundreds of objects are safeguarded at present in other museums and they cannot be returned until we reach storage and workspace compliance, and have a museum qualified collections curator to correctly care for them.
There are at least 600 Māori Taonga housed in other museums that belong to Ngāi te Rangi. Some which carry ‘national significance’, as they travelled around the world in the Te Māori Exhibition in the 1980s.
We make no assumptions but we take our role and responsibilities seriously with regard to The Treaty of Waitangi and Māori in Museums. A strong Iwi relationship and partnership is part of our ‘Big Dreams’ philosophy.
Our Board of Trustees have adopted and strongly support this plan, in fact, they champion certain aspects of the plan. Te Papa National Services Te Paerangi will assist us wherever possible and help navigate us through this journey.