‘This house has done its mahi’

They switched off the lights on the way out after a farewell ceremony echoed through the empty chambers of the Southland Museum and Art Gallery.

The diggers will arrive mid-April to begin its demolition.

The museum’s contents have been shifted to storage in Tisbury and it will be rebuilt as Te Unua Museum of Southland, which is set to open in late 2026

The poroporoaki ceremony on Monday drew past and present staff and museum trust members, mana whenua and the project team.

Te Rūnanka o Awarua kaiwhakahaere Dean Whaanga said energy still reverberated through the building “but this house has done its mahi’’.

Southland regional collection manager Wayne Marriott recalled: “There was a heck of a lot of fun in this place, it buzzed.’’

Council chief executive Michael Day said he had great memories of visiting the museum as a child.

“I hope we all treasure those memories,’’ he said.

The director of Te Unua, Eloise Wallace, said she first visited the old museum as a teenager in the 1990s.

“I remember it was humming and there was something new around every corner.’’

Coming back to Southland, many years later, to be charged with developing and operating Te Unua, was really exciting, she said.

Memories would remain on the site and weave their way into the new building.

When completed, it would offer and incredible modern facility embodying state-of-the-art design and innovative experiences, Wallace said.

But the community’s bond with the old museum was such that “we understand it may be confronting for many locals to see the pyramid come down’’.

To give residents the chance to say goodbye in their own way, the council

was launching a Memory Lane initiative, inviting them to share their memories through stories, photos, audio messages and handwritten notes.

Contributions could be made via Invercargill City Council's social media channels or at designated drop-off points.

The museum was closed in 2018 as an earthquake hazard.

In the meantime a museum and gallery space, He Waka Tuia, has been operating in Kelvin St.

ROBYN EDIE/SOUTHLAND TIMES The former Southland Museum and Art Gallery pyramid building at Queens Park, Invercargill, which has been closed since 2018 due to earthquake risks, is due to be demolished for the new building to be constructed.

A last walk-through of the closed Southland Museum and Art Gallery.