Janet McAllister: Te Papa North proposal has exciting possibilities

Te Papa, Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

What fun: Hamish Keith's idea of putting a Te Papa exhibition space on Auckland's waterfront is stirring up debate. Keith's plan is really two proposals for the price of one: let's have a Te Papa North so Auckland gets to see the national museum's treasures. And let's make it a prominent landmark on Wynyard Point where the Tank Farm is now, close to the bridge.

I like the idea of a Te Papa North space. The Auckland Art Gallery recently played host to Te Papa's Rita Angus and Brian Brake exhibitions, but having a reliable schedule of such shows would be great, and a new dedicated space would free up room at the gallery.

However, ex-Auckland Museum director Rodney Wilson disagrees; last week he wrote that Te Papa North would "inevitably" come in as a competitor, "at the expense of our own museums ... arriving on their patch, stripping them of audience".

This is misplaced turf war talk; "our own" museums? Last time I checked, Auckland was still a part of New Zealand. Te Papa is "our own" too.

We're already paying for what's on display at the national museum - and I would like to see it. Our cultural institutions are here to serve us, we're not here to make up their visitor numbers.

We're doing a better-than-expected job of that, anyway. The new gallery welcomed 100,000 people over its first five weeks, which suggests that our appetite for culture grows larger the more culture we get.

The new design of the gallery encourages repeat visits without relying too heavily on temporary exhibitions (which was Wilson's main worry); it simply has too much on display to take in on one visit.

Aucklanders and Auckland institutions deserve more credit than the suggestion that we'll leave the old, dazzled by the new. Throw in frequent, cheap bus links between attractions, and a new museum could increase visitor numbers elsewhere. People would make a cultural day of it.

But given our suburban sprawl, is central Auckland too greedy for wanting to host yet another regional institution? What about putting Te Papa North near Pakuranga's Te Tuhi gallery or the regional botanical gardens at Manurewa, to create visitor hubs elsewhere? Or - why not? - near Rainbow's End in Manukau. Te Papa could start owning its "theme park" description.

Or it could give the arts-starved North Shore an overdue first piece of regionally significant, permanent, cultural real estate.

None of those places is perfect: they're not on train lines (although neither is Wynyard Point, being about 1.5km away from Britomart) - and they're certainly not as visible. But at the very least, another site could be a temporary Te Papa home, as the waterfront icon plan is distant-future stuff. Te Papa North might open sooner than, say, 2031 if it started somewhere else.

Whatever happens, I agree with Wilson that what's finally placed on Wynyard Point has to be a publicly accessible attraction, rather than an event space just for ticket buyers.

And we should keep some tanks on Wynyard Point; their white rotundity is attractive and unusual in a CBD full of rectangles. They could become Te Papa exhibition rooms. Or the start of a sculpture park perhaps?

For any of you groaning at the thought of saving "heritage" tanks, let's see what architectural vision you've got to match their site-appropriate glee. Game on!