An artist image of what the Hawke’s Bay Museum Research and Archive Centre could look like when it is built in Hastings' CBD. Photo / Supplied
An artist image of what the Hawke’s Bay Museum Research and Archive Centre could look like when it is built in Hastings' CBD. Photo / Supplied
Construction on a new regional museum and storage facility for precious artefacts in Hastings could soon get underway with the $22 million required nearly secured.
This week, the project received a $9 million boost in funding from the Government’s Regional Culture and Heritage Fund - one of the largest allocations on record from that fund.
Over $21.4 million has now been raised for the ambitious project and a building consent application has been lodged.
The facility will be built at 307 Queen St East (a former Briscoes site) and be used to store the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust collection - which includes more than 88,000 items - safely outside any tsunami impact zones.
It will also be a regional museum where people can enjoy precious taonga and artefacts, and complement the likes of the MTG museum in Napier.
Hastings District Council and Napier City Council bought the site for the project back in 2020 and have been working closely with Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust and Ngāti Kahungunu.
The former Briscoes building at the corner of Hastings St North and Queen St East in Hastings, where the new facility will be built. Photo / Warren Buckland
The Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust is the official kaitiaki/guardian of the entire collection.
The facility’s design has two distinct components including a “lighthouse and darkhouse”.
The lighthouse will be part exhibition space and part education and research space, while the darkhouse will be a secure storage area.
Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said the $9 million in funding announced this week was hugely exciting.
“Completing a project of this scale is not possible without this kind of Government support, it’s greatly appreciated.
“It was vitally important that we addressed the future security of this important collection, finding a home for it away from coastal hazards, and it has been fantastic to have the collaboration between the councils, the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust and Ngāti Kahungunu to make it happen.
“I’m very proud that this project will allow our community to experience this collection in a state-of-the-art facility, and that it will be cared for and preserved for future generations.”
Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allen said it was a fitting project for the $9 million in funding.
“This exciting project will help to ensure that our arts, culture and heritage sector can thrive with the facilities it needs.”
New Zealand Lotteries Commission has given $5.79 million to the project while both Napier and Hastings councils have committed $3.325 million each.
Napier mayor Kirsten Wise said it would mean the region’s collection as a whole will be cared for and protected.
“This project is significant for the region as it extends what is offered by our existing arts and culture spaces such as MTG.”
