Storage squeeze at museum

MTG Hawke's Bay director Douglas Lloyd Jenkins (right) and collection assistant Sarah Powell in the archives' store at the museum in Napier, a specific storage space with temperature and humidity control and other protection for irreplaceable publications, documents and photographs. Photo/Warren Buckland

Napier mayor Bill Dalton has refuted claims the new $18 million MTG Hawke's Bay museum has major unexpected problems with storage space.

Mr Dalton, elected just weeks after September's opening of the pet-project of retiring mayor Barbara Arnott, who is also its trust chairwoman, said most museums have off-site storage, and the council was still going through a process to establish requirements for storage of its collection.

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule, whose council helped fund the project, said decisions had previously been made, as long as six years ago, that all the collection would be held at one site.

Storage would be increased from 300sq m to 453sq m to accommodate the collection, and he was unaware of any other proposal until briefed about a week ago, and told there was room for only about 40 per cent of the collection.

Mr Dalton said all of the MTG collection was put into storage during the three-year redevelopment of the former Hawke's Bay Museum and Art Gallery.

Much of the collection remained in secure storage where a lease was not due to expire until at least late this year. Mr Dalton said that while a review is under way exploring all aspects he doubted there would be difficulties extending the lease if it was decided its use should continue.

MTG director Douglas Lloyd Jenkins said that before the redevelopment, the museum had been "embarrassed" by a shortage of space, but since then the focus had been to get the showpiece open for the public.

"We've had the building opened, which was the number one priority," he said. "We are pleased to see the council doing a review. It has evolved, we have kept them aware all the time, so I'm not so sure why it's coming to a head now."

Mr Dalton said museums have to maximise display space, and it "makes sense" to have storage away from the prime sites, for which he was sure funds could be found within budgets.