Waitangi National Trust staff celebrate news of a $5.75 million grant for a new museum, with cultural director Mori Rapana and chief executive Greg McManus at centre, surrounded by performers of Te Pito Whenua cultural group. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Waitangi National Trust staff celebrate news of a $5.75 million grant for a new museum, with cultural director Mori Rapana and chief executive Greg McManus at centre, surrounded by performers of Te Pito Whenua cultural group. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Nearly $8 million injected into two Northland museum projects will cement Waitangi as a national icon and could be a game changer in the stalled Hundertwasser plans.
The Lottery Grants Board has announced a "significant projects" grant of $5.75 million for the Waitangi National Trust Board to develop a museum and $2 million to the Whangarei Art Museum Trust for the controversial Hundertwasser Art Centre.
Trust chairwoman and Whangarei deputy mayor Sharon Morgan said she hoped the boost in funds might be matched by a boost of confidence from the public in the project.
The grant lifted the money in hand to a total of $4 million, only $1 million short of the "pass go" $5 million the trust had set itself - or 46 per cent of the HAC's $13 million cost.
"This is a milestone, this is the support we have needed from central government and it gives the message that it's a project worth backing," Ms Morgan said. She was disappointed the council took a vote only a week ago on whether to back the HAC, when the trust was at the time waiting for the grant announcement.
The council has shelved making a final decision on paying for the centre until a telephone survey of residents has been held. The trust currently has another application in for a large sum from a government source.
Whangarei Art Museum director Scott Pothan was delighted to see nearly $8 million poured into Northland museums in one day.
Business and tourism leaders are cheering for what they see as a huge tick for the project. Northland Inc chief executive David Wilson said the HAC could be a real catalyst for Whangarei.
Mr Wilson congratulated the Whangarei Art Museum Trust, Hundertwasser Foundation and council for showing "visionary leadership for Whangarei and Northland in this project".
Whangarei businessman Barry Trask and former councillor and tourism leader Jereon Jongejans said the $2 million brought a world class attraction in Whangarei closer to reality. Mr Jongejans said the museum would help take Whangarei "from hick city to hip city".
Meanwhile, the $5.75 million grant to the Waitangi National Trust was welcomed by chief executive Greg McManus, who said his staff were "over the moon".
He believed the trust had been given the maximum sum allowed - two-thirds of the total cost - because the grants committee could see it was a project of national significance. Construction would start this year but the $9.4 million building would not be ready in time for the Treaty's 175th anniversary next year as originally planned.
The new plan was to unveil a foundation stone on Waitangi Day instead.
The museum would house the trust's collection of artifacts and taonga, as well as borrowing from collections around the country. It would tell the wider story of Maori-European contact and New Zealand's development as a nation.
"This will make a huge difference. We'll be able to tell those stories in much more depth."
Mr McManus hoped Paihia's first real wet-weather visitor attraction would double the Treaty Grounds' 140,000 visitors a year and allow it to finally pull its weight in the Far North economy.
$2m for the Hundertwasser project.
Great news over Hundertwasser
Two weeks ago the Northern Advocate made a plea that the Hundertwasser Art Centre project not be dropped.
We believed that canning the project was premature when there were funding applications pending. We said dropping the project for political motives was silly. I am glad we did.
The project survived. And we now have $2 million that will allay some of the funding concerns.
By no means is the argument over regarding the finances of the project but the funding team put together by the WDC should be congratulated, as should councillors who adopted a common sense approach, along with those that worked hard behind the scenes to keep the HAC alive. Throw in the $5 million for Waitangi and this is the best news Northland has had in a while.
For a long time Northland has relied on agriculture as the backbone of our economy. This is a huge investment and vote of confidence in tourism - a sector that already brings valuable dollars to our economy, and now has a fantastic opportunity for more long-term, sustainable growth.
