Kaitaia's Museum @ Te Ahu, home to what Mayor John Carter described as an exceptional collection of taonga Māori and the oldest European artefact in New Zealand, the de Surville anchor, is seeking feedback on plans to improve the way people experience the Far North's unique history.
Artefacts held by what was formerly the Far North Regional Museum tell the "unique" story of Te Hiku o te Ika (the very Far North), its pre-European Māori collection including pounamu, early carvings, and the 500-year-old skeleton of a kuri (Polynesian dog), now extinct. Later history is documented by the massive de Surville anchor, one of three lost at Doubtless Bay in 1769, and now displayed permanently at the museum, and the extensive Northwood photo collection.
After consulting with partner and stakeholder groups, the museum had drafted a five-year strategy to help achieve a vision "to connect the world with the history and culture of the Far North, Aotearoa, New Zealand," and it was now inviting the people of the Far North, those most closely connected with the history the museum keeps alive, to provide feedback on its six strategic goals.
The ambition for the museum, which was managed jointly by the Far North Regional Museum Trust and Far North District Council, was to enrich the collection, build better digital experiences, create stronger community partnerships and provide improved educational 'discovery,' all of which would help the museum to sustain itself financially and secure its future.
Carter said the museum had come a long way since it was established 51 years ago.
