$10m bequest staggers museum staff

Staff at Canterbury Museum are staggered by a Blenheim businessman's $10 million bequest, the largest donation in the institution's 130-year history.

The generous donor, 92-year-old Arthur Henry Harrison, died in a house fire in November. It is unclear what prompted him to leave the money to the museum.

Director Anthony Wright said the $10m was "an extraordinary gift" and the museum hoped to use it to boost its collection of Antarctic, Maori, and Canterbury pieces.

Only the annual income earned from the $10m can be used by the museum - perhaps up to $800,000 annually.

The museum's annual operating budget is about $8m; its acquisitions budget this year is $337,000.

Mr Harrison owned several Blenheim properties and was regarded by distant relatives as an efficient businessman but an intensely private person, The Press reported.

He had lived alone in a modest house since his wife, June, died. The couple had no children.

Mr Wright said museum staff were only recently told of the bequest and were staggered by the amount.

The money was "a huge shock to the system", he said.

- NZPA