Council looks into naval museum on Devonport wharf

Devonport's busy ferry terminal may become home to the country's national naval museum, after a decision yesterday by North Shore City Council's strategic management committee.

The Navy has already been considering a more accessible location for its 24-year-old museum, which is now tucked away behind a carpark at the entrance to the Devonport naval base, in a building too small to display more than 20 per cent of its artefacts.

"We have been looking at trying to bring it more into the community," Commander David Wright, the museum's director, said last night.

That has been a cue for the council, which says it has undertaken significant maintenance work since paying $2.9 million in June to buy the Devonport ferry wharf in what was a rundown condition.

Council management committee chairman Gary Holmes said it was cautiously excited about the naval museum option, which it yesterday approved for further investigation, and which it saw as a potentially high-profile tourist attraction operating with the ferry terminal.

"It would be of a similar stature to the Army Museum in Waiouru, and could be the catalyst for a boost in activity and vibrancy at the wharf, with obvious benefits to Devonport businesses," he said.

"We look forward to continuing discussions with the Navy on the proposal."

Deputy Mayor Dianne Hale said establishing the museum at the wharf could attract an extra 100,000 visitors to Devonport annually, potentially boosting the local economy by $8 million.

But she said the council, which had already opened the wharf to a farmers' market, was mindful that any further development must protect and enhance transport activities and provide for generous public space while maximising income opportunities.

Commander Wright said that although the proposal was still at an early stage, the Navy was keen to work with the council in the hope of securing a prominent place in the community not just to display the museum's artefacts, but to place them in their historical context by telling the stories behind them.

One of the most important such stories was that of a sacred piupiu skirt given by Maori to the commander of HMS New Zealand to wear for the successful protection of the battle cruiser in the North Sea during three pitched naval battles of World War I - Jutland, Dogger Bank and Heligoland.