KEY POINTS:
Family of late Invercargill couple Fred and Myrtle Flutey, plan to boycott the opening of an exhibition of the couple's world-famous paua shell collection.
The exhibition, Fred and Myrtle's Paua Shell House, will open at Canterbury Museum on July 4, the Southland Times reports.
An opening ceremony, by invitation, would be held the night before.
However, most of the family plan not to attend the exhibition.
The shells are on a 10-year loan to the museum, which has built an exact replica of the Fluteys' iconic shell lounge.
The Fluteys' grandson Ross Bowen courted controversy last year when he removed the shells from his grandparents' former Bluff home, sold the house and later announced he was lending the collection to Canterbury Museum in Christchurch.
Many Southland people argued the collection should have remained in Bluff.
One of the Fluteys' daughters, Gloria Henderson, who lives next door to the former paua house, said the family had been invited to the opening.
However, she said she was still reeling from the house being stripped and would not be attending the opening.
Her sister, Esmay Ellis, said the fate of the collection caused a family rift.
Brother Ian Flutey said he would attend the opening.
- NZPA
