Editorial: Work together to make Motat run smoothly

Motat has the potential to be more than a collection of heavy memorabilia. Photo / Steven McNicholl

Auckland's Motat has a particular place in the city's heart. Started and sustained by engine enthusiasts, the Museum of Transport and Technology has a disorganised charm.

If there is any coherence in the display of restored vehicles and other machines, it is not always evident to the uninitiated. The visitor's experience can be akin to wandering around a collector's yard. There is no telling what treats might be in store, or closed that day. It can depend on the volunteers.

Like any largely amateur operation, Motat's fortunes have fluctuated and it has survived on financial support from the Auckland City Council. After the last such crisis, 10 years ago, legislation forced all councils in the region to contribute to its upkeep. Its life support from ratepayers has jumped from $2.5 million to $10 million a year - but the money, it seems, has brought new problems.

Tensions between the volunteers and a more professional management came to a head recently with the dumping of Motat's chairman and another board member on the vote of the Motat Society, which represents more than 300 volunteers and staff. The board now includes the society's chairman, Ian Hambly, who has been a severe critic of Motat's recent management.

"We used to do so much with so little," Mr Hambly has told the Herald. "Now we do so little with so much."

Whatever the museum is doing with its quadrupled annual subsidy, the money has not relieved budget constraints on acquisitions and restorations.

The volunteers see a top-heavy executive drawn from the corporate sector, citing, for example, three human resources officers for a staff of 60. Spending on the collections has remained around $1 million a year and the society suspects much of the $10 million annual grant is supporting operations such as the tramline.

The tramline and its destination, "Motat2", the harbour-facing field where vintage aircraft will be installed in a new aviation hall, are central elements in any plan to enhance the museum's attractions.

At heart, the dissension is about the character and priorities of Motat. Mr Hambly and most of his supporters want its primary focus to remain the collections they have lovingly restored and maintained. Director Jeremy Hubbard seeks to make the museum more successful as a heritage attraction in competition with others to justify its public expense.

There can be little argument with the commercial objective. Most people are not fascinated by machinery unless it is moving or they can easily imagine that it is. The museum needs to display its equipment in a historical setting or some other coherent context. Steam trains, as well as trams, can be mobile. People can sit at the controls of aircraft.

Now that Motat is receiving substantial amounts of public money, it can no longer be the preserve of technology buffs intent on collecting anything authentic and storing it for its own sake. The museum needs to be more selective and clever in its presentation, and take full advantage of its expanded site at Western Springs.

But the popular development of the museum need not be at the expense of the enthusiasm and commitment that established and sustained it. The volunteers now have the voice they want on the board, but fortunately the majority of seats are filled by ratepayers' representatives.

The task for both sides is to rebuild communication and trust so voluntary enthusiasm and professional management can each contribute to the institution's improvement. Motat has the potential to be more than a collection of heavy memorabilia. Transport and technology can keep the past alive, but only when mechanics and marketers work together.