Te Papa’s collection of 860,000 specimens could be disposed of without new storage facility

Te Papa fish curator Andrew Stewart with specimens from the museum's Spirit Collection.

• Te Papa’s Spirit Collection, more than 150 years old, is stored in an earthquake-prone facility.
• The Government allocated $42.9 million for a new facility in 2022, but further funding is needed to complete the project.
• Without a new facility, Te Papa may need to dispose of the significant collection.

A national collection of more than 860,000 specimens, including fish, invertebrates and reptiles mostly stored in jars of alcohol, is in breach of health safety regulations.

Te Papa’s Spirit Collection is more than 150 years old and is considered significant for the global scientific community and New Zealand.

Its current storage space in Wellington is earthquake-prone and no longer meets the requirements for a dangerous goods facility.

The previous Government announced $42.9 million for a new facility in Budget 2022. However, this was only enough to cover the planning, design, procurement, and some upfront capital as well as a further contingency for construction.

The Herald asked Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith whether the Government was committed to fully funding the project and whether there was any risk it would not go ahead or be delayed.

Goldsmith said Te Papa was developing an implementation business case which the Government would consider in due course.

“Any further funding decisions will be made as part of the Budget process led by the Minister of Finance,” he said.

The Herald has obtained a recent briefing from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, under the Official Information Act, about the future of the collection.

There are more than 860,000 specimens in Te Papa's Spirit Collection.

The briefing said a site has been purchased for a new facility in Upper Hutt and working drawings were due to be completed towards the end of this year which would allow Te Papa to get an accurate estimate of the cost to build it.

There were “significant risks” to the collection if the new facility could not proceed, the briefing warned.

Te Papa would lose access to the collection without a new facility and may need to consider disposing of it as there is no other suitable existing storage space.

“Disposing of the collection would result in the loss of the deep historic record of New Zealand’s biological landscape, a huge loss for future generations, researchers, and likely loss of scientific talent and expertise,” the briefing said.

Ministry officials did not consider this a viable outcome and that it would likely breach Te Papa’s duties to preserve the collection for future generations and enable it to be used and researched.

Safety issue for staff and collection itself

The existing facility at Tory St in central Wellington has been deemed earthquake-prone which means it is rated at less than 34% of the New Building Standard.

“This presents a safety issue not only for staff and others accessing the collection but for the collection itself,” the briefing said.

About 111,000 litres of alcohol-based fluid is used to preserve the collection meaning the storage space is a hazardous substances facility, requiring specialised safety measures.

Researchers from Japan and Australia examine a sunfish from Te Papa's Spirit Collection.

The oldest specimen in the collection is a hoki, caught in Wellington Harbour in 1869.

In addition to smaller specimens in jars, the collection includes colossal squid, sharks and other large species held in purpose-built containers.

Due to changing regulations, the facility no longer meets requirements under the Health and Safety Act.

“The current Spirit Collection Area is located on the third floor and hazardous goods stores are required to be located on the ground floor,” a summary of the 2021 business case for the new facility said.

“In addition, the building is too close to its neighbours and does not comply with requirements for an external perimeter.

“Additionally, the maximum storage per room and spacing between storage rooms mean the collection needs to be laid out over a larger footprint, not possible within the Tory St site.”

The existing facility operates under restricted access with a temporary exemption from WorkSafe, on the basis a new facility is being built.

This exemption has been extended until December and will continue to be assessed on a six-monthly basis.

Te Papa board chairwoman Dame Fran Wilde said in 2022 that the initial funding for a new facility was an important investment to meet a highly specialised need.

“These collections enable New Zealand to understand the history of its environment and make informed predictions about its future,” Wilde said.

“This will be especially important for research into areas such as the impact of climate change on our fisheries.”

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.