There’s speculation filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson’s movie museum in Wellington could finally materialise - bringing to life a plan that has been more than a decade in the making.
Interests associated with The Lord of the Rings director have spent $105 million buying a large piece of land near the city’s airport in Lyall Bay in what has been announced as this year’s biggest land deal.
There are rumours it could be the new site for his movie museum. Jackson and his partner Dame Fran Walsh have not publicly commented on their plans for the site.
A previous plan for the museum to be built as part of the city’s new convention and exhibition centre Tākina provides a glimpse into what such a project could bring to Wellington.
Wellington City Council documents from February 2016 outline a proposal for the museum to be leased by the council for 25 years to The Movie Museum Limited (TMML) - a company that was previously owned by Jackson, Walsh, Wētā Workshop’s Richard Taylor and his partner Tania Rodger.
It would take up 10,000sq m in the convention centre building over two levels and a mezzanine.
The museum was pitched as an iconic tourist attraction envied by other cities and featuring one of the world’s most valuable collections of Hollywood memorabilia including the original car from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Charlie Chaplin’s cane, council documents said.
“It promises to inspire Wellingtonians and visitors alike, with exhibitions spanning the Weta Group’s award-winning Hollywood-scale productions and their earlier home-grown movies.
“Thousands of designs, props, models, and set pieces will be featured, encompassing individual characters and whole worlds.
“Exhibitions will be refreshed, and will provide an immersive, interactive experience featuring the Weta Group’s innovative film-making technology, special effects, make-up and costumes.”
It was expected the museum would attract 350,000 visitors annually, create 258 jobs, and generate $28.2m in new spending each year.
Then chairwoman of Tourism New Zealand Kerry Prendergast said apart from Te Papa, Wellington had no “must-see” visitor attractions.
“The movie museum will not only boost the domestic tourism market but put Wellington centre stage for international visitors with something that is unique and authentic for New Zealand.”
By August 2018, it was announced the plan for the movie museum had been scrapped and the council would forge ahead with its own convention centre plans.
Justin Lester was the Mayor of Wellington at that time.
He told the Herald this week that it was all going well until everything just took too long.
“We were ready to progress and we had the building plans for Tākina and we waited, and we waited, and we waited and the city could never get finalised plans from Sir Peter. We tried really really hard.”
Lester said he and then council chief executive Kevin Lavery went to Miramar to have in-person meetings with Jackson.
“It was with the best will in the world both on their side and our side and everybody wanted it to happen but just due to filming commitments and life and being busy, we couldn’t ever get confirmation or even any technical drawings or anything beyond a concept plan to be finalised.
“In the end, the whole development was at risk because the development and construction partners were struggling with the timelines being pushed out.”
They delayed for another six months to try and get it confirmed.
“That timeline came and went without any more agreement so, we had no choice but to proceed without them which was a real shame because we would have loved them to have been there and Tākina would have benefitted”, Lester said.
In December 2017, a leaked letter from TMML to the council showed negotiations had turned sour.
“WCC seem intent on reneging on many of the terms already agreed in the November 2015 signed contract”, the letter said.
“This is the principal cause of ongoing delays, and it feels that WCC are attempting to sabotage the project. We hope this is not the case and common sense can be allowed to return to process.”
The letter raised questions over whether council understood the level of TMML’s investment and said it was no longer in a collaborative partnership.
It also said an update on the development agreement was concerning and there was “no way” TMML would agree.
”Given the level of our investment … we simply cannot move forward in the manner which is outlined in the current agreements.
Lester said the letter came as a shock because that was not the council’s experience of how the relationship was progressing.
Eight months later, the parties parted ways.
In a joint statement from that time, Jackson, Walsh, Taylor, and Rodger said the decision came after all involved had tried their best.
“The economics of the Cable St location proved to be a challenge for the movie museum.
“We remain committed to the creation of a Movie Museum in Wellington and will now be considering other options.”
Their company, TMML, is now owned by Wingnut Group Management Limited which is owned by Jackson and Walsh.
Jackson had once looked at the possibility of building the movie museum at Shelly Bay, but the idea fell flat around 2012.
He and Walsh recently purchased land at Shelly Bay to restore its “natural beauty” and stop a controversial $500m housing development.
The couple have confirmed they do not intend to build the museum there.
Speculation is now centred around a large block of land at Lyall Bay on Wellington’s South Coast.
“If Sir Peter and Dame Fran proceed with a movie museum as speculated upon at Lyall Bay, I applaud that and it’s a wonderful outcome for Wellington”, Lester said.
It would be a great boon for local businesses like Parrotdog, Maranui Cafe, and Queen Sally’s Diamond Dally, he said.
However, Lester also noted it was a residential setting far from the CBD and a movie museum would have traffic impacts on an already congested corridor.
Parrotdog managing director Paul Watson told the Herald any work to regenerate and beautify areas in Wellington would add value and appeal to the city in the long term.
Lyall Bay acted as a gateway to the city for people accessing the airport through the southern suburbs, he said.
In recent years, there has been work to develop the beachfront and community group Huetapara has secured funding for a park, Watson said.
“The first block that Peter Jackson bought instantly wiped out those old decrepit buildings, which beautified the area from the outset.
“Wellington’s very lucky to have someone like that who is so attached to the city and wants to invest so much money - the whole regenerative thing is huge.”
Mayor Tory Whanau declined to comment.
Inquiries about plans for the land at Lyall Bay have been made to Jackson’s Wingnut Films but no reply has been received.
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.
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