Our museum is cracking. How much of that was to do with the Kaikoura quake we may never know, but a jolt 500km away seems to have been the last straw for this old building.
The council had no other option but to close the museum, despite 20 staff now facing Christmas with redundancies hanging over their heads.
Museum director Stewart Brown was visibly upset as he made the announcement and faced questions from the country's media yesterday. That sense of worry and loss will be shared not only by the staff and museum volunteers, the mayor and councillors but also members of the wider community and visitors to our city.
Destination Rotorua chief executive Michelle Templer was adamant the closure won't have a major impact on visitor numbers to the city. Whether she is right or not, only time will tell.
Images of the Bath House building would continue to be used to promote the city, she said. And I guess that makes sense. The museum is the face of Rotorua and that - no matter how long its doors are closed - will surely never change.
