Canterbury Museum Director Anthony Wright in the Mountfort Gallery

Thanks to earthquake strengthening carried out in the 1980s, Canterbury Museum has come through three major earthquakes and thousands of after shocks with its physical form largely intact. It’s been a different story inside, as staff has raced to tidy up general chaos and damage to collection items, each time thwarted by subsequent shakes.

 “My heart went out to the team on June 13,” says Museum Director, Anthony Wright. “We had completed all the work needed to re-open on July 1 and we’d just finished inspecting all the galleries in readiness for that. We had very little breakage and only a third of the tipping over of previous quakes but it was terribly disheartening nonetheless.”

Wright says the team is now driven to achieve a September re-opening and in the meantime, they are focussing on streamlining many of their internal systems as a result of the earthquakes.

“It’s certainly been a wake-up call. Some of our processes were a little too painstaking for the modern world and while we’re still in general clean-up mode in the galleries, I suspect that the massive project of recovering and sorting the museum collection stores will be a military-like process.

“Since the first quake back in September, recovery has spurred on the streamlining of filing processes. It’s given us a new urgency and it’s cut through any doubts about how tough we needed to be on ourselves,” he says.

Two days after the 7.1 earthquake on September 4, 2010, Wright and his team entered the pitch black museum to assess damage. “It was like ‘A Night at the Museum,’ only it was real and not as much fun,” he says.

“We were greeted with complete disarray in the staff office areas, yet some of the galleries were miraculously untouched. In the Mountfort Gallery though, hundreds of precious objects in the European Decorative Arts displays had tipped over but only 15 had broken. All up in fact, through the three big quakes of September, February and June, well under 1,000 objects of those 10-15,000 on display were lost, and there are perhaps another 2,000 damaged objects in the collection stores – this in a total collection of 2.1 million objects. None of the losses were of huge value, though that said, sometimes a prosaic object is worth more to Canterbury than a million dollar item.”

Canterbury Museum Exhibitions Preparator, Chris O’Rourke with the albatross.

The museum’s collection stores have been locked down since September and the focus has been on the public collections and museum recovery.

“We’ve stabilised the collection stores so no further damage can occur. Some of the mobile storage cabinets there were very seriously damaged and it will be a military operation when we come to decant that.”

Wright says the museum computer systems and all paper records came through the quakes unscathed and the initial focus was on cleaning up the mess. In the first weeks after the September and February quakes, they were removing 1-2 skips of rubbish a day.

“It’s been a major spring cleaning task and one thing all this teaches you is, that despite the best laid plans, everything is ephemeral in the end. We’re still in recovery mode but thinking ahead, tasks like the sorting and repairing the collection stores will be a major project. From day one, everything damaged has been photographed, cross referenced to insurance material and all methodically itemised in relation to each space. It’s given us a chance to assess our filing and acquisitions systems and to consider new ways of sharpening those.”

Sumner Museum, Sumner Village

 He says that as the team has gone through the process of tidying up and reinstating galleries after each earthquake, they’ve become increasingly proficient, and, “with at least a year of uncertainty ahead of us in terms of further earthquakes,” they have put new practices into place. Solid mounts have been built for many objects and all office shelves have been screwed to walls and tied back with straps. Filing cabinets are now locked at the end of every working day to prevent contents flying out and drawers damaging other objects; and mobile units within the collection stores are locked down at all times unless they are in use.

“I think it will be at least two years before damage to the collection stores is fully repaired. It’s going to be a painstaking operation and we’ll probably need outside help with that when the time comes. In the meantime, we are documenting everything we’re doing in relation to the earthquakes because there will be intense interest from other museums around the world. I suspect new standards will be developed and there’s a place for employing engineering technology to ensure everything is secure.

Cracks in Sumner Museum after the February earthquake

Demolition begins at Sumner Museum, July 2011.

 Meanwhile, across town, the historic Sumner Museum is all but demolished – razed to the ground by demolition crews after the building was finally declared unsafe after the June 13 earthquakes. Built in 1907 as the former Sumner Borough Council Chambers, the demolition of the Group 3 Protected Heritage Item in the Christchurch City Plan will be a sad loss for the seaside community. The building served as council chambers until 1979 and was a repository for early archives, land deed from 1851, plus many local diaries, photos, paintings, historic artefacts and WWII memorabilia relating to the area.

For Secretary of Sumner Redcliffs Historical Society, Topsy Rule, the loss goes beyond the material. Five generations of her family have used the iconic corner building and she says the people of Sumner will feel its loss dearly.

“We’ve lost whole swathes of our built community. These were buildings that played a key role in community life and they’ll be sadly missed,” she says.

 With help from USAR and the Fire Brigade though, the upstairs collection was retrieved from the building and has been in safe keeping ever since. More recently, museum staff worked closely with the demolition crew to save as much as possible from the downstairs rooms, including a 1907 time capsule.

The word 'Museum' one of the last reminders of the building's former existence as demolition machinery bites through history

It was a sad day for Sumner locals when their corner museum was finally torn assunder.

“Sadly, we’ve lost some china and 23 glass display cases but the rest is stored in a large container while we search for new premises. Unfortunately, with so many Sumner buildings damaged, it’s going to be difficult but if we have to settle on a heated container for display, we will,” she says.

 Director of the Air Force Museum, Therese Angelo says it is important that museums “get back into small communities as soon as possible.”

“Funding will be difficult but with Lyttelton, Sumner and Kaiapoi Museums all to be demolished, the region is going to be hit hard from a heritage point of view. Our focus here at the Air Force Museum, is working on ways we can help for the next few years – because this is a long term recovery.”

The fate of Lyttelton Museum hangs in the balance as damage after the June earthquakes is assessed.

Unscathed by the earthquakes, the Air Force Museum has opened its doors to others. It is currently storing the 25% of the Lyttelton Museum collection so far salvaged, the COCA collection, the RSA and Hebrew community collections and the Ngai Tahu whakapapa files (and some of their researchers). It is also a temporary home for the IRD, the High Court, a firm of architects and the Department of Labour.

 “We have plenty of space, so we’re happy to help. People have to realise that earthquake recovery is a thing of enormous scope and there will be a real need for assistance in the years ahead. It’s a long haul task. We have to help each other.”

The upper portion of Lyttelton Museum braced after February earthquake damage.

The front entrance to Lyttelton Museum has been reduced to a jumble of bricks and iron work.

Anthony Wright says the loss of some of the region’s small museums is a tragedy.

“They’re my favourite museums. They’re so undisturbed by the rigours of professionalism; they’re so informal and you’re face-to-face with history. There’s a wonderful sense of being enveloped in a miscellany of stuff that has been allowed to run riot. They’re not censored, they’re not all tickety-boo and as a result they’re so alive and full of personality. It’s hard seeing them go.” 

 The opinions expressed in this blog and comments are the authors’ and may not necessarily represent the views of National Services Te Paerangi or Te Papa.

By Adrienne Rewi

Christchurch Cathedral 2009 – Before the Earthquakes

Christchurch Cathedral 2011 – After the February 22 earthquake. Photo courtesy Christchurch Art Gallery

Many will have read the gloomy predictions in The Christchurch Press – that “nearly 50 heritage buildings have been demolished since the February earthquake, with hundreds more at risk;” that in all, around 1,300 Christchurch buildings will be demolished; and that of the 600 heritage buildings in Christchurch, “at least 104 had been approved for demolition with an additional 46 to be partly demolished or made safe.” Among those already consigned to memory are the Category 1 Historic Places Trust listed St Paul’s Church (and many others), Charlie B’s Backpackers and the Carlton Hotel; and whole tracts of Colombo Street in Sydenham have already vanished. Many more historic inner city buildings await the wrecker’s ball.

 It makes for depressing reading and many believe the backbone of the city’s fine heritage buildings is lost, never to return. Renowned Christchurch architect, Sir Miles Warren doesn’t agree with that. Despite extensive damage to his own Category 1 Historic Places Trust listed home, Ohinetahi, in Governor’s Bay, he is buoyant about the city’s future and he admits to lying in bed, “quite happily redesigning the whole city” in his head.

Above Left: Colombo Street, Sydenham Right: Manchester Street. Both 2009 pre-Earthquakes

“I can envisage a very elegant four-storey city and the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Institute of Architects is already discussing some very exciting ideas. It’s very easy to talk about building ‘castles in the air’ but it’s much harder to get that middle course of the best that is achievable,” he says.

        “Colombo and Manchester Streets south and the east-west cross streets – all those shops with plastered brick facades – were a disaster waiting to happen. People often describe a lot of this as Gothic architecture but it’s not; most of Christchurch was debased Neo-Classical at best and areas like these are more correctly described as character building. Victorian Gothic is a description reserved for buildings like Christ’s College and the Arts Centre.”

Christchurch Arts Centre – Braced after the February 22nd earthquake. 2011

“No one really knows how many city buildings will be left standing. As a practice, Warren & Mahoney were responsible for (the design of) nearly twenty large office buildings but I don’t know how any of those have fared,” he says.

“I think the very worst that could happen would be rows of single story shops with verandahs being built along Colombo, Manchester and High Streets. That will make Christchurch look like a hick town; but sadly, that may be all some property owners will be able to achieve.”

 Sir Miles believes Christchurch has always had a surfeit of under-utilised retail space. He says that at the turn of the century, Christchurch was almost as big as Auckland was then and, with no physical restraints, it spread in all directions.

“After the war, Christchurch had twice the retail space per head of any city in New Zealand. A lot of the grand old department stores have long gone but we still had too much prior to the earthquakes. Now, I think the best we can hope for is a retail area from the restored Cashel Mall and High Street areas, and Colombo Street down to South City.  I don’t believe we need as much retail and we will be doing very well if we can restore that,” he says.

Christ’s College, Christchurch 2009. Pre-Earthquakes

Despite visions of a bright Christchurch though, Sir Miles is saddened by the toll the earthquakes have taken on the city’s iconic heritage buildings. Nonetheless, his is also hopeful that a good number will be rebuilt.

Our Place – Otautahi, Christchurch 2010, Pre-earthquakes

“There are seven heritage buildings at Christ’s College and they’re all still standing thanks to the earthquake strengthening that has been happening there over a number of years. The Arts Centre, although badly damaged, is also still standing. They had spent a million dollars strengthening the old art school and although it will take many years, it can be repaired. The Our City-Otautahi building is a disaster. That’s one of the best and earliest examples of Arts and Crafts style but it’s very badly damaged. I had hoped the old Canterbury Library opposite the Police Station could be saved and after September that seemed possible. But the February earthquake may have finished it off – although the early single-storey building behind can be saved.”

Interior of the Stone Chamber, Canterbury Provincial Chambers, 2009

Canterbury Provincial Chambers, 2009

He says the Canterbury Provincial Chambers is top of his list for the rebuilding programme.

“All we need is the will and the courage to do it. There are plenty of stonemasons in New Zealand and because of the nature of the collapse we have plenty of samples for copying the beautiful interior painted detail.”

The Stone Chamber, Canterbury Provincial Chambers, After the February 22 earthquake.

Southern General Manager for New Zealand Historic Places Trust, Malcolm Duff agrees that the rebuilding and restoration of the Canterbury Provincial Chambers should be a priority.

“If we’re going to do anything in terms of rebuilding, this one is important. It is a uniquely Canterbury building and one of Benjamin Mountfort’s finest. The two cathedrals are also important and I don’t think we should give up on either. If we look abroad to Newcastle in Australia, it took them twenty years to rebuild some of their churches after their 1989 earthquake, so it’s early days yet. I personally feel these are the sorts of buildings that shouldn’t be allowed to go – and if the authorities need to go to Rome to get the Pope to put money and skills into the rebuild of the Catholic Basilica, then they should. The Basilica was the high point of Petre’s work. It’s a splendid building,” he says.

St Elmo Courts, Hereford Street, Christchurch. Before & After the February 22 earthquake.

Duff is quick to name other major historic buildings badly damaged by the earthquakes.

“The current state of the Provincial Chambers is a real tragedy of course but I have also been saddened by the loss of one of my favourites, Manchester Courts, which was demolished after the September shakes. I had a fondness for that. The Lyttelton Timeball Station is also a huge loss. It was one of only seven working timeball stations in the world; and I can’t tell you how sad I was when Lyttelton lost the Anglican, Presbyterian and Catholic churches. And then there is the Cranmer Centre – gone; Cranmer Courts, which is badly damaged; St Elmo’s Court – gone. And that’s before we even consider the loss of suburban corner shops like Piko; and the damage to rural centres, like the Kaiapoi Museum.”

“The question is, are we watching the end of heritage here, or are we going to appreciate what we have left, even more? From our perspective, we have to accept what Nature throws at us – these buildings, even with earthquake strengthening, were not designed to withstand the forces we’ve experienced – but we are trying to ensure that hasty decisions are not made to knock buildings down.

 “We’re trying to encourage a slower approach. That was much easier after the September earthquake but after February, it was a very different ball game. There hasn’t been wholesale knocking down of heritage buildings but in some cases, things have been moving too fast and in the early stages some buildings went down as a result of opportunism and perhaps a little too much testosterone and not enough thought.”

Christchurch Arts Centre – Braced after the February 22 earthquakes.

Duff says one important thing has been learned during the earthquake recovery process.

“We in the heritage and arts fields have learned that Civil Defence is not aware of how to deal with the treasures of New Zealand and we are now looking at ways of improving their procedures. We are looking forward to a time when we are part of the Civil Defence response and training, so that ultimately, they will use the key to the door, rather than kicking the door in,” he says.

 “The issue for us is getting the message out that these buildings are treasures for all New Zealanders and we need to take special care. There’s no doubt that lives come first but we have so few buildings in New Zealand that tell stories of early life here. We need to keep as many of them as we can so the next generations can learn from them. The memory of the city, the buildings and the intangible values of places will become more and more important.”

 He says cost will determine much of what can be saved.

“The economics of heritage are well recognised so we have to find ways to incentivise heritage owners so they will want to do the right thing.”

Sir Miles Warren’s Governor’s Bay home, Ohinetahi, prior to the September 2010 earthquake.

Like Sir Miles, Malcolm Duff believes there will be opportunities to go back and “do something more innovative” in the case of some buildings. He agrees that the stability of certain sites means some complex decisions will have to be made but he’s not averse to new directions.

 For his part, Sir Miles thinks the Cathedral has “a wonderful opportunity to build perhaps, a dark grey, stainless steel tower – something very dashing and modern” and as he suggests, there are plenty of international precedents where modern additions have very successfully added to the character of heritage buildings. He’s doing that very thing himself, at Ohinetahi.

Ohinetahi after the demolition of the two top floors, after the February earthquake; and before the building of a new first floor.

“We’ve removed the two top floors – over 160 tons of thick stone – and we’ve strengthened the ground floor, which will be fully restored to its original state. Now we’re building a light-weight first floor to replace the bedrooms and we hope to have it all done by September,” he says.

 Malcolm Duff is not yet willing to concede defeat – to say that some of the city’s iconic buildings are lost.

“We’re blessed in that we’ve still got the Arts Centre. Like many, it’s badly damaged but it’s still standing and there has been some outstanding strengthening work done there since September. Like the Provincial Chambers, it is well insured and providing there are no more 6.3 earthquakes, there is an opportunity to put it – and much of the city – back together again – even if it does take fifteen years.”

 The opinions expressed in this blog and comments are the authors’ and may not necessarily represent the views of National Services Te Paerangi or Te Papa.

Ngai Tahi Kaiwhakahaere Mark Solomon: “We intend to have representatives at every level of planning going forward.”

 Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu is in no hurry to return to its central city base. Just over three months on from the February 22 earthquake, it is happily taking care of business from its temporary premises on the former defence force land at Wigram.  Kaiwhakahaere Mark Solomon says Ngāi Tahu expects to be based at Wigram in its cluster of Portacom offices, for at least two years.

 From there, Te Rūnanga has set up an earthquake committee, which is currently conducting a needs assessment among whānau and planning a second stage response. “Parallel to this, a whole range of activities are being conducted by organizations like He Oranga Pounamu and Māata Waka. These organizations and those that work with them, are doing a terrific job,” says Solomon.

“They have ‘navigators’ out in the community, working to find out what people need and then coordinating the required assistance.’

Maori wardens, sisters Wiki and Pena Hikuwai from Kaeo  (left & centre)and Te Aroha Kora from Whanganui, spent 2 months in Christchurch, door knocking and delivering aid to eastern suburbs.

Solomon says that immediately after the earthquake, despite Te Rūnanga’s own hardship, “we were blessed in the sense that we were able to begin rebuilding our own capacity, and also the capacity of others.” Working in partnership with the Maori Wardens and Christchurch’s wider Maori community, Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu formed the Iwi Recovery Network, with the Maori wardens as the face of the network. The wardens, who came from all over New Zealand, were involved in a major door-knocking exercise in the hard-hit eastern suburbs that sought to provide assistance to all, through food and water distribution, triage services, building, psycho-social support and labouring.

 “We were able to collect a substantial amount of information about what people’s needs were and this information was collated daily and fed into the wider Civil Defence effort,” says Solomon.

“As part of that effort, we also ran the 0800 Kāi Tahu number, which is still operational for whānau requiring assistance. In the first six weeks following the February 22 quake, there were nearly 10,000 contacts made with those in need in our community. Assistance to those people included food, water, blankets, medical help and help filling in forms or making contact with other agencies.”

Christchurch Mayor, Bob Parker (in red) and Mark Solomon encouraging the crowds at the city’s Super Haka event on May 19.

More than 100 Māori wardens ere farewelled and thanked at Te Whatumanawa Maoritanga o Rehua Marae in St Albans on April 15. Of the wardens who participated in the initial recovery phase, 70 had traveled down from the North Island and 30 from around the South Island joined the effort. Several were also dealing with their own damaged homes and many wardens made a daily 47km trip from Glentunnel, to avoid putting pressure on Christchurch’s fragile infrastructure.

 Mark Solomon says Christchurch residents were fortunate to have the wardens checking on their welfare for five weeks.

“The gift of the Māori Wardens to us has been Aroha ki te tangata – love to all people. They delivered food, water and smiles and just knowing they were at the door offering assistance, was a great comfort to many people. What they did in Christchurch was unbelievable. It’s hugely changed attitudes in the city,” he says.

Ngai Tahu whanau taking part in the Super Haka in Christchurch on May 19.

More recently, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu joined forces with national airport transfer company, Super Shuttle, to organize an international Super Haka to send a powerful message of strength and support to the quake-hit community. The haka took place on May 19 and simultaneously ran for two minutes in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin, with crowds performing a Ngāi Tahu haka en masse. Over 3,600 people took part in New Zealand, with others as far away as Ireland, Canada, USA and Mexico also showing their support. The haka events can be viewed at www.superhaka.com

 Looking ahead to the future, Mark Solomon talks of “a global sustainable city for our grandchildren and their grandchildren.”

“We are encouraging our people to talk with each other, and then to actively seek to pursue Ngāi Tahu’s intergenerational vision. Te Runanga is progressing well with placing those views at the forefront of the current debate about the future of Christchurch. We are in regular contact with the Minister Gerry Brownlee, we expect to be represented on the Government’s community forum and we intend to have representatives at every level of planning going forward.”

The opinions expressed in this blog are the author’s and may not necessarily represent the views of National Services Te Paerangi or Te Papa.

Phil Trusttum at work in his Christchurch studio before the earthquakes.

There’s a quiet, groundswell of change occurring in the Christchurch arts scene in the shattering aftermath of two major earthquakes and thousands of after shocks. There are stories everywhere of artists who have lost homes, studios, years’ worth of research and work. And now, eight months after the September quake and three months after February 22, there’s a growing feeling of discontent coupled with an inspiring move by artists to reclaim some of their personal power, to look for new, exciting ways for the arts community to move forward with the city rebuild. Artists are banding together and formulating plans for their own artistic destiny.

There’s a new, revitalized camaraderie happening, says leading New Zealand painter, Philip Trusttum.

 “We were friends in small print before the earthquakes but now we’re friends in CAPITAL letters. We’ve all helped each other and artists who’ve refused to exhibit together previously have met for discussions. There’s been no animosity at all, because there are much bigger issues to face now and artists from all career stages are keen to be involved,” he says.

Known as a prolific and passionate artist, Trusttum is not currently painting. His family home was demolished after the February quake and although his studio was unharmed, he’s set painting aside until June. He and his family have the use of a friend’s home for a few months and he’s using that time to organize an exhibition for earthquake-affected Christchurch artists. “Moving On” will bring together over 100 works by over 43 artists at Arts in Oxford Gallery on June 4. 

“Earthquake Still Life” by Barry Cleavin.

According to fellow artist and friend, leading New Zealand printmaker, Barry Cleavin, Trusttum is “a retracted political beast,” and the fact that he is the organizing force of this exhibition and is contacting every artist personally, is astonishing.

“Phil is a painter not a political art beast and it is amazing to see him out in the arts community as a liaison man. It’s an indication of his big spirit, of his generosity in difficult times. He lost his house but he can look beyond the ruins and see a future. He’s suffered more than many yet he’s channeled all his usual painting energy into other artists. I hope everyone sees that as a generous act on his part and not something he’s doing for his own gain.”

 Cleavin says “there must be something seriously wrong with the communication channels within the Christchurch arts community to bring Trusttum out” in this way.

“There was no early personal contact or representation that I know of, made to Christchurch arts practitioners by arts organizations after the first inconvenient shakes. As for the more noticeable second disturbance, still nothing. We are though, appreciative of private individuals being mindful of our plight; but we thirst for some ‘real time’ national and local recognition of our cultural problems.”

 Trusttum agrees. “The only reason I was able to get in to my home and studio in the red zone to salvage materials and possessions, was thanks to people in Auckland and Whanganui mobilizing on my behalf. No arts organization anywhere phoned to ask if any local artists were okay.”

Christchurch artists, Grant Takle (left) and Philip Trusttum discuss one of Takle’s new earthquake-inspired works to be shown at “Moving On” an exhibition at Arts on Oxford Gallery in Oxford, North Canterbury.

 Artist Grant Tackle says the wider arts community needs to support artists if they want them.

“One of the lessons from all this should be that arts organizations need to mobilize much more quickly at a local level to assist and support artists. They need someone dedicated to that – someone on the ground, with a finger on the pulse, someone who knows the artists, someone who can visit and interact with artists,” he says.

 Tackle lost his suburban home studio. His double garage work space was flooded with liquefaction, which destroyed the art works and materials he needed for his next exhibition. In a determined effort to “get back to normal” he has resumed work in a small garden sleep-out.

“The whole business has been mentally and physically fatiguing,” he says. “It took us a week to remove all the liquefaction and even now, everyday life is bombarded with distracting tasks that affect your creative processes.”

Christchurch painter, Simon Edwards is making the most of his Sydenham studio before he has to move again in a month’s time.

For all the fatigue, anxiety, distress and discontent you encounter among Christchurch artists, there is an excitement about the future. With the loss of so many dealer galleries, artists are getting together to talk about making their own way. Painter Simon Edwards has shared studio spaces with a core group of artists – Ross Gray, Miranda Parkes, Shannon Williamson, Rosa Scott and Mike Southern – through both earthquakes.

“Our Manchester Street studio was green stickered in September so we all went back there. We worked there for about two months before an engineer came in and told us after shocks had worsened damage. He told us to evacuate within three hours. That probably saved our lives because the whole building collapsed in the February earthquake.”

Like most, Edwards has been keen to return to painting, to get back to normal but with all arts supply stores in Christchurch damaged and closed by the earthquakes, and unable to get his brand of paint anywhere in New Zealand, he’s had to wait for supplies from Italy. It seems a small issue compared to some but coupled with several studio moves and periods with no studio at all, it has impacted on his ability to focus. Nonetheless, he held an exhibition in Queenstown last week and now he and his Sydenham studio mates are planning their own future.

“With so many galleries out of action, we’ve decided to open our studio spaces and have our own small exhibitions and get-togethers on a regular basis – maybe once a week. There are opportunities now for new ways for people to view art – and new ways for artists to get together to engage with the art market. We’d already organized a show in a High Street space before the earthquakes; now we want to build on that. It’s not just about keeping our careers active, it’s about avoiding that sense of isolation that has set in since the earthquakes.”

Christchurch printmaker, Denise Copland has had to rethink the series of works she was preparing before the Christchurch earthquakes.

Across town printmaker, Denise Copland has been thinking the same thing.

“We have the potential here for an enormous paradigm shift. The earthquakes may have ruined buildings and lives, but they’ve also given us the gift of opportunity and that’s very exciting,” she says.

“The arts community can’t go back to the way it was. It must change and work in completely different ways, ways we’ve never known before. Artists working collaboratively to stage their own shows is one likely outcome. It’s a way for artists to reclaim some of the power base about how art is seen and exhibited. Artists are the producers but for too long, curators and galleries have been deciding what’s needed and we’ve had to try and fulfill their needs. Now, since the earthquakes, artists here are communicating with each other like never before. They’ve banded together and they’re all ready for change – even if they have to do it themselves.”

Painter/photographer Jane Zusters enjoyed this enormous studio space in Lichfield Street but had to vacate after the September earthquake when the building was red-stickered.

After the September earthquake, painter Jane Zusters was locked out of her Lichfield Street studio for several months after it was red-stickered. She and several other artists had been working in the Bains’ building for a number of years. In the February earthquake, the studio above her, occupied by painter Eion Stevens, completely collapsed into the space she shared with fellow painter, Karen Giles. Stevens lost everything including around 60 paintings. Zusters was unexpectedly able to salvage a few treasured items when the Lost Art salvage crew entered the adjacent studio to salvage works for painter, Rua Pick.

“The wall between our studios had collapsed so I was able to get through and get my fantastic Spanish filberts that I bought in London 11 years ago for 5 pounds each. They were utterly irreplaceable to me in the scrafitto work I do.”

Zusters has been deeply saddened by the loss of her huge shared studio and now back working in one small room of her Linwood home, she’s finding painting a challenge. Since September, she’s spent a lot of time photographing earthquake damage around the city and that is already filtering into her work.

“The earthquakes have definitely changed my work. I’m much more into photography now. I’ve always done it but without a studio for so long, it became my sole creative outlet. Now I’m working on a series of works that have evolved from both quakes.”

 Zusters is also keen on artist-driven exhibitions. She and Giles had just converted half of their giant studio into a gallery space prior to the quakes, and they’d already staged a group show there a week before the September quake.

Martin Trusttum, CPIT: “We’re free to determine a new future.”

Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) Stakeholder Manager for Creative Industries, Martin Trusttum is very excited about working through the challenges that lie ahead for the Christchurch arts community. He and other CPIT staff lead the charge after the February earthquake and gathered together a host of arts organizations who had lost offices due to damage or closure. He says CPIT, largely undamaged in the quake, had the space to support others in a collaborative arts hub. Today, representatives from Creative New Zealand, the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, the Body Festival, SCAPE Biennial, CHART, Art on Tour NZ, the Writers’ Festival, the Buskers’ Festival, Christchurch City Council, Canterbury Symphony Orchestra, Christchurch City Choir and the Christchurch Arts Festival, are all working from offices at CPIT.

“It’s working very well,” says Martin Trusttum.

“What’s so exciting is, now they’re all in the same space, these groups can now liaise on a daily basis. It’s fuelled new ideas and removed barriers to communication. CPIT has given them rent-free space for three months but I’d like to see that extended.  There have been ideas about working collaboratively in an arts precinct before but buildings, rents, leases and the like stood in the way. Now those impediments are gone and we’re free to determine a new future. Everyone here is interested in a collective space, a precinct of some kind and we have the resources and presence to drive it.”

 He says Arts Voice Christchurch has been formed since February, driven by Creative New Zealand, who are partnering with CPIT to find space.

“They’ve facilitated meetings and out of that Arts Voice was born. It aims to speak for artists in the city rebuild. We need people with contacts in the community, the council, in government and Arts Voice is charged with doing that work, while CPIT will look for spaces and manpower.

 “The vision CPIT has put forward is a Creative Precinct separate to CPIT, utilizing existing city spaces and creating new ones where required. We’re looking at the wider High Street area as a likely position and we’re recommending a performance space to hold 700-800 people, a second smaller space for 300-400, plus administrative, rehearsal, commercial, green and leisure spaces all allied to the arts. I think it’s entirely feasible if we can pool resources and assets and capitalize on the creative thinking that is currently happening. It’s very promising but it will take a lot of energy and compromise.”

 In the short term, CPIT is already changing their Student Union building into a public performance space. Trusttum says it’s an ideal venue for rehearsals, film screenings, music performances and exhibitions and he hopes to have it up and running within the next three months. There’s also a proposal in place to provide partially-funded mobile gallery spaces for artists – portable, flexible structures that can be placed on CPIT land and leased to artists for a nominal fee.

“The mobile element is appealing because it means we can stage exhibitions anywhere. We’ve also been offered some significant exhibition and studio space by Urban Homes, who own a number of private homes on the perimeter of the red zone. Artists we’ve spoken with have been very enthusiastic and supportive of our ideas and we’ll have more meetings with them to discuss options.  Everything is moving at breakneck speed now. We want mobile galleries up and running by August and our first exhibition will be work by the Art and Design and Architectural Studies faculties at CPIT.”

 Christchurch painter, David Woodings was thrown to the ground in his studio when the February 22nd earthquake struck the city.

Along with the growing body of exciting ideas for the future, there are serious thoughts about what this citywide disaster might mean for the future of arts and cultural communities throughout earthquake-prone New Zealand. Artist and former director of Southland Museum and Art Gallery (and former member of the National Services Te Paerangi Advisory Group), David Woodings, was thrown to the floor in his suburban studio the day of the February quake. He picked himself up and ever since, he’s been trying to reclaim some sense of normality. It hasn’t been easy. There were ten days spent clearing liquefaction from his property; days when he volunteered to help COCA pack over 1,000 art works for transport and storage; and still, the noise and disruption as diggers and lorries restore order to his brutalized neighbourhood roads. But the daily upheavals haven’t stopped him thinking about the future.

“In the long term, you’d have to say that opportunities for gallery spaces in the cheap, upstairs city spaces are largely gone. I think new galleries will be located in beautiful, architecturally-designed buildings and it will be interesting to see how the higher costs of those spaces impacts on the arts. I think there will need to be some very clever thinking about what facilities will become art galleries and whether in fact, they even need to be in the central city. This is the first time New Zealand has experienced a disaster of this scale and it will be interesting to see how the arts reclaim their place in the new city.”

 Woodings likes the idea of new building owners being asked to contribute a percentage of their building costs to public art.

“If someone is spending $10-million or more on a building for instance, a small percentage given over to sculpture or major interior artworks on the site would be a great support for our arts community. It’s done elsewhere in the world so why not here?

 “The earthquakes generally, have also given artists, galleries and museums the opportunity to think very carefully as a collective, about how they might prepare themselves should anything like this ever happen again. It seems to me that this sector wasn’t as prepared as it could have been to deal with the magnitude of damage and the recovery of artworks and heritage objects. New Zealand’s major cultural facilities should look at Christchurch and discuss and prepare some kind of process that would enable faster salvage and recovery before demolition begins. I think it would be useful to form a registry of qualified people in the community, who can be called upon to assist. I have 25 years of museum and arts administration experience but no one called me; I volunteered. A register of helpers with collective skills and passions, on the ground, in every city, could have a significant impact on recovery.

“There’s a real need too, to understand what a city’s cultural collections entail. A lot of valuable private collections are unknown to major arts and cultural institutions. But if you consider private and public losses here in Christchurch, the dollars quickly stack up. More than the financial impact though, we need to think of it in terms of the loss to New Zealand’s collective history and culture. Every time you lose any part of public and private collections, you lose part of your heritage. That’s very sad and I think we need to find ways to ensure it never happens on this scale again.”

 The opinions expressed in this blog and comments are the authors’ and do not represent the views of National Services Te Paerangi or Te Papa.

From left Canterbury University Archivist Jeff Palmer, Library Manager Jill Durney and Maori Resourses Librarian Nekerangi Paul moving a marble bust of Helen Connon to safe storage.

By Adrienne Rewi

Christchurch has been in the news a lot lately. We have two major earthquakes and thousands of aftershocks to thank for that. The media coverage has been constant and extensive. But behind the big stories – the tragic loss of life, the destruction of heritage buildings, central city in lock-down – the impact on the Canterbury arts scene has been less apparent. While all eyes have turned to the fate of businesses and the demolition of damaged buildings, many of the city’s artists have been coming to terms with the loss of homes, studios and 10-15 years worth of work. Some, nearly 3 months on from the February 22^nd earthquake, are still waiting to gain access to their studios to assess loss and damage.

Artist Martin Whitworth’s Christchurch studio, destroyed in the September 4, 2010 earthquake.

Artists have always gravitated toward the older, more interesting buildings in Christchurch and sadly, those are the buildings that have been hit hardest by the earthquakes. As a result, some artists have lost all their materials, their records, their own works and fellow artists’ works. Many were not insured and many will not be able to fulfil commitments to upcoming exhibitions.

Christchurch artist, Tony de Lautour rescuing works from his inner city studio.

When I spoke with artist Tony de Lautour last week, he was hours away from flying to Wellington for the opening of his latest exhibition at Hamish McKay Gallery on May 13 – a show that was postponed from April in the hope that he would be able to complete enough works. Tony (and seven other artists) had a studio in the old Government Life Building in Cathedral Square. His was on the 8^th floor, others were on the 6^th floor. The building was red-stickered after the February quake and it was at least a month before they could gain access – and only then thanks to the art salvage project, Lost Art Christchurch set up by Auckland arts commentator, Hamish Keith.

University of Canterbury Arts Collections Curator, Lydia Baxendell (left) helps archivist Jeff Palmer and Library Manager Jill Durney, lower a marble bust into a safe storage container.

Keith, alarmed by the extent of the damage to the city, was concerned about the huge amount of valuable art, manuscripts and antiques at risk in city buildings, galleries, private collections and artist studios. With the help of local web developers, he set up a secure site for owners to register valuable works and their location. Information was then to be relayed to earthquake recovery teams so care could be taken during any activity within affected buildings. Around 35 people registered on the site before Keith handed it over to Christchurch Art Gallery Projects Manager, Neil Semple. The ongoing project now has 55 listings – everything from a printing press and treasured artefacts worth a few hundred dollars to whole art collections worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Salvage teams at work outside Tony de Lautour’s inner city studio. Photo courtesy Christchurch Art Gallery.

“We don’t have access to Civil Defence people any more than anyone else but we were able to get into their system so that, hopefully, more buildings won’t be torn down with valuable art still in them,” says Semple.

“Unfortunately, there have been cases of buildings being torn down without owners’ knowledge and as a result they’ve lost huge and very valuable collections. Now we’re doing everything we can to help artists and galleries. We can’t get access for them, but we do have an art transport vehicle and a specialised packing team to help them once they are able to enter their buildings.”

 Tony de Lautour is thankful for that help. He and the other artists in his building were lucky to gain access in the Red Zone about a month after the quake.

“We each had just 30 minutes to go, one by one and assisted only by an engineer and a USAR worker, to grab as much stuff as we could from our spaces. It was pretty tough going up eight flights of damaged stairs, in total darkness with only a head lamp, with no idea of what we would find. I’m pleased I managed to get quite a lot out – paintings for my exhibition, older works and a swag of paint.”

 Neil Semple says works from the Brooke Gifford Gallery and College House were saved in much the same way.

“The gallery spaces at Brooke Gifford were fine but bricks from a neighbouring building had come through the roof into their store room, so we had to remove over 400 works. They’re now being stored in a secure location well away from the Red Zone.”

University of Canterbury Art Collections Curator Lydia Baxendell works with Maori resources Librarian Nekerangi Paul and Library manager Jill Durney to pack art works.

At COCA (Centre of Contemporary Art),  Project Manager and Acting Chair of the Board, Helen Calder and Business Manager, Tony Dann had to organise the packing of more than a thousand art works – the gallery collection, which has been put into storage at the Air Force Museum at Wigram, plus exhibitions and works in the storage viewing rooms.

  “The building itself received only superficial earthquake damage but the gallery was already on a knife-edge financially, so the board had to make a rapid decision given that we were in the Red Zone, without foot traffic and unable to apply for funding,” says Dann.

   “We talked through many possibilities for the reinvention of COCA but ultimately the decision was made to close. It’s a sad time, the end of an era; but the Canterbury Arts Society owns the building and for the medium term, it may be leased out while COCA’s future is discussed further.”

University of Canterbury Art Collections Curator Lydia Baxendell recovers an oil painting by Van der Veldon c. 1895 outside the Registry Building. Due to time restraints inside the building, there was no time to wrap the work.

Across town at University of Canterbury, Art Collections Curator, Lydia Baxendell has had the enormous task of assessing and in many cases, packing up and relocating over 500 art works from the 3,000-plus university collection that were housed on every floor of every building on the university campus. Working with part-time UC staff and specialist earthquake building assessment teams, Baxendell has made her way through 87 buildings and has two to go.

 “I only took up this role three weeks before the September 4 earthquake in 2010, so it’s been trial by fire,” she says.

“In many ways, September was a practice run for us. We set up a lot of new systems then that have been invaluable since the February quake – things like removing inward-opening doors with sliding doors so we don’t have to chainsaw doors off to gain access to works. We’re working closely with the building repair team this time, to ensure all buildings are safe; and I remove all artworks from a building prior to them working.

Lydia Baxendell travels in the back of the removal van with salvaged art works from the University of Canterbury collection.

“Unfortunately we’ve run out of temporary storage space so the university is building a new storage facility and that should be ready in a couple of weeks. We see this as a 3-5 year project and we’ve learned an enormous amount since last September. We’ve refined our processes and our inventory skills and our data base is much more efficient. It’s been a difficult time but everyone here at Macmillan Brown Library where I’m based, has been very supportive.

Salvaging works from inside damaged University of Canterbury buildings.

“And as a result of the earthquakes, I now know where to get help for water-damaged artworks, how to organise the removal of a 9-metre tapa cloth in a hurry; and how to move a 3-metre Bill Sutton painting down four flights of stairs filled with scaffolding because it won’t fit in the lift. We’ve also become better at communicating and getting the help and support we need within the university and within the wider arts community. That’s been one of the positive things to come out of all this,” she says.

 Neil Semple and Tony de Lautour echo that sentiment, both commenting on the collective spirit of willingness of everyone within the Canterbury arts community to come together to help their colleagues.

“This is the only metropolitan-wide disaster New Zealand has experienced during the modern age of art galleries, museums and an art scene and there’s an enormous opportunity here to learn lessons for the future,” says Neil Semple.

The opinions expressed in this blog are author Adrienne Rewi’s and may not necessarily represent the views of National Services Te Paerangi or Te Papa.

Passing Time by Anton Parsons at Christchurch Polytechnic

Auckland artist, artist Anton Parsons had already loaded his sculpture for 2010 SCAPE Biennial onto the back of a truck in Auckland ready for shipment to Christchurch, when the 7.1 earthquake struck the city on September 4, 2010. On Sunday, September 5, he unloaded it again and it remained in storage until January 2011.

I came upon “Passing Time” by Anton Parsons, now installed in the Wilson’s Reserve area of Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT), when I was out cycling recently, trying to come to grips with the broken remains of inner city Christchurch – as much of  the devastation as we can currently see at least. The work was commissioned by the CPIT Foundation and the Christchurch City Council Public Art Advisory Group and was installed was installed just before the second devastating earthquake on February 22.  It was due to be officially unveiled on March 5, as part of the revised SCAPE Biennial program. That’s now been put on hold says SCAPE organiser, Deborah McCormick.

“The decision to postpone SCAPE 2010 until March 4-April 17, 2011 was made quickly – just days after the September earthquake – and in hindsight, “it was a good decision,” she says.

“We were just three weeks out from staging the event, which had been a year in development and although all seven participating artists were in advanced stages of their work, we had no hesitation in postponing. The board made the decision based on feasibility, the state of the physical environment and the practicality of delivering such an event,” she says.

The ruins of demolished Manchester Courts, Manchester Street. After Sept.4 earthquake.

Having to cancel the revised SCAPE event completely was difficult – especially as when the February earthquake struck, all the works were under construction and some were already on site in the city.

“It has been tough. You create a vision for an event of this scale and you work towards it. To have it interrupted twice by major earthquakes has been hugely disappointing,” says McCormick

“But we’re very committed to working with the seven SCAPE artists to see their work through and we’re continuing to look for opportunities for public art to be part of the Christchurch rebuild. Our 6^th SCAPE is not practical or feasible in the city now but we’ll be announcing other events at the end of May, that will include this year’s artists.  As part of other Christchurch arts community, we’re now working out of the newly-formed, collaborative Arts Hub at CPIT and despite the damage to the city, we’re all feeling positive about a comeback for the arts. We want the arts to be central to the city’s future.”

Damaged church on corner of Bealey Avenue & Victoria Street

Like SCAPE, the 2010 Body Festival was cancelled after the September earthquake when four of the festival venues were destroyed. Festival coordinator, Adam Hayward also lost his own home and weighing up the unknowns in the city back then, it was considered wisest to cancel.

 It was a common theme and similar stories reverberated around the cultural community. We all heard the tales – significant losses to museums and libraries, damage to theatres and design groups, and people generally dazed but rapidly adjusting and preparing to move into 2011 with enthusiasm.

Since the February quake of course, it’s been so much worse. The  historic Arts Centre buildings, the Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and the Canterbury Provincial Council Chambers all severely damaged. Court Theatre, now without its Arts Centre home; the Isaac Theatre Royal, only moderately damaged in the September quake, now closed until 2012, its performance programme in tatters. And the artists – so many of whom had gravitated toward the older, more interesting buildings in the city to establish studios, now weighing up their losses.

Civil Defence workers inside Christchurch Art Gallery foyer

Many have lost everything. Galleries too have been destroyed, or have had to close because of their location in the Red Zone. Some have relocated to temporary premises but others may take years to reopen, if in fact they ever do. And at the heart of it all, the modern, almost fully-glazed Christchurch Art Gallery has stood strong – which is just as well given that it’s been the Civil Defence headquarters for the duration of both quakes.

I visited the gallery last week and could barely comprehend the transformed spaces – no longer an art gallery per se, but a giant office space housing Christchurch City Council workers unable to work in their own premises across the street; and overflowing with orange-jacketed Civil Defence workers and their masses of equipment. It was like being on a movie set – complete with enlarged photographs of earthquake damage dominating the spaces not long ago reserved for a stunning exhibition of world by Van der Velden.

Neil Dawson’s Chalice standing tall beside the ruined Christchurch Cathedral and above, Phil Price’s work on the corner of High, Manchester and Lichfield Streets.

But for all the sadness and destruction there have been dozens of positive stories. The public sculptures that stood firm while everything crashed around them; the artists who banded together to stage exhibitions and raise funds for their struggling friends; the teams who set about saving as many artworks throughout the city as possible. Those are the things I like to focus on and I’ll be visiting all of those subjects on this blog in the coming weeks.

The opinions expressed in this blog and comments are the authors’ and may not necessarily represent the views of National Services Te Paerangi or Te Papa.

By Adrienne Rewi

When I stepped into Taupo Museum a few months ago, I was immediately drawn to their nostalgia-ridden caravan display – a squat little 3-berth, New Zealand-made Anglo Imp, which the museum purchased when it was discovered abandoned in someone’s garden.  It’s a timepiece of the 1950s and 1960s that celebrates the Taupo district’s role as a year-round playground; and its memorabilia-stuffed interior plucks at every sentimental memory I have of the iconic New Zealand seaside holiday.

 I grew up with a mother who was obsessed by caravans. She loved them and dreamed of owning one. She/we never did own a caravan – we never even holidayed in one; and it was not until I was much older, an adult myself, that I realised how lucky I was to have even known something of my mother’s dreams. Without wanting to digress too much, I think we too often fail to see our mothers (and fathers) as ‘real’ people with ordinary ambitions, ordinary desires and ordinary dreams – as fallible human beings with their own sets of yearnings that go way beyond our childhood perceptions of them as providers of food, warmth, love, security comfort and protection.

So for me, caravans are thoroughly entwined with memories of my now late-mother. I cannot see one without thinking of her, without considering how she may have felt about never realising that particular dream. But I take heart in the fact that for many, the caravan is as deeply entrenched in the New Zealand holiday psyche as the seaside bach is. It is an iconic marker of summer, beaches, holidays, long hot evenings and the annual laying down of memories with friends and family. And it’s nice to know that Taupo Museum has given that credence with its permanent caravan display. It’s a lovely homage to a way of life that is rapidly disappearing. From the post-war rise of caravanning in the 1940s, through the 50s, 60s and 70s to the 1980s, there must be thousands of New Zealanders with caravan and campsite memories who will relate very strongly to this exhibit.

Step inside this humble little vehicle and you’ll find all the markers of a classic bach or caravan holiday – little cubbyholes for multi-coloured, mismatched plates; a bright knitted teacosy; folded canvas camping stools; yellow Sunlight soap in a wire shaker; an old Lemon & Paeroa bottle; eggbeaters, old cushions and gathered rugs – all the cast-offs that imbue a holiday space with that home-away-from-home security. And on the camping table outside, there’s a list of Taupo’s camping grounds from Wairakei to Takaanu, most of which were established from the 1950s on. There are reprints of old camping ground photos from the 1930s on – and a plea for your camping ground and caravanning stories in the Taupo region. It’ s a marvellous collective documentation of more leisurely times – of days filled with sand, surf, gas cookers and sausage barbecues and nights illuminated by fires, kerosene lamps and camp stretchers. There is much to be said for the simple, ‘nomadic’ holiday that ends up on a near-perfect strip of New Zealand’s coastline – and even more to be said about a museum that charts its place in contemporary life. 

All photographs by Adrienne Rewi with permission of Taupo Museum.

Adrienne Rewi works full-time as a freelance journalist, sub-editor, blogger and travel guide writer. When she is not traveling the length and breadth of New Zealand updating travel guides, she is based in Christchurch where she readily gives in to her passion for art, museums, photography and fiction writing. In addition to publishing several non-fiction books and travel guides, photographing everything in sight and writing on almost every subject, she is a passionate collector of far too many things and really needs her own museum.

By Adrienne Rewi

Before 1940, New Zealand was a nation of home sewers and imported fashion styles but then, our own independent fashion designers began to emerge. You can now read all about our colourful fashion design journey in The Dress Circle, an exquisitely illustrated book co-authored by three New Zealand museum professionals:  Douglas Lloyd Jenkins, director of Hawke’s Bay Museum & Art Gallery, Claire Regnault, Senior Curator at The Museum of New Zealand – Te Papa Tongarewa and Lucy Hammonds, curator at Hawke’s Bay Museum & Art Gallery. 

Garments from the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust collection plays a starring role in The Dress Circle: New Zealand Fashion Design since 1940, a book that spreads itself over seven decades of creative endeavour. All three authors have been closely involved with the museum’s fashion and textiles collection – Claire Regnault formerly worked as a curator at HBMAG and Douglas and Lucy are both currently based there – and many of the garments photographed in the book, showcase the diversity and quality of the museum’s own collection.

The writing/curating trio – all with extensive experience in fashion and textiles – spent many hours fossicking in photoarchives, delving into records, leafing through old magazines and interviewing key players to capture the full, rich story, which for many, will be a walk down memory lane. They relate the glamorous days of exclusive fashion parades in department stores like Milne & Choyce, Smith & Caughey, Kirkaldie & Staines and Ballantynes; they introduce early labels like El Jay and Miss Deb moving through the years to Annie Bonza, Hullabaloo and Zephyr; and they catalogue the achievements of current high-street favourites Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester, Zambesi, the Crane brothers and the like.

The authors have ‘lifted the skirts’ of New Zealand fashion to reveal a tantalising collection of characters and personalities – a couturiere who ran the infamous Ring Terrace brothel; Kiwi men baulking at the loss of cuff turn-ups during war-time rationing; the fashion impresario who was spat on in Queen Street for her “provocative” dress sense; and one of our greatest All Blacks, who had his own women’s fashion label. I always find those stories about the people, those everyday vignettes in any industry or profession the most engaging. They shine a light on people, places and professions and give us a far deeper understanding of the business in question.

Lloyd-Jenkins, Regnault and Hammonds have left no stone unturned and for all the personable, amusing anecdotes there is an equal weight of scholarship. They’ve deftly explored the fashion industry inside out, always putting it into the broader social and commercial context. There is discussion centred on the emergence of our design-led clothing industry, the creative processes of design and the knowledge, methods and circumstances of production that has produced the goods. Everything is there – written into this handsome fat volume that unbuttons ‘a rich history of sharp business, textile production, colourful personalities, pioneering designers, government policies, radical reforms, the rag-trade communities, the fashion awards that make up our very distinctive fashion design culture. The Dress Circle: New Zealand Fashion Design Since 1940 is published by Random House New Zealand (Godwit).

Images:

 All Photographs supplied by Random House New Zealand.

1: The book – Front Jacket

2: Emma Knuckley’s early collections betrayed the influence of the London line with large collars and geometric forms. However, she did better than most in the early 1950s in achieving classic styles with longevity. Deborah and Mark Smith, Collection of Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust/Ruawharo Ta-u-Rangi

3: Left: Blue Fashionbilt dress by Fashions Ltd; Deborah and Mark Smith, Collection of Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust; Right: 1970s cocktail dress by Vinka Lewis. Deborah and Mark Smith, Collection of Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust.

4. Left: Maxi-dress by Annie Bonza featuring her signature use of cornelli embroidery. C.1970. Deborah and Mark Smith, Collection of Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust; Right: Bobby Angus cotton shirt, 1950. Deborah and Mark Smith, Collection of Hawke’s bay Museums Trust.

5: This Babs Radon cocktail dress, c.1965, was worn by Barbara Penberthy, its designer. Deborah and Mark Smith, Collection of Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust.

Adrienne Rewi works full-time as a freelance journalist, sub-editor, blogger and travel guide writer. When she is not traveling the length and breadth of New Zealand updating travel guides, she is based in Christchurch where she readily gives in to her passion for art, museums, photography and fiction writing. In addition to publishing several non-fiction books and travel guides, photographing everything in sight and writing on almost every subject, she is a passionate collector of far too many things and really needs her own museum.

By Adrienne Rewi

The sign on the door of the Hawke’s Bay Museum & Art Gallery in Napier may say ‘closed,’ but inside it’s all hands on deck as the museum team prepares for the building’s $18-million redevelopment. As soon as the museum shut its doors back in July, the staff started work on the mammoth task of dismantling exhibitions, returning loaned exhibits and packing up over 100,000 individual collection objects ready to move off site. It’s a job that’s expected to take nine months to complete.

Museum Director, Douglas Lloyd Jenkins says that not only does each object require a crate and protective packaging for the move it also needs to be tracked in and out of the building through the collection database.

         “We want to reassure donors that precious items they have donated to the museum over time will be treated with utmost care; and that they will be transported to an off-site facility for the duration of the re-development,” he says.

A packing team has been assigned to each collection area – Taonga, Social & Natural History, Decorative Arts, textiles, Library, Archives, Furniture and Fine Arts; and as each collection has unique handling and packing requirements, team members are receiving specialist training and will remain responsible for their assigned collection until the objects have been safely transferred and housed in the off-site storage facility.

HBMAG team members Ken Miles, Jeremy Walton and Craig Bell have landed to job of building all the crates that will be required. That’s no mean feat when you consider that for the Fine Arts Collection alone, they’ll need an estimated 3,000 metres of timber and 81 sheets of plywood to build 31 crates of six different sizes, travelling frames for seven plan drawers and 15 other custom-built crates for particularly large or fragile works. Cymon Wallace and James Price then take over, carefully measuring, cutting and fitting the crates with Ethafoam to protect the objects during their journey.

Another 1,000 boxes will be required for the Ceramics, Textiles and Archive Collection objects. Each archival box is being specially fitted out and many will be used for long term storage in the new museum collection store. All of the boxes will travel to the off-site facility in a larger crate and will then be transferred onto shelving.

To give the preparations a kick-start, the museum held a ‘box-making bee’ at the Museum in early October. Twenty volunteers, many of them friends of HBMAG, helped staff to assemble pre-cut boxes and to cut foam, fabric strips for ties, sewing cushions and by cleaning plastic tubes ready for use. It is expected that the entire collection will be packed and relocated to the storage facility by the end of March 2011, when the exciting architectural re-development then begins. 

A project website has been set up and you can view redevelopment progress at http://www.forus.org.nz/

All photographs of collections packaging supplied by Hawke’s Bay Museum & Art Gallery, Napier.

works full-time as a freelance journalist, sub-editor, blogger and travel guide writer. When she is not traveling the length and breadth of New Zealand updating travel guides, she is based in Christchurch where she readily gives in to her passion for art, museums, photography and fiction writing. In addition to publishing several non-fiction books and travel guides, photographing everything in sight and writing on almost every subject, she is a passionate collector of far too many things and really needs her own museum.

Adrienne Rewi

By Adrienne Rewi

The foundation stone for Otago Museum on its current Dunedin site was laid in December 1874.  Two years later, ‘half a world away,’ the foundation stone for the Albert Hall Museum, in Jaipur, Rajasthan in Northern India (below), was laid by the Prince of Wales in 1876. Otago Museum opened in 1877 and Albert Hall opened in temporary rooms in 1881 and was finally inaugurated in 1887.

I visited Albert Hall (often called Central Museum) in Jaipur in 2003 and it was a museum experience that has stayed with me long after the event. Heavily influenced by England’s South Kensington Museum, it is a wonderful example of elaborate Indo-Saracenic architecture, designed by architect, Samuel Swinton Jacob – a princely collection of domes, arches, colonnades and millions of pigeons. And inside, a marvellous mayhem of cabinets of curiosities, of eclecticism – a profusion of (often dusty) objects to tease all the senses:  a dissected horse, preserved snakes, Egyptian mummies, Rajasthani textiles, foxed prints, ceramics, tribal costumes, fossils, religious figurines and so much more – all ‘absorbed’ in the sapping Indian heat in the presence of Indian families, who followed me from cabinet to cabinet as if I, too were an exhibit. It was an experience so profound for me, that it triggered a series of short stories.

I am reminded of Albert Hall every time I visit Otago Museum’s marvellous Animal Attic – a tribute to Victorian museum style and “a place where displays have been laid out in systematic order according to the classification of living things.” Stuffed mammals, reptiles, birds and marine life have ‘colonised’ the glass cabinets around the walls; and intricate displays of pinned-out butterflies, bugs and other insects give us a peek into the ‘exotica’ of invertebrate life. And all around, that beautiful timber architecture that speaks of a different time.

Animal Attic doesn’t have Albert Hall’s flamboyance or scale, nor its sometimes questionable approach to conservation but for me it is riddled with that same sense of wonder and enchantment that comes with unexpected juxtapositions, with the bizarre in happy partnership with the beautiful. Both museums speak of a time when collections gave viewers an eye into new and expanding worlds, when taxidermy and bulging cabinets helped museum visitors establish a relationship with the greater world. Both remind me of my childhood visits to Auckland Museum – way back, long before it became what it is today – when museums were a source of wonder, excitement, bewilderment and a place for my imagination to roam free and unfettered.

 All that ‘Victorian clutter,’ that haphazard profusion of glorious, unpredictable juxtaposition must be the stuff of nightmares for modern museum keepers but when I saw the unbridled delight of a young family in Dunedin’s Animal Attic recently, I knew I wasn’t the only one to appreciate +the old over the new. It’s not that I don’t like modern museums but I do think that the strict formal focus on ‘the business of museums,’ the obsession with conservation, the sleek modern architecture, the stark walls and the often contrived thematic displays have stifled something of viewers’ emotional and aesthetic responses. I’m not against stylistic purity; I guess I’m just one of those people who has a much deeper, much more lasting emotional response to higgledy-piggledy riot of Victorian museum excesses

Image credits:

1: Albert Hall, Jaipur, Rajasthan, North India
2: Animal Attic, Otago Museum, Dunedin
3: Animal Attic, Otago Museum, Dunedin
4: Animal Attic, Otago Museum, Dunedin

Adrienne Rewi works full-time as a freelance journalist, sub-editor, blogger and travel guide writer. When she is not traveling the length and breadth of New Zealand updating travel guides, she is based in Christchurch where she readily gives in to her passion for art, museums, photography and fiction writing. In addition to publishing several non-fiction books and travel guides, photographing everything in sight and writing on almost every subject, she is a passionate collector of far too many things and really needs her own museum.