Storage site ‘out of tsunami zone’

News on Wednesday that the Government was contributing up to $9 million for a new building in Hastings to house part of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Museum collection of was unquestionably good.

But when it was said that part of the rationale for choosing Hastings was because it was outside the coastal hazard zone and the tsunami impact zone, it did beg the rather obvious question as to why it was seen fit to keep the rest of the collection in the actual museum in Napier, which is in both zones.

Napier has been home to the region’s museum since the 1930s. In 2013, the Napier City Council opened its new $18m MTG museum gallery on Marine Pde, across the road from the beach.

When it was finished, the building was found to be capable of holding just 40% of the collection, partly because airconditioning ducts and other pipes took up more room than expected in its basement storage area.

So the rest of the collection has been temporarily housed in the old

Rothmans building in Ahuriri at a cost to Napier ratepayers of about $12,500 a month.

Years were spent looking for alternative sites to store the museum collection before the Napier council and Hastings District Council agreed to buy the former Briscoes building on Queen St East in late 2020 and to erect a purpose-built storage building on the site.

Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst, at the time, said the rationale for putting the rest of the collection in Hastings was because it was ‘‘safely out of the tsunami zone’’. This week she said ‘‘it was vitally important that we addressed the future security of this important collection, finding a home for it away from coastal hazards’’.

Napier mayor Kirsten Wise didn’t mention tsunami or coastal hazard zones, but Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Kiri Allen, when announcing the funding this week, commented on the ‘‘disaster resilient facility outside of the region’s Tsunami Impact Zones’’.

MTG director Laura Vodanovich said it wasn’t uncommon for museums and galleries in New Zealand to be close to the coast.

‘‘In an ideal world this wouldn’t be the case but MTG Hawke’s Bay has a historic and significant connection to its current site.’’

On Wednesday, Allen announced that the seventh round of funding from the Government’s Regional Culture and Heritage Fund would see the Hastings District Council receive up to $9m towards the total estimated cost of $22m to build the new facility. The grant adds to $5.79m secured from the Lotteries Commission and $3.325m each from both councils.

Further applications for funding will be made along with fundraising activities to raise the amount required.