Rising high and gracefully curving the corner of Hastings and Queen Streets, the outline of the symbolic feather cloak that will wrap the new MTG Hawke’s Bay Research & Archive Centre is now becoming apparent.
This architectural icon of light and dark, on track for completion mid-2025, will be a cornerstone of the Hastings Arts & Culture precinct, cloaked in six-metre-high steel feathers as a symbol of protection for past, present and future.
A collaborative project between the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust, Hastings District Council, Napier City Council and local iwi, this stunning new building will safely and securely house over 90,000 taonga and treasures for generations to come.
The storage of our important regional collection has been contentious for some time now, with the new MTG Hawke’s Bay built in 2012 criticised for insufficient capacity. However, an independent report in 2018 (The Feely Report) identified that the current museum collection storage locations – the basement of MTG in Napier’s CBD and at the former site of British American Tobacco (BAT) in Ahuriri, Napier – are not suitable due to various building issues and the location of both sites within the tsunami inundation zones.
This led to the conclusion that a site in the Hastings District away from coastal hazards would mitigate risk and facilitate greater access to the collection and archives by Hawke’s Bay residents and visitors. The significant impact of Cyclone Gabrielle on the region has only highlighted the need for safe storage of the collection, so despite regional challenges the project has gained momentum.
Fundraising is pivotal to this transformation. Significant grants from Lotteries, the Crown, and the Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage, totalling $14.79 million, alongside contributions from both the Hastings and Napier Councils, have laid a strong financial foundation. However, the commitment to raise an additional $1 million by the community is crucial for the project’s completion.
The “Feathers for Hawke’s Bay” initiative, driven by the MTG Foundation, encapsulates this fundraising effort. With a $10,000 (tax-deductible) donation, 80 individuals, couples, families, businesses, and community groups can have their names engraved on one flight of the 40 huia feathers that will cloak the new building. This initiative offers an enduring legacy for contributors, whether they are businesses or families that go back several generations, or are recent arrivals committed to their new region.
This project is not just about constructing a building; it’s about safeguarding our heritage for future generations — permanently. It will be imbued with both essential purpose and symbolic significance. The huia feather cloak represents protection and unity, a beacon of cultural preservation and testament to the collaborative spirit of our region.
The campaign is multi-faceted to encourage the wider community to get involved. A Givealittle page (Feathers for Hawke’s Bay) channels smaller donations to collective community feathers.
Full information can be found on www.feathersforhb.co.nz
Pity they didn’t think of “coastal hazards” before spending millions if dollars on a so called museum that displays very little. In my opinion a museum in name only. There appears to be more gallery space than museum, not what the residents paid for.