June 19, 2014
Museum not meeting needs of visitors
Taonga Maori are to be given more prominence at the Hawkes Bay Museum Theatre Gallery in Hawkes Bay.
The Napier City Council is acting on a report by Wellington consultants McDermott Miller that the facility had lost its way and was not meeting the needs of prospective visitors.
The council cut the entrance fee from $15 to $10 after hearing there are fewer visitors than before the $18 million revamp.
The report said the museum makes relatively little use of its taonga Maori and social history collection to tell the stories about the region which do appeal to its market.
Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated chair Ngahiwi Tomoana says the iwi's primary concern was to ensure their taonga were adequately stored and displayed.
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