Museum tracking on time and within budget

The build of Te Unua Museum of Southland is continuing to track on time and within budget, with the next phase of work set to focus on integrating the facility with Queens Park’s famed rose gardens.

Elected members were given an update on the progress on-site at Southland’s new regional museum at the Invercargill City Council Community and Regulatory Committee meeting.

Council Group Manager Capital Portfolio Jamie Garnett said the project continued to be effectively managed on-site by lead contractor Naylor Love, with physical completion of the building itself on track to be completed by September and all elements within their allocated budget.

“The next major phase of work on-site will be largely focused on the integration of the facility with Queens Park, including further development on the outdoor play space adjacent to the cafe as well as integration with the Jessie Calder Garden,” he said.

The Jessie Calder Garden – planted in 1987 – boasted the largest and most comprehensive collection of roses of its type on public display in New Zealand. It contained more than 900 roses and at least 400 varieties.

Work to enhance the connection between Te Unua and the rose garden was scheduled to begin on Monday next week, and would include cutting through the existing wall on the southern edge of the garden, Garnett said.

Council had engaged with members of Heritage Roses – Southland to ensure the renowned garden was considered appropriately as part of the museum’s development, he said.

Meanwhile, construction of the 80-space car parking area, including six electric vehicle charging spaces, was progressing well and was expected to be completed in the coming months, he said.

Impressively, for a construction project of the size and scale of the development of Te Unua Museum of Southland, the team had surpassed more than 100,000 work hours without a single lost-time injury – demonstrating its genuine commitment to ensuring everybody involved in the build got home safely, he said.

Much of the mahi throughout the last few months had shifted from the physical construction to the experience fit-out and operational readiness of the museum, he said.

Museum Director Eloise Wallace said experience contractor Gibson International was also working with the Council’s Museum and Heritage Services team – as well as local subject-matter experts, artists and designers, and fabricators and manufacturers – to develop the long-term exhibition, celebrating the stories of Southland, that would be found within the museum.

The detailed design for the long-term exhibition experience was scheduled to be finalised at the end of March, Wallace said.

The development of the long-term exhibition would continue in parallel with the development of the exhibitions that would be on display within the temporary gallery spaces.

Council would continue to progress internal recruitment to ensure critical vacancies, including the Team Leader Commercial and Operations role, were filled to enable operational readiness, she said.