Hear more about the Rotorua Museum Project now that the building and strengthening work is fully funded

Tuesday 3, September 2019 | News |

Stewart Brown, Rotorua Lakes Council Arts & Culture Manger, will be giving an community update about the Rotorua Museum project this Thursday (5 September 2019) at 5.30pm.

The talk will take place at Rotorua Library (1127 Haupapa Street) where Stewart will talk about the history of the Bath House building, home to Rotorua Museum, explain the investigative testing and planning that has gone into this complex project so far and share what the next steps are.

Image credit: Rotorua Museum viewed through Point Cloud Technology.

Stewart was the Rotorua Museum Director prior to its closure in November 2016 and is passionate about the strengthening and restoration of Rotorua Museum.

“It will be great to explain some of the complexities behind this project and answer any questions. Not only is this building hugely important to me as a Rotorua local, it is well known as an iconic national treasure which was acknowledged last month when we received $20 million towards the project from Government”, says Mr Brown

On 13 August 2019 Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones announced $15 million in funding from the Government’s Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) and $5 million from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage Fund would go towards the strengthening and restoration of the building.

Mayor Chadwick says it was fitting the Government chose the 111th birthday of the opening of the historic Bath House to announce its significant contribution.

“There was never any doubt for us that our Museum should be restored. It was a matter of how we would do it and who we would need to partner with to achieve it because we knew we couldn’t do it alone. We have now secured $36 million in partnership funding which will enable us to re-open our iconic taonga,” the Mayor says.

mage credit: Rotorua Museum historic corridor – artists impression for re-opening. Courtesy DPA Architects
Image credit: Rotorua Museum historic corridor prior to restoration

The strengthening, restoration and redevelopment of Rotorua Museum is a key element of Rotorua Lakes Council’s Vision 2030 and the Rotorua Way. This vision for Rotorua is guiding the development of a range of key projects and programmes to enhance our district’s strengths as we work with our community and partners to achieve a positive future.

This is the first is a series of community talks focussing on the major projects that Rotorua Lakes Council are currently undertaking. These talks will give the public a chance to hear more about each project and the opportunity to ask questions.

One comment shared

  1. Patricia Hosking

    Thank you Stuart for an excellent informative and comprehensive presentation on the plans and work completed to date to strengthen, restore and rebuild the museum. This project has been frustratingly slow to get going from a community perspective as we have wanted it reopened again asap. Few people understood the difficulty involved and the expertise required to carry out that work until this evening. Well done team and I look forward to the next update.

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