The Star: March 15, 2018

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Thursday March 15 2018
Specialist tasked with museum upgrade
Fire rages, homes at risk
• By Sarla Donovan
OKAINS BAY lies tucked at the
bottom of a steep, winding road
on the green eastern edge of
Banks Peninsula.
It’s famous for a picturesque
campground, spectacular
Waitangi Day celebrations –
and the Okains Bay Maori and
Historical Museum.
Two thousand people packed
into the small settlement on
February 6 this year, eager to
catch sight of the magnificent
waka paddling up the Opara
River, hear the powhiri – and
see the museum’s renowned
collection of Maori artefacts.
Amassed over a lifetime by
local farmer Murray Thacker, it
is internationally famous, with
one of the biggest selections of
hei-tiki in the country, a superb
collection of cloaks, some going
back 200 years, and many rare
kete and taiaha.
Six huia bird can be seen
there, when only 150 remain
worldwide and just 60 of those in
New Zealand.
The fineness and rarity of the
3000-piece collection prompted
North Islander Ian Day to
take up a recently established
directorship position at the
museum last year.
With a Masters degree in
museum studies from Victoria
University in Wellington, Mr
Day was brought in by the
board of trustees as part of a
push towards professionalisation.
“Meeting best practice
museum standards is where
we’re heading,” he says. “The
board saw a clear need that they
had to up their ballgame. It’s
a common thing with smaller
museums – they reach a point
where they have to either get
better – or close down.”
Mr Day has variously been
the director at Waikato
Coalfields Museum in Huntly,
a carver at a number of marae
and most recently manager at
Howick Historical Village in
Auckland.
Prior to that he was based
in the red dust of the Western
Australian desert, advising
museums on heritage and sacred
sites and working with tourism
providers.
A specialist in small regional
museums, he shifted to Okains
Bay a year ago with his partner
and two burmese cats and they
live on-site.
It’s the nature of the job to
move around, he says.
His appointment followed a
visit to the museum from Te
Papa 18 months ago, when the
Maori collection was declared
as being of international significance
and other collections
nationally important, including
the antique firearms, small boats
and some of the buildings.
Along with managing the
museum day-to-day, Mr Day is
involved in writing policies and
reports, undertaking conservation
work where needed, renewing
and improving exhibitions,
marketing and staff management
– “everything.”
As one of the hubs of the local
community, it’s got to strengthen
that role, he says.
“It’s got to provide a better level
of care for its collections. We are
looking at a five-year redevelopment
programme so the layout of
the buildings will work better for
the visiting public, without losing
the ambience and the special
character that it’s got. The aim is
for long-term sustainability.”
OKAINS BAY farmer Murray
Thacker (right), who died last year,
started collecting at the
age of 11 and it quickly
became a lifetime passion.
In 1968 he bought
the old dairy factory
to house his collection,
opening the Okains Bay
Maori and Historical
Museum in 1977.
Much of the carving
on site was created
specifically by master
carver John Rua, who
began attending Van
Asch School for the
Deaf as a child.
It was at Van Asch that he began
learning woodwork and carved sea
creatures, kiwi and zoo animals.
TREASURES:
Okains Bay
Maori and
Historical
Museum
director Ian
Day is tasked
with bringing
the museum
in line with
industry
standards and
best practice.
PHOTOS:
MARTIN
HUNTER
It’s difficult to apply for
significant funding to support
the redevelopment until the
groundwork is in place, he says
and that’s what he’s been doing
over the past year.
Come April, the fundraising
His work was later shown in
an exhibition, whereupon he met
master carver Hone
Te Kauru Taiapa, who
invited him to learn traditional
Toi Whakairo
at the New Zealand
Institute for Maori Arts
and Crafts in Rotorua.
Mr Rua graduated
with honours in 1972
and two years later
began carving for the
Okains Bay museum,
later shifting to
Christchurch where he
set up his own business
at the Artist’s Quarters
in Oxford Tce. In 1980 he began
work on the meeting house and
dining room at Ngā Hau E Whā
National Marae in Pages Rd.
drive will pick up pace. Mr Day
estimates it will take around $1
million over the next five years
to fully upgrade.
Report writing takes up a lot
of his time, but he also works
hands-on to improve the condition
of the displays, helped by
museum custodian Sharon
Henderson.
Reorganising the eclectic colonial
collection is under way.
Mr Day observes it lacks a
narrative at the moment – but
presenting it in a more appealing
way without losing the quirkiness
will be a big job.
“You act as a mnemonic aid;
that’s part of the community
function. It contains the identity
of the people, a museum.”
He smiles when asked whether
he will see out the next five years
in the bay. It partly depends on
his health. But he is enjoying the
supportive community. Working
in smaller museums is uniquely
satisfying.
“The stories are much closer to
the surface and more fascinating.
You know you’re making a
difference.”
History and traditional skills
MASTER CARVER:John
Rua working on a canoe
at Okains Bay Museum.
He carved 14 poupou
for the museum before
moving to the area and
continuing to carve
on-site.