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Toitū Otago
Settlers Museum Board
22 February 2021
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Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board
MINUTES
Minutes of an ordinary
meeting of the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board held in the Otago
Settlers Association Board Room, Toitū Otago Settlers Museum, 31 Queens
Gardens, Dunedin on Monday 05 October 2020, commencing at 9.04 am
PRESENT
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Chairperson
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Phil Dowsett
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Members
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Cr Rachel Elder
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Cr Doug Hall
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Susan Schweigman
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Peter Smith
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IN ATTENDANCE
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Nick Dixon (Group Manager Ara
Toi), Cam McCracken (Director – DPAG, Toitū, Lan Yuan)
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Governance Support Officer Rebecca
Murray
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1 Apologies
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An apology had been received from Cr Carmen Houlahan.
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Moved (Phil Dowsett/Peter
Smith):
That the Board:
Accepts the
apology from Cr Carmen Houlahan.
Motion carried (TOSM/2020/001)
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2 Confirmation
of agenda
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Moved (Phil Dowsett/Cr Rachel Elder):
That the Board:
Confirms the agenda
without addition or alteration.
Motion
carried (TOSM/2020/002)
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3 Declarations
of interest
Members were
reminded of the need to stand aside from decision-making when a conflict arose
between their role as an elected representative and any private or other
external interest they might have.
Peter Smith updated his register
of interest and advised he is the Chairperson for the Otago Settlers
Association and no longer owns a residential property in Naseby.
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Moved (Phil Dowsett/Susan Schweigman):
That the Board:
a) Amends the Elected or Independent Members' Interest
Register; and
b) Confirms the proposed management plan for
Elected or Independent Members' Interests.
Motion
carried (TOSM/2020/003)
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4 Confirmation
of Minutes
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4.1 Toitū
Otago Settlers Museum Board meeting - 21 August 2019
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Moved (Phil Dowsett/Cr Rachel Elder):
That the Board:
Confirms the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board
meeting held on 21 August 2019 as a correct record.
Motion
carried (TOSM/2020/004)
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Reports
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5 Toitū
Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan Activity Report
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A report covered the activities of Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese
Gardens (DCG) as at 31 August 2020 and discusses activities over the past 12
months.
Cr Doug Hall entered
the meeting at 9.12 am.
The Group Manager Ara
Toi (Nick Dixon) and the Director – DPAG, Toitū, Lan Yuan (Cam
McCracken spoke to the report, provided clarification on the financial
reporting provided in the report and responded to members’ questions.
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Moved (Phil Dowsett/Cr Doug Hall):
That the Board:
a) Notes the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan Activity
Report for the 12 months to 31 August 2020.
Motion
carried (TOSM/2020/005)
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6 Frequency
of Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board Meetings
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A report
from Civic provided options on the frequency of meetings for the Toitū
Otago Settlers Museum Board to consider.
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Moved (Phil Dowsett/Cr Rachel Elder):
That the Board:
a) Approves the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum
Board meetings being held quarterly, on a Monday at 9.30 am.
b) Notes that where a meeting date falls on a public holiday
that the meeting either be held the next day or the following Monday.
Motion
carried (TOSM/2020/006)
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7 Museum
Cluster in Dunedin
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The Board had a discussion on
the Dunedin Museum cluster.
The Group Manager Ara Toi
(Nick Dixon) and the Director – DPAG, Toitū, Lan Yuan responded to
members’ questions which included the level of collaboration and relationships
with organisations in Dunedin.
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The meeting concluded at 10.08 am.
..............................................
CHAIRPERSON
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Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board
22 February 2021
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Reports
Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan
Activity Report
Department: Dunedin Public Art Gallery
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1 This
report covers activities of Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan
Dunedin Chinese Garden (DCG) as at 31 December 2020 and discusses activities
from 1 September 2020.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Board:
a) Notes the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan
Activity Report for the period 1 September 2020 to 31 December 2020.
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BACKGROUND
2 This
report is written for the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum (TOSM) Board Meeting
and details the latest activities and KPI performance at Toitū Otago
Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan (DCG).
DISCUSSION
Visitors
3 We
have welcomed 59,228 visitors over the September – December period 2020.
This was down 36% on the corresponding period last year. This drop was expected
given the border closure and the absence of international visitors to Dunedin.
With 70% of Dunedin’s visitor market comprised of International visitors,
only being down 36% is a relatively positive result and reflects good
engagement with domestic visitors and our local community.
4 Over
the September – December 2020 period 7,574 people visited Lan Yuan. This
represents a 38% decrease in visitor numbers for the corresponding period last
year, a figure which corresponds to that at Toitū. Again, this is a
positive result based on the significant number of international visitors to
the garden over the same period last year.
Visitor
Experience
Exhibitions
Furthest Frontier: Stories from Tamatea/Dusky Sound
5 In
late July a Toitū OSM-led team – including four Museum staff, two
maritime archaeologists, a member of the Oraka-Aprima rūnaka and a
representative from Heritage NZ – departed for a week in historically
significant Tamatea/Dusky Sound. The aim was to film stories to enhance the
interpretation of objects and stories in the First Encounters gallery as well
via Toitū’s YouTube channel in 2021. Over the course of the week the
team successfully captured plenty of footage both above ground and under water
to incorporate into a fascinating seven-part documentary series. A promotional
trailer has generated a huge amount of interest in the project and exemplifies
the high production values achieved by Toitū’s in-house documentary
team.
6 The
sites visited during the expedition included:
· Those associated with the visit of Captain James Cook in
the Resolution in 1773;
· The spot in Luncheon Cove where a sealing gang built New
Zealand’s first permanent European dwelling in 1792 and began
constructing the first European vessel to be built in New Zealand;
· The place in Facile Harbour where New Zealand’s first European
shipwreck lies and where its castaways took up residence in 1795 (castaways
which included the first women and children to reside in New Zealand);
· The area where New Zealand’s first attempt to save endangered
bird species by creating a predator-free sanctuary began in 1894; and
· The resting place of the Union Steamship Company
steamer Waikare, wrecked during a tourist excursion to the sounds in 1910.
7 2020-21
Contemporary Designer - The Contemporary Designer case in Toitū’s
Material Cultural gallery was changed out on September 18. The case, which
spotlights contemporary fashion by local Dunedin Designers, now features a new
outfit by Darlene Gore, and a number of talks and programmes will spin out of
this update.
8 Pixie
Town 2020 - Pixie Town and Santa once again made a popular return to the Museum
from December 4 to 24. In the absence of international tourism, uptake from
local and national visitors over the run-up to Christmas was extremely
encouraging and this signature event continues to be a key part of our yearly
programme.
9 Gallery
Refreshes - As the 10-year anniversary of the Museum’s 2012 re-opening
approaches, staff are planning to refresh and update many of the exhibition
galleries. This is a great opportunity for us to review our long-term displays
and see what has worked well and what could be improved. Also, as technology
has continued its inevitable progress over the intervening years, we’ve
been thinking about what new interpretive approaches we can employ as we look
ahead to the 2020s and beyond. Work is currently underway on the first phases
of the refresh which encompasses the Gold, Gold, Gold and Ghosts of
Wall Street displays.
Learning Experiences
outside the Classroom (LEOTC)
10 For
the period 1 September until 31 December we welcomed 1251 students to
Toitū from 27 different schools with a number of schools enjoying multiple
visits.
Public
Programmes
11 The
Luck Of The Irish - In Partnership with the University of Otago Centre for
Irish and Scottish Studies, this extremely popular talk series explores
historical connections between Ireland and New Zealand and discusses the
current bonds between the two countries.
Feature
Public Programmes
· Puaka/Matariki
School Holiday Activities
· Toitū
Archives Tour – Behind the scenes
· Manu
Aute Maori Kite Making Workshop
· Stitching
Concrete – Artist Jay Hutchinson’s contemporary embroidery workshop
· Harakeke
Weaving Workshop
· Monthly
‘Signature’ Public Programmes
· Wednesday
Craft - TheTapestry Project
· Live
@ Toitū – Local musicians perform in the Josephine Foyer
· Toitū
Toddler Time
· OSA
Tuesday Club
Collections
12 In
Archives, the priority has been responding to online research enquiries and
booked public appointments. The Archivist has also worked with the
Registrar and Conservator to get the Thomas Burns Visitation book
digitised. This has been sent to Auckland and will soon be back on
display following the construction of a new display mount. Several new
donations have been processed this reporting period, including a group of male
shipboard diaries (sail ships, pre-1880) which have also been scanned and
digitised.
13 Other
collections activity this reporting period has included the deinstallation of
the ‘Brought to Light’ collections-based exhibition, processing
recent donations to the collection in a timely fashion and continuing to work
with a photographer on high quality digital images of major collection objects.
Commercial
Activity
14 Retail
sales with Toitū were 18.6% down on the corresponding period last year
when factoring visitor numbers are down 36% is a very positive result. This
includes the sale of items through the retail store only. Sales of toys and
games have remained on par with last year with the decrease coming in items
like Books, Homewares, Cards, Apparel and Accessories. These items are more
popular with International Visitors. Chinese Garden retail sales are up 34% and
food and beverage is up 10%. This is made up of predominantly Chinese Tea and
Yumcha. Both are off a relatively small base when compared to Toitū but it
is still a great result given the current trading environment.
Lan
Yuan
15 In
December, Acoustiguides were introduced to the Garden. These are an audio guide
made available to visitors to help enhance their experience at the Garden
through story based self-guided tour of the facility.
16 Moon
Festival Online, 1 October – This online platform hosted a
community's celebration of the Moon Festival in Dunedin. Included were
performances by Dunedin Chinese Cultural and Arts Association, Dunedin Chinese
Art/Instrument Association, Dunedin Tai Chi, Dunedin Senior Citizens Chinese
Association, and Dunedin Tai Chi Club, as well as storytelling by Kaitrin
McMullan and Hermione Hai.
17 Moon
Festival Poetry Competition, 1 October – 1 November - We invited
our audience to help us celebrate the Chinese Moon Festival by writing a poem
based on the theme Distant Landscapes. There were three age categories Children
(5–12); Teens (13–19); and Adults (20+). Prizes were awarded for
first and second place and the winning poems were recited at the awards
ceremony in the tea house at Lan Yuan at 2pm on Sunday 29 November 2020.
OPTIONS
18 There
are no options as this report is for information only.
NEXT STEPS
19 There
are no next steps as this report is for information only.
Signatories
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Author:
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Chris Snow - Operations Manager
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Authoriser:
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Cam McCracken - Dunedin Public Art Gallery Director
Nick Dixon - Group Manager Ara Toi
Simon Pickford - General Manager Community Services
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Attachments
There are no attachments for
this report.
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SUMMARY OF CONSIDERATIONS
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Fit with purpose
of Local Government
This decision promotes the cultural
well-being of communities in the present and for the future.
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Fit with strategic
framework
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Contributes
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Detracts
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Not applicable
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Social Wellbeing Strategy
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☒
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☐
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☐
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Economic Development Strategy
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☒
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☐
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☐
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Environment Strategy
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☐
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☐
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☒
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Arts and Culture Strategy
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☒
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☐
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☐
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3 Waters Strategy
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☐
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☐
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☒
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Spatial Plan
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☐
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☐
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☒
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Integrated Transport Strategy
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☐
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☐
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☒
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Parks and Recreation Strategy
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☐
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☐
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☒
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Other strategic projects/policies/plans
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☒
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☐
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☐
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The activities in this report support the Arts and
Culture, Economic Development and Social Wellbeing Strategies.
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Māori Impact
Statement
There are no known impacts for tangata
whenua. The Museum consults with and works with the Ngāi Tahu Advisory
Group.
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Sustainability
No implications although the principles
of sustainability under pins all the activity of Toitū Otago Settlers
Museum and Lan Yuan the Dunedin Chinese Garden.
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LTP/Annual Plan /
Financial Strategy /Infrastructure Strategy
This report is for noting purposes only.
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Financial
considerations
This report is for noting purposes only.
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Significance
In terms of the Council’s
Significance and Engagement Policy, the matters in this report are deemed to
be of low significance.
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Engagement –
external
This report is for noting purposes only.
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Engagement -
internal
This report is for noting purposes only.
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Risks: Legal /
Health and Safety etc.
There are no legal or health and safety
risks related to matters in this report.
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Conflict of
Interest
There are no known conflicts of interest.
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Community Boards
There are no known specific implications
for Community Boards.
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