Notice of Meeting:

I hereby give notice that an ordinary meeting of the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board will be held on:

 

Date:                                                    Monday 21 February 2022

Time:                                                   9.30 am

Venue:                                                Via Audio Visual Link

 

Sandy Graham

Chief Executive Officer

 

Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board

PUBLIC AGENDA

 

MEMBERSHIP

 

Chairperson

Phil Dowsett

 

 

 

 

Members

Cr Rachel Elder

Cr Doug Hall

 

Cr Carmen Houlahan

Susan Schweigman

 

Peter Smith

 

 

Senior Officer                                               Cam McCracken, Director - Dpag, Toitū, Lan Yuan and Olveston

 

Governance Support Officer                  Rebecca Murray

 

 

 

Rebecca Murray

Governance Support Officer

 

 

Telephone: 03 477 4000

rebecca.murray@dcc.govt.nz

www.dunedin.govt.nz

 

 

 

 

Note: Reports and recommendations contained in this agenda are not to be considered as Council policy until adopted.

 


Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board

21 February 2022

 

 

ITEM TABLE OF CONTENTS                                                                                                                                         PAGE

 

1             Apologies                                                                                                                                                                    4

2             Confirmation of Agenda                                                                                                                                        4

3             Declaration of Interest                                                                                                                                           5

4             Confirmation of Minutes                                                                                                                                       9

4.1       Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board meeting - 8 November 2021                                        10    

Reports

5             Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden Activity Report              13              

 

 


Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board

21 February 2022

 

 

1          Apologies

At the close of the agenda no apologies had been received.

2          Confirmation of agenda

Note: Any additions must be approved by resolution with an explanation as to why they cannot be delayed until a future meeting.


Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board

21 February 2022

 

Declaration of Interest

 

  

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.         Members are reminded of the need to stand aside from decision-making when a conflict arises between their role as an elected or indpendent representative and any private or other external interest they might have.

 

2.         Elected or indpendent members are reminded to update their register of interests as soon as practicable, including amending the register at this meeting if necessary.

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

That the Committee:

a)     Notes/Amends if necessary the Elected or Independent Members' Interest Register attached as Attachment A; and

b)     Confirms/Amends the proposed management plan for Elected or Independent Members' Interests.

 

 

Attachments

 

Title

Page

a

Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board Register of Interest

6

  


Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board

21 February 2022

 

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Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board

21 February 2022

 

Confirmation of Minutes

Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board meeting - 8 November 2021

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

That the Committee:

Confirms the minutes of the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board meeting held on 08 November 2021 as a correct record.

 

 

 

Attachments

 

Title

Page

A

Minutes of Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board meeting  held on 8 November 2021

10

 

 


Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board

21 February 2022

 

 

 

Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board

MINUTES

 

Minutes of an ordinary meeting of the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board held in the Auditorium, Toitū Otago Settlers Museum, 31 Queens Gardens, Dunedin on Monday 08 November 2021, commencing at 9.30 am

 

PRESENT

 

Chairperson

Phil Dowsett

 

Members

Cr Rachel Elder

Cr Carmen Houlahan

 

Susan Schweigman

Peter Smith

 

 

IN ATTENDANCE

Cam McCracken (Director - Dpag, Toitū, Lan Yuan and Olveston)

 

Governance Support Officer                  Rebecca Murray

 

 

  

 

1          Apologies

An apology was received from Cr Doug Hall.

 

Moved (Phil Dowsett/Peter Smith):

That the Board:

 

Accepts the apology received from Cr Doug Hall.

 

Motion Carried

 

 

2          Confirmation of agenda

 

 

Moved (Phil Dowsett/Cr Carmen Houlahan):

That the Board:

 

Confirms the agenda without addition or alteration.

 

Motion Carried

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Moved (Phil Dowsett/Cr Rachel Elder):

That the Board:

 

a)     Notes the Elected or Independent Members' Interest Register; and

b)     Confirms the proposed management plan for Elected or Independent Members' Interests.

Motion Carried

 

 

4          Confirmation of Minutes

4.1       Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board meeting - 27 September 2021

 

Moved (Phil Dowsett/Cr Rachel Elder):

That the Board:

 

Confirms the minutes of the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board meeting held on 27 September 2021 as a correct record.

Motion Carried

   

Reports

5          Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden Activity Report

 

The report covered the activities of Toitū Otago Settlers Museum (TOSM) and Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden (Lan Yuan DCG) from 1 July 2021 to 30 September 2021.

The Director – Dpag, Toitū, Lan Yuan and Olveston (Cam McCraken) spoke to the report and responded to members’ questions.

 

Moved (Phil Dowsett/Peter Smith):

That the Board:

 

Notes the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden Activity Report for the period 1 July 2021 to 30 September 2021.

Motion Carried

 

 

6          Meeting Schedule

 

A report from Governance provided a copy of the proposed schedule of meetings for 2022.

 

 

Moved (Peter Smith/Susan Schweigman):

That the Board:

 

a)    Removes the proposed May 2022 meeting from the schedule; and

b)    Approves the February, April and July meeting schedule for 2022. 

Motion Carried

 

              

The meeting concluded at 10.16 am.

 

 

 

..............................................

CHAIRPERSON   

 

   


Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board

21 February 2022

 

Reports

 

Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden Activity Report

Department: Dunedin Public Art Gallery

 

 

 

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1          This report covers activities of Toitū Otago Settlers Museum (TOSM) and Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden (Lan Yuan DCG) from 1 October 2021 to 31 December 2021.

RECOMMENDATIONS

That the Board:

Notes the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden Activity Report for the period 1 October 2021 to 31 December 2021.

 

BACKGROUND

2          This report is prepared for the TOSM Board Meeting and details the latest activities and KPI performance at TOSM and Lan Yuan DCG.

DISCUSSION

Visitation

3          Visitor numbers at TOSM were down 34% on the corresponding period last year. This is largely due to the restrictions in place in Auckland, Dunedin’s biggest domestic tourism market. We were at Alert Level 2 during this period as well which negatively affected local numbers for visitor programmes and commercial events.

4        Visitor numbers at Lan Yuan DCG were down 39% on the corresponding period last year. Like TOSM this is due to COVID-19 restrictions which prevented those from Auckland travelling and lighter numbers than expected for commercial events and visitor programmes.

 

COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS

Exhibitions

5        Wāhine – Woven Women: This exhibition, installed in the Bullnose Gallery following the inability of the DCC Community Gallery to take the display due to COVID-19 issues, was very well received by the public. An opening ceremony and mihi whakatau was held in conjunction with Kati Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki on 2 October 2021. The exhibition closed on Sunday 30 October 2021.

6          Mauri Stone: A perspex cover was created for the mauri stone in the entry to TOSM, as the stone had been covered with cloth since COVID-19 restrictions began. This allows the stone to be seen and enjoyed by visitors.

7          FIRING IT UP - Fifty years of preserving our fire brigade history: A 1950s Dennis F8 fire engine, recently restored and on loan from the Dunedin Fire Brigade Restoration Society (DFBRS), was delivered to TOSM in October, along with a number of related DFBRS objects. The fire engine and these objects are on display in the NZR Garage.

8          Journey to New Edinburgh filming: Film work continuing to tell the story of the Journey to New Edinburgh continues behind the scenes. Some of these sequences will ultimately become part of the exhibition displays.

9          Pixie Town: Another successful Pixie Town display was held in the lead up to Christmas this year. Visitor numbers to TOSM and Pixie Town were slightly less than in previous years, as we expected, but the exhibition and associated events continue to be an important part of the summer offering at the Museum. 

Gallery Refreshes

10        Our Voices: The Our Voices “people posts” containing film excerpts from a range of people in our community have now been refreshed and upgraded.

11        Material Culture: The exhibition “The Big Day” presenting wedding costumes from the collection is well underway with an opening date to the public scheduled for early March 2022.

12        NZR Garage: Planning for a refresh of displays in this gallery is also well underway.  Work will commence on this in the Gallery in mid-2022.

Exhibitions team

13        In addition to the outputs noted above, the exhibition team have been preparing for a filming trip to Fiordland to complete a sequel to Furthest Frontiers.

14        Exhibition staff have also supported online content through social media and with the popular Talking Pictures and Curators Corner.

Collections

 

Collections support of exhibitions

 

15        Collections staff are working hard to prepare costumes and objects for “The Big Day” exhibition.  This is a significant task requiring additional casual staff, assistance from volunteers and some specialist mountmaking. In addition, we were able to secure support through the Te Papa National Services Te Paerangi expert assistance programme. This supported the provision of expert advice and significant professional development from a textile conservator and costume mountmaker at minimal cost.


Collections Projects

 

16        Hazardous Substances in collections: The first stage of this audit is complete. Following the completion of disposals and database updates, the team will move to the second stage which will include XRF testing (for heavy metals including mercury – commonly found in social history collections).

 

17        Conservation of objects: The Buchanan watercolour albums will be conserved later this year following digitisation of these very early and valuable local Dunedin scenes. Digitisation will make the album content more accessible while protecting the object from repeated page turning and handling pressures.

 

Gallery Cleaning

 

18        A new regime of regular deep-cleaning of permanent exhibitions commenced in 2021 with the full team working together to clean both the Ara-i-te-uru and Encounters gallery and the Smith Gallery.

 

Archive Statistics

 

19        The Archivist processed 100 written archive-related public enquiries as well as 16 telephone enquiries.

 

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom (LEOTC)

20        505 students participated in LEOTC programmes at TOSM and Lan Yuan DCG during the October to December period with 113 adults supporting the programme delivery.

 

21        In this current COVID-19 environment and with the safety of our students at the forefront, we ensure that only one class participated in an education programme at any one time. The school group operated as a ‘bubble’ and as per TOSM guidelines, the educator and all adult attendees wore a mask and maintained an adequate social distance from the group. Whilst in the gallery spaces, students aged 12 years and over wore masks, however this wasn’t a requirement when in the classroom space. Programmes were adapted to avoid long discussions, to keep instructions short, and to overcome some of the challenges of mask wearing.

 

22        School attendance began to reestablish in the last weeks of October as most groups that had postponed due to COVID-19 were able attend in term four. We are pleased to report that schools have been very cooperative while we navigate the changing environment.

 

Public Programmes

23        This reporting period aligned with yet another shift in the everchanging COVID-19 environment and the decision was made to cancel all public facing programmes for the months of October and December. The Visitor Programmes team recognise the importance of adapting our offerings to reach our audiences, therefore recorded a video lecture of Emeritus Professor Tom Brooking in relation to Armistice Day. This was posted on YouTube and Facebook on 11 November.

 

24        In commemoration of the 100-year anniversary of New Zealand’s first radio broadcast on 17 November, the faculty of the University of Otago Physics department celebrated with a demonstration which the Visitor Programmes filmed at TOSM. This was covered by local and national media and was also available to our online audience via Facebook and YouTube.

 

25        To mark St Andrew’s Day on 30 November, Lynne Clarke, a member of the City of Dunedin Pipe band performed traditional Scottish bagpipe songs throughout the galleries.

 

26        We are especially pleased that by December our community felt more comfortable participating in our public offerings and the month saw ‘A Toitū Christmas’ celebrations out in full swing. 

 

27        The suite of seasonal activities included:

·    the ever-popular ‘Visit Santa!’ – an opportunity to meet our socially distanced Santa and have a photo taken while he watches from his fireside chair

·    ‘Sensory Santa Sessions’ – a chance for our neuro-diverse community members to visit in a quieter before opening hours environment

·    ‘The Great Pixie Hunt – a family friendly trail throughout the gallery spaces finding hidden pixies (of which approximately 2,000 people completed)

·    ‘Pop, Scribble and Twist’ – a take home craft pack encouraging people to step back in time with traditional crafts from yesteryear and make their own tinsel wreath, 2D Christmas cracker, decorations, and postcard (over 2,000 take-home packs were collected by the public)

·    ‘Pixie Town’ – the 2021 edition including playgrounds, ferris wheel, circus acrobats, an orchestra and more ($470 in donations was collected)

·    The Dunedin City Jazz Orchestra and Dunedin Harmony Chorus – performed holiday favourites to around 80 attendees in the NZR Foyer

 

28        This reporting period also saw the appointment of Mary Dawson in the newly created part time Visitor Programmes Coordinator position. This is a very much anticipated and welcome addition working alongside our full time Visitor Programmes Coordinator Chris Watts. This new duo has a passion for TOSM and Lan Yuan DCG and are already developing new engaging experiences for our community.

 

Commercial Activity

29        Commercial activity has been slower this quarter than in the previous year which is reflected in the drop of visitation at both TOSM and Lan Yuan DCG.

 

30        At TOSM we held our annual Christmas evening shopping event which was successful and has become a highlight on the retail calendar each year.

 

31        We launched the TOSM webshop in November with a marketing campaign.  There were steady sales during the campaign.  We will keep developing the webshop with new products on a monthly basis.

 

32        Lan Yuan DCG retail shop sales were stable in the last quarter but the restrictions on food and beverage over the period meant we had a limited revenue stream.

 

33        There was an excellent response to our Annual Pass special which promoted the sale of new annual passes. It was positive to see the local community supporting Lan Yuan DCG.

 

34        TOSM functions and private events were sporadic due to Alert Level 2 restrictions which hampered many planned bookings. We had some repeat bookings in our new Burnside Boardroom and some smaller functions in the Josephine Foyer. Most bookings have been postponed to a later date and not cancelled which is promising.

Lan Yuan DCG

35        Due to the ongoing COVID-19 environment no public offerings were planned or took place at Lan Yuan DCG over this reporting period. The Visitor Programme team used this time to plan and prepare for the February 2022 Chinese New Year and Lantern Festival celebrations.

OPTIONS

36        There are no options as this report is for information only.

NEXT STEPS

37        There are no next steps as this report is for information only.

 

Signatories

Author:

Chris Snow - Operations Manager

Authoriser:

Cam McCracken - Director DPAG, Toitū, Lan Yuan and Olveston

Simon Pickford - General Manager Community Services

Attachments

 

Title

Page

a

Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board Delegations

20

 

SUMMARY OF CONSIDERATIONS

Fit with purpose of Local Government

This decision promotes the cultural well-being of communities in the present and for the future.

Fit with strategic framework

 

Contributes

Detracts

Not applicable

Social Wellbeing Strategy

Economic Development Strategy

Environment Strategy

Arts and Culture Strategy

3 Waters Strategy

Spatial Plan

Integrated Transport Strategy

Parks and Recreation Strategy

Other strategic projects/policies/plans

 

The activities in this report support the Arts and Culture, Economic Development and Social Wellbeing Strategies.

Māori Impact Statement

The Museum consults with and works with the Ngāi Tahu Advisory Group.

Sustainability

No implications although the principles of sustainability under pins all the activity of TOSM and Lan Yuan DCG.

LTP/Annual Plan / Financial Strategy /Infrastructure Strategy

This report is for noting purposes only.

Financial considerations

This report is for noting purposes only.

Significance

In terms of the Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy, the matters in this report are deemed to be of low significance.

Engagement – external

This report is for noting purposes only.

Engagement - internal

This report is for noting purposes only.

Risks: Legal / Health and Safety etc.

There are no legal or health and safety risks related to matters in this report.

Conflict of Interest

There are no known conflicts of interest.

Community Boards

There are no known specific implications for Community Boards.


Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board

21 February 2022

 

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