Notice of Meeting:

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

 

Date:                                                    Monday 11 July 2022

Time:                                                   9.30 am

Venue:                                                Otago Settlers Association Board Room, Toitū Otago Settlers Museum, 31 Queens Gardens, Dunedin

 

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

11 July 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 - 11 April 2022                                                 10

Reports

5             Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden Activity Report              12

 


Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board

11 July 2022

 

 

1          Apologies

An apology has been received from Cr Doug Hall.

 

That the Board:

 

Accepts the apology from Cr Doug Hall.

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

11 July 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 independent representative and any private or other external interest they might have.

 

2.         Elected or independent 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 Board:

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

11 July 2022

 

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Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board

11 July 2022

 

Confirmation of Minutes

Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board meeting - 11 April 2022

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

That the Board:

Confirms the minutes of the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board meeting held on 11 April 2022 as a correct record.

 

 

 

Attachments

 

Title

Page

A

Minutes of Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board meeting  held on 11 April 2022

10

 

 


Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board

11 July 2022

 

 

 

Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board

MINUTES

 

Minutes of an ordinary meeting of the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board held in the Via Audio Visual Link on Monday 11 April 2022, commencing at 9.30 am

 

PRESENT

 

Chairperson

Mr Phil Dowsett

 

Deputy Chairperson

 

 

Members

Cr Rachel Elder

 

 

Cr Carmen Houlahan

Mrs Susan Schweigman

 

IN ATTENDANCE

Cam McCracken (Director – PDAG, Toitū, Lang Yuan and Olveston)

 

Governance Support Officer                  Lauren McDonald

 

 

  

 

1          Apologies

Moved (Cr Rachel Elder/Mrs Susan Schweigman):

That the Committee:

 

Accepts the apologies from Mr Peter Smith and Cr Doug Hall.

 

Motion carried

 

2          Confirmation of agenda

 

 

Moved (Mr Phil Dowsett/Member Carmen Houlahan):

That the Committee:

 

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 (Mr Phil Dowsett/Cr Rachel Elder):

That the Committee:

 

a)     Notes if necessary the Elected or Independent Members' Interest Register

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 - 21 February 2022

 

Moved (Mr Phil Dowsett/Member Carmen Houlahan):

That the Committee:

 

a)     Confirms the minutes of the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board meeting held on 21 February 2022 as a correct record.

Motion carried (TOSM/2022/001)

   

Reports

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

 

The report covered activities of Toitū Otago Settlers Museum (TOSM) and Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden (Lan Yuan DCG) from 1 January 2022 to 31 March 2022.

 

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

 

 

Moved (Mr Phil Dowsett/Cr Rachel Elder):

That the Committee:

 

Notes the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden Activity Report for the period 1 January 2022 to 31 March 2022.

Motion carried (TOSM/2022/002)

              

The meeting concluded at 10:12 am.

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

CHAIRPERSON


Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board

11 July 2022

 

Reports

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

Department: Arts and Culture

 

 

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1          This report covers activities of Toitū Otago Settlers Museum (Toitū) and Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden (Lan Yuan) from 1 April 2022 to 30 June 2022.

 

  RECOMMENDATIONS

That the Board:

Notes the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden Activity Report for the period 1 April 2022 to 30 June 2022. 

 

BACKGROUND

2          This report is prepared for the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board meeting and details the latest activities and KPI performance at Toitū and Lan Yuan.

DISCUSSION

Visitation

3          Visitor numbers at Toitū are down on the corresponding period last year.  This is largely due to the restrictions in place with the COVID Protection Framework and subsequent changes in visitor behaviours.  This has also negatively affected commercial events and public programmes.  Please note that June 2022 visitor numbers were not available at the time of writing.

4          Visitor numbers at Lan Yuan were down on the corresponding period last year.  The decline in numbers is largely due to the restrictions in place with the COVID Protection Framework and the reoccurrence of COVID in the community.  

COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS

Exhibitions

Gallery Refreshes

5          Work continues on the NZR Garage Refresh.  Delays caused through COVID and supply chain issues have pushed the completion date out and rather than commit to a closure, which may creep into the summer season, Toitū staff will delay the start of physical works until early 2023 with a revised completion date of early July 2023.

6          Exhibitions staff will continue with planned updates to displays as follows.

Twentieth Century Gallery

7          War at Home: due for object changeover and will now become an exhibit to celebrate the centenary of the 1925 international exhibition in Dunedin. 

8          NZ on Air: updated to coincide with the anniversary of the centenary of radio broadcasting in NZ.

First Great City

9          Scheduled object changeouts will take place, which will also support the upcoming 150th anniversary of the founding of Hallenstein Brothers.

10        Toitū staff are working to prepare online content to be accessed via the Toitū website for “The Big Day” an exhibition presenting wedding costumes from the collection spanning a 160 year period.  The addition of this content may need to wait until the Vernon browser (which drives the back end of collection related content online) is upgraded across 2023/24. 

11        Toitū exhibition staff Seán Brosnahan, Will McKee and Chris Kwak, are currently in Scotland and Ireland filming for the Journey to New Edinburgh project.  The overseas filming component will wind up at the end of June 2022 with the aim of meeting a release date for a feature length film of March 2023 to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Otago Settlers Association (OSA).  Funding for the project has been provided by the OSA. 

Collections

Collections Support of Exhibitions

12        Collections staff are now working to support the NZR Garage Refresh project, NZ On Air and First Great City upgrades.  This is a significant task requiring research into objects which are not fully catalogued within the Vernon database system and the physical preparation/conservation of objects for display.  Of note is the work to be done for the redisplay, onsite, of the Toitū traction engine (currently on loan to the Dunedin Gasworks Museum), will be guided by an advisory body, which will include Toitū staff, an industrial heritage specialist, a traction engine expert, and Farra Engineering, who will be carrying out the work.

13        The Scots Colours were displayed again over Anzac Day 2022.  The NZDF has extended the loan of this important object, specifically recognising the high level of care it has been accorded by Toitū collections staff.

Collections Projects

14        Hazardous substances in collections: staff aim to complete the review and disposal of hazardous chemicals held within collection objects, for example medical collections, by August 2022.

15        Costume cataloguing, storage, and significance: a project which will culminate in collection significance statements and a research strategy guiding future collecting is now underway through to May 2024.  Phase One is completion of the inventory onto Vernon.  Funding of $60,274 has been successfully gained from the Lotteries Environment and Heritage fund to support the project through the purchase of additional storage furniture.

16        Conservation/digitisation of objects: the very popular and significant Buchanan watercolour albums have been digitised, which means they are now better protected (handling is now minimised) and can be made digitally available on the Toitū website once the Vernon browser has been upgraded.  Staff are now working with NZ Micrographic Services to digitise the OSA minutes.  Once digitisation is completed, a transcription project will be launched for the handwritten records enabling OSA volunteers to assist with the creation of fully searchable digital content, using the Transkribus software.

17        Collection Development Plan: work has begun on reviewing collections with the aim of developing strategic guidance for the ongoing care and development of the Toitū collections.  This will require significant input from all staff, particularly curatorial, to develop detailed significance statements for collecting areas and themes and may lead to a carefully planned series of deaccession processes as the collection is realigned and refined as a result.

Archive Statistics

18        Staff processed 63 written public enquiries and six telephone enquiries between 1 April and 13 June 2022. 

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom (LEOTC)

19        During the reporting period 417 primary and 166 secondary students attended education programmes.  They were supported by 156 adults.  At the time of writing this report it is estimated that a further 100 students will be visiting.  Of these students two groups were national visitors with senior history students from Lincoln College and Cashmere High School participating in research-based programmes utilising the Museum archives and topic based primary source material.

20        Several classes postponed and re-booked their visits due to school and class wide COVID outbreaks.  By May education visits were more regular and it wasn’t until June that education participation was more in line with pre-pandemic times.

21        The major themes during this period were migration and the big stories in the history of Otago and connecting student’s stories to our shared story.  Where possible, the Toitū educator consulted with schoolteachers to develop programmes to meet the individual needs of the learners and make connections to the Collection.  Many schools have been surveying their students prior to their visit using Toitū’s Origins and Ancestry Questionnaire. 

22        Dunedin City Council has been shortlisted for a new Ministry of Education ‘Enriching the Local Curriculum’ education contract.  This contract involves the provision of education services at Toitū and is currently under negotiation.

Public Programmes

23        This reporting period saw a return to a more ‘normal’ and in-person schedule of visitor programme offerings and Toitū was pleased to see good community participation in these.

24        The regular Tuesday Club events in collaboration with the Otago Settlers Association saw Seán Brosnahan speaking as to the curation behind Toitū’s recent exhibition The Big Day.  Otago University Senior Lecturer of Contemporary Music Dr Ian Chapman gave a well-received performance and presentation on the development of his book The Dunedin Sound.

25        Due to the COVID climate, the annual refreshments following the Anzac dawn service was unable to proceed this year.  To recognise the commemoration, materials were provided in the Josephine Foyer and the public were invited to knit red poppies in the lead-up to Anzac Day.  This alongside a paper poppies activity saw long term engagement from children and adults, with an estimated 20 knitted poppies and 500 paper poppies completed throughout the week.

26        For the April school holidays and in collaboration with the Wild Dunedin Festival of Nature, children’s entertainer Suzy Cato returned to Toitū for a sold-out performance.  In keeping with the nature theme, artist Jo Bone led a watercolour drawing workshop at Lan Yuan, asking participants to draw inspiration from the garden.  A gallery trail also of a nature theme was also widely used by the community over this period.

27        A variety of events were developed in support of The Big Day exhibition.  These were targeted at an adult audience and included ‘Tying the Knot’ – a macrame wall hanging workshop, ‘Brides and Bouquets’ – a demonstration and discussion with a local florist who shared wedding trends and tips from her thirty years’ experience, and ‘Let Them Eat Cake!’ – an entry level floral cake decorating workshop inspired by collection items on display and lead by the Dunedin Cake Decorating Club.

28        Toitū and Lan Yuan celebrated May Music Month with a variety of live performances across the venue spaces over the four weekends of May.  The Dunedin Chinese Seniors and Dunedin Tai Chi group performed at Lan Yuan, while at Toitū Molly Devine performed alongside three high school musicians for an afternoon of acoustic music.  ‘Toitū Teens’ showcased thirteen local high school acts, including groups and solos of various styles, DJs Dead D and Rah B provided an ambient set, playing rehearsed and improvised music for an hour as visitors moved through the Josephine Foyer, and The Red Cross Choir performed to a strong audience composed mostly of their families.

29        In recognition of World Dance Day, Michael Parmenter, celebrated dancer, choreographer, and current University of Otago Caroline Plummer Fellow in Community Dance, gave a talk and performance on the theme of ‘How Dances Travel’.  This event proved very popular and included demonstrations and active audience participation and has led to a partnership between Toitū and Parmenter to offer free monthly public dance workshops in the Josephine Foyer.

30        The Monday public holiday of Queen’s Birthday weekend saw a local children’s storyteller sharing stories, performing puppetry, and singing songs on and around the Tiger Tea Bus in the transport gallery.

Commercial Activity

31        The Toitū retail shop has been busier over the last quarter.  A sale during the Easter and school holidays increased revenue for April.  There has been increased visitation for “The Big Day” exhibition which resulted in increased spend in the shop.  Good support from the local Dunedin community is also still evident.  The revenue from retail has been significant considering decreased visitation numbers for the entire year. 

32        Unfortunately, it has been a quiet period for functions at Toitū.  During June Toitū received multiple bookings, this trend is set to continue into the second half of 2022.

33        Given the lower than usual visitation numbers during the last three months of the financial year sales have been good in terms of retail and food and beverage at Lan Yuan.  Excellent sales during the Qu Yuan Festival weekend boosted revenue.  A couple of functions were held at Lan Yuan including a wedding. However, functions are still slow, which is common over the winter months.

34        The Toitū and Lan Yuan guided tour service is now operational.  Marketing material has been completed to send out to the travel trade sector.  Multiple bookings have been confirmed from July 2022 onwards.  The tour service is being promoted at the MEETINGS trade show as an incentive to promote alongside function and event bookings.  It is expected that there will be a steady increase in interest for this service, with the return of national and international tourists later in the year.

Lan Yuan

35        The Dragon Boat Festival celebrated at Lan Yuan as The Legend of Qu Yuan saw a suite of public events on offer over a Friday to Sunday period.  The Friday night evening viewing with illuminated lanterns, which considering was a particularly cold night, was attended by 78 people.  The weekend of celebrations which included discounted garden entry and tea, also comprised of free interactive games, children’s crafts, calligraphy station, zongzi making cooking class, free guided tours with Malcolm Wong and live traditional Chinese music. 

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:

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

Authoriser:

Simon Pickford - General Manager Community Services

Attachments

 

Title

Page

a

Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board Delegations

19

 

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 as well as Rūnaka on a regular basis. 

Sustainability

The principles of sustainability under pin all the activity of Toitū and Lan Yuan.

LTP/Annual Plan / Financial Strategy / Infrastructure Strategy

This report is for noting purposes only.

Financial considerations

This report is for noting purposes only.

Significance

This decision is considered low in terms of the Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy.

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 implications for Community Boards.

 

 


Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board

11 July 2022

 


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