|
|
Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board
17 May 2023
|
Reports
Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan
Dunedin Chinese Garden Activity Report
Department: Arts and Culture
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
|
This report covers activities of Toitū
Otago Settlers Museum (Toitū) and Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden (Lan
Yuan) from 1 July 2022 to 31 March 2023. RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Board:
a) Notes the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan
Dunedin Chinese Garden Activity Report for the period 1 July 2022 to 31 March
2023.
|
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 continue to be higher than the corresponding period for last
year. With the relaxation of the COVID-19 Protection Framework, visitor
behaviours have changed, with Toitū and Lan Yuan enjoying the benefits of
this. Cruise ships have also been welcomed back to the city and during this
period Toitū hosted the i-SITE in the Josephine foyer which resulted in
higher visitation on those days. It is pleasing that overall visitor
numbers are increasing towards numbers seen in the period prior to the COVID-19
pandemic.
COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS
Exhibitions
4 Updates
and scheduled changeouts to permanent display and public areas are as follows:
5 Twentieth
Century Gallery: War at Home was deinstalled and replaced with a
display about the Dunedin and South Seas International exhibition of 1925.
Further enhancements to this display will be added in time for the
centenary.
6 Call
to Arms (military display): Scheduled object changeouts were made including
the display of new items including Scottish military dress added to the
Collection in 2021.
7 On
Air: A new display on radio and broadcasting in Dunedin for the 150th
anniversary of Radio Dunedin, including live broadcast from Toitū on 9 and
10 October.
8 First
Great City: The team are planning a major update to The First Great City
with a focus on Dunedin's industrial and commercial history. The exhibition
will feature new stories about women at work and agricultural technology. There
will also be a special display about the Hallenstein Brothers company and wider
Hallenstein family and their relationships with Dunedin’s cultural
institutions, timed to coincide with the company's 150-year anniversary.
9 Research
Centre: Toitū launched a new look Research Centre which includes
panels to assist visitors in self-guided research and a new physical layout
enabling better monitoring and support of research and computer workstations.
This rationalisation of space allows the Audience Development team to use the
space for programmes and events.
10 NZR
Garage: The major refresh and update of this exhibition is well under way
supported with eternal funding from the Otago Motor Club Trust (OMCT). Some
delays have been incurred due to unplanned building remediations in the old NZR
Bus Garage. There has also been a significant amount of collection work need to
support the inclusion of new objects in the display.
Journey to New
Edinburgh
11 In
March, the team successfully launched the first part of Journey to New
Edinburgh, our feature film tracing early, planned migration from Britain
to Dunedin. The project has required many months of extensive research and
filming both in the UK and around the Otago region.
Online Outputs and
Public Talks
12 Nine
Talking Pictures episodes were released to the Toitū YouTube channel.
13 Live
radio broadcasts from Toitū to celebrate 100 years of Radio Dunedin
(October 2022).
14 Two
Cool and Collected articles were published in the Otago Daily Times.
15 Eight
public talks were delivered.
Collections
Support of
Exhibitions Projects
16 Since
July 2022 the Collections team have been supporting small display changeovers,
as well as a significant amount of input into the NZR Garage project.
Collections
Projects
Digitisation
17 The
digitisation process for the Buchanan Albums is now complete. These
albums consist of three volumes containing numerous sketches, watercolours, and
clippings from newspapers and other publications, all of which are relevant to
Dunedin and Otago. These albums were created by John Buchanan, a Scottish
scientific illustrator who arrived in Dunedin in the 1852. The Otago
Early Settlers Association received the albums as a donation in 1949.
They are highly sought after by researchers due to their depictions of early
Otago flora and scenery. Digitisation has made the albums – now
quite fragile – more easily accessible while preserving them in
perpetuity.
18 Digitisation
of the full set of Otago Early Settlers minutes of meetings has been completed,
supported by the Otago Settlers Association (OSA). These minutes form the
only record of all early collection acquisitions and are crucial for resolving
provenance issues.
19 The
next digitisation project will focus on early photographs of Dunedin. The
period from 1860-1900 forms the backbone and strength of the collection and
will be the focus of this work.
Collection
Management
20 Collection
policy amendments: The team are in the process of revising the
Museum’s collection policy to bring it up to date with current best
practice, especially in light of ongoing issues with collection hazards.
The amended policy will be brought to the next Museum Board meeting for
comment.
21 Collecting
plan: Work has also begun on refining a collection development plan with a
focus on collection significance to ensure the collection remains fit for
purpose and future collecting is focused and sustainable. This may result
in collection deaccession discussions as part of best practice collection
management.
22 Collection
hazards management plans: The Collections team has partially completed a
review of hazardous chemicals within collections, with most issues arising from
within medical collections. The team is now working on an asbestos
management plan – social history collections contain many objects that
contain asbestos usually in the form of an ACM (asbestos containing material)
such as Bakelite or embedded in insulation materials). The project to
identify and resolve these risks will occur over a three-to-five-year time
frame. Risk management plans are in place to ensure health and safety of
all staff, contractors and visitors.
23 Collection
stores: Additional shelving has been installed in Store S104 resulting in
better and more efficient storage of the bulky furniture collections in the
southern part of the store.
24 Costume
cataloguing, storage, and significance project: The team have been working
with Dunedin based textiles expert, Jane Malthus, to complete collection
significance work.
Research
25 Intern:
The Curatorial team hosted another prize-winning second year history
student, Acacia Weekley, as its OSA history intern during her university summer
holidays. Working directly with Seán Brosnahan, Acacia prepared
detailed biographies of early settlers featured in the Smith Gallery.
26 JTNE
and NZR Garage: Curatorial staff have undertaken significant research to
support these exhibition outputs.
27 Hazards:
As a relatively new field in collection management and preventive conservation
the team have been involved in a great deal of research into new thinking about
hazards and hazard management.
Archive
Statistics
28 Staff
processed 270 written public enquiries and 38 telephone enquiries between 1
July 2022 and 31 March 2023.
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
Enriching
Local Curriculum (ELC) - Education
29 In
January Toitū’s new Kaiako/Educators began work in their newly
created roles delivering the new Enriching Local Curriculum programme.
Brendan Seal – Kaiako Toitū (part time) and Kirsten Parkinson
– Kaiako Māori (DPAG and Toitū) have quickly settled into the
team and are fully booked for the next term.
30 Some
of the educational themes explored to date include:
· Early
settler’s arrival and impact on Māori.
· Who
are we, where did we come from?
· Araiteuru
Gallery: origin stories – Kāi Tahu migrations, tools and
technologies, early contact/relations with sealers and whalers –
raruraru, impact of disease, trade economy and intermarriage with mana whenua.
· Steerage
and Wattle-and-Daub hut – arrival of first immigration ships (steerage)
and hut – looking at this through the eyes of Margaret Buchanan.
· Turangawaewae.
· Early
Dunedin, (especially 1800s-1860s) with a focus on migration of Māori,
European and Chinese, changes in resources, landscape, and transport through
this period, and the changing modes of transport 1860s-1930s (particularly the
trams and cable cars).
Visitor
Programmes
31 The
impacts of COVID-19 significantly impacted Visitor Programmes, but as the
second half of 2022 progressed so too did the types and number of public offerings
the team were able to develop and deliver. The following is a snapshot of
some of the highlights of this July 2022 – current reporting period.
32 A
Toitū Christmas: The Visitor Programmes team delivered 33 individual
public offerings throughout December under the ‘A Toitū
Christmas’ theme which included live festive choirs and music, cookie and
gingerbread house decorating workshops, bag decorating workshops and
specifically developed sessions with Santa and Pixie Town for our neurodiverse
community. These were as well as daily The Great Pixie Hunt gallery
trail, Visit Santa!, and Pixie Town experiences.
33 Tuesday
Talks: : In association with the Otago Settlers Association, the regular
Tuesday Club talks continued to have good monthly attendance. Some
speakers have included Heritage Developer Ted Daniels, Dr Jennifer Cattermole
on taonga pūoro, and Jim Sullivan on 100 Years of the Otago Radio
Association.
34 Public
Talks: Some of the public talks during this period included a lecture on
William Morris, hosted by the Otago Socialist Society, lectures for the Otago
Arts Society on the art in Toitū’s collection, and pioneer
perspectives: pre gold rush art at Toitū by Pete Read, University of Otago
Emeritus Professor Tom Brooking spoke in recognition of Armistice Day, and a
seminar commemorating 150 years of Polish settlement in Dunedin.
35 Live
Music Performances: August saw the return of monthly lunchtime music
performances in the Josephine Foyer under the banner of Toitū
Sounds. Local performers over this reporting period included Lara Rose,
the Dunedin Rock Choir, King Leo, Michael Morris, Mr Roberelli, Darryl Baser
and Jackson Caine and Becca Caffyn.
Collaborations
and Events of Note
36 A
collaboration between Toitū and Prospect Park Productions was realised
with Re:In:Act, three theatre performances that responded to the stories
housed in our galleries and archive, one performance of which has gone on to be
developed into a one act play by Ōtepoti Theatre Lab.
37 The
2022-2023 University of Otago Caroline Plummer Fellow in community dance,
Michael Parmenter and his dance colleagues continued to collaborate with
Toitū on monthly public Balfolk dancing.
38 Josephine
the much-loved locomotive in the Toitū Foyer turned 150 on Labour Day. As
is usual, a weekend of birthday festivities was staged which included live
music, games, popcorn, candy floss, balloons and birthday themed crafts.
39 Toitū
again collaborated with Dunedin Pride, hosting a variety of events including a
Pride Pin and Patches Workshop – making identity affirming accessories in
the Josephine Foyer.
40 Live
radio broadcasts from Toitū and the screening of a documentary were held
to mark 100 years of Radio Dunedin.
41 During
Māori Language Week, Toitū hosted an open rehearsal session with the
DCC waiata group, and Wā Kōrero Reorua, and a bilingual toddler story
time with librarians from the Dunedin City Library.
42 The
annual Burns Night Supper and Ceilidh was again a success with the theme being Burns
and Politics, and the Mayor, former Mayor, and local MPs entertained guests
with political discussion.
43 In
a collaboration, Toitū hosted Dunedin’s first Holocaust Remembrance
Day commemoration, in association with the University of Otago and The
Holocaust Centre of New Zealand and continues the strong relationship with
Dunedin’s Jewish community.
44 Some
school holiday highlights include a range of free old-fashioned board games and
activities for children and families in the Josephine Foyer, our regular and
ever-changing gallery trails, and a drop-in Silhouette Workshop in The Smith
Gallery.
Commercial Activity
45 The
Toitū retail shop is experiencing an excellent year. Compared to the same
period last year sales are sitting 159% of the expected target and have reached
the full year target with one quarter left in the financial year still to
go. Continued support from the local Dunedin community, the return of
cruise ships and increased visitation for Pixie Town and Santa photos in
December have all contributed to the increase in retail sales.
46 Retail
stock is arriving frequently from existing suppliers and new suppliers were
selected at the Spring gift fair held in Auckland last year. A bespoke
Josephine range crafted by a NZ designer was developed in time for
Josephine’s celebratory birthday last year.
47 The
Toitū functions and commercial events business has picked up since
November 2022. Over 30 functions have been held this financial year, many of
which have been in the Josephine Foyer with groups of over 180 pax.
48 The
Commercial Manager will be attending MEETINGS in June 2023. MEETINGS is
the only national tradeshow in New Zealand for the Business Events industry,
organised by Business Events Industry Aotearoa (BEIA). Attendance will
further promote the Museum and its excellent facilities to national and
international buyers.
49 The
Toitū and Lan Yuan guided tour service is now operational and taking
bookings from various travel trade groups and local and national special
interest groups. It is heartening to see visitors delve deeper into the
stories and displays at Toitū and Lan Yuan. At Lan Yuan many groups
are also adding on food and beverage options to their tour further increasing
their spend.
OPTIONS
50 There
are no options as this report is for information only.
NEXT STEPS
51 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
There are no attachments
for this report.
|
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 underpin
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.
|
