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Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board
3 June 2026
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Reports
Toitū Otago Settlers Museum
Activity Report
Department: Arts and Culture
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1 This
report covers activities of Toitū Otago Settlers Museum (Toitū) from
1 October 2025 to 31 March 2026.
RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Committee:
Notes the Toitū
Otago Settlers Museum Activity Report for the period 1 October 2025 to 31 March
2026.
BACKGROUND
2 This
report is prepared for the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum Board meeting and
details the latest activities and KPI performance at Toitū.
DISCUSSION
Visitation
3 Toitū
recorded 219,514 visitors in this reporting period, representing a 25% increase
compared with the same period in FY 24/25. This a pleasing result considering
the relatively low visitation in Q1, and can be attributed to the successful
cruise ship, Christmas and summer seasons.
collections and exhibitions
Exhibitions
4 Chinese
New Year and Lantern Festival. The exhibitions team worked with Enterprise
Dunedin to present a display of Chinese Lanterns inside the Transport and
Technology Gallery for Chinese New Year in February.
Temporary Displays continuing
5 The
CRAFT is a display in the Transport and Technology gallery, about
freemasonry in Dunedin. The display features recently donated items to the
Museum, including a pair of ornate plaster columns from Lodge Māori, as
well as an array of masonry ‘jewels.’ This exhibition will continue
through into 2028.
6 DANCE!,
installed in the Creative Dunedin gallery. It tells the story of Shona Dunlop
MacTavish MBE (1920-2019) dancer, teacher, choreographer and pioneer of
liturgical dance, often referred to as ‘the mother of modern dance in New
Zealand’. The exhibition includes dance costumes, live dance footage and
a mirror wall and interactive ballet barre for practising some of Shona’s
signature dance moves. We have held a number of linked programmes and events
related to Shona’s dance legacy.
7 1925-26
SHOW TIME which commemorates the 1925-1926 New Zealand and South Seas
International Exhibition which ran from 17 November 1925 to 1 May 2026
attracting more than 3 million visits. Related to this display, the team
completed a project restoring the 1925 pinstriping to Josephine, the train
engine now located in the Toitū foyer, with was saved from potential
scrapping and spruced up for the 1925 exhibition.
8 Eden
in Dunedin: Highlights from the Eden Hore Central Otago Fashion collection continues
in the Material Culture gallery. This exhibition continues to be very popular,
along with the publication Central Otago Couture: The Eden Hore Collection,
which is now on its second print run. This exhibition will run into 2028.
Upcoming displays
9 Welcome
to Ōtepoti, Immersive Experience: We are in the final stages of
completing the development of this project, which has been created in
partnership with mana whenua. We intend to be carrying out on-site testing from
early June, readying the experience for a launch in July.
10 Dunedin
Sound: We are working on a new display and update for the 20th Century
galleries, which will tell the story of Dunedin Sound. This display will take
the place of the Cineclub display and include interactive elements.
11 Pixie Town:
Following the great success of Santa’s Grotto in its new location of the
temporary gallery, we plan to also move Pixie Town to this location for its
December 2026 run enhancing the overall experience.
Maintenance of permanent exhibits
12 General
display updates: The Exhibitions and Collections team continuously maintain
the quality of the permanent exhibits at Toitū. We are currently carrying
out a range of painting maintenance to wall surfaces in the public display
spaces. Most of our smaller exhibition updates and object change outs are
currently on hold as we come back up to full capacity across the current
collections team.
13 Lighting
renewals: In early 2025 the technical team began to roll out new light
fittings in the permanent displays. However, a fault was discovered requiring
the consignment to be returned to the supplier. We expect delivery of repaired
units in late-May.
14 Across
the Ocean Waves: We are planning to replace all of the current halogen
lighting to LED. The LED fittings will use less electricity to produce the same
light levels, as well as producing less heat meaning the HVAC system will work
more efficiently.
Permanent exhibition updates
15 Smith
Gallery: Staff continue to make progress on the Portrait database. The
stage one goal is to create a single, authoritative catalogue record in our
Vernon CMS for the portraits on display to include full biographies as well as
relevant information contained in the Journey to New Edinburgh (JTNE) short
films. These will also be included in the Smith Gallery touchscreens as part of
an update to this gallery scheduled for 2027.
Audience feedback
16 Some sample
feedback we have received over the reporting period includes:
· ”It was
really fun. I loved the dresses and interactive exhibitions.” Visitor
from Dunedin
· “A
wonderful facility filled with interesting, easy to access information and
artifacts. Thank you to the team for making it possible to view our family
bible. An all-round awesome experience.” Visitor from Wellington
· “Staff
are always exceptionally welcoming.” Visitor from Dunedin
· “We love
coming to Toitu Museum. So many things to explore for adults and kids.”
Visitor from Palmerston North
· “Best
Museum of the South Island. Beautiful.” Visitor from Auckland
· “This
place is amazingly rich! I learned so much. 2 hours is not enough. See you
tomorrow.” Visitor from France
· “Great
Museum. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Thanks.” Visitor from UK
Digital outputs and public talks
17 Peter Read created
Talking Pictures episodes 71 through 74. Episodes 71 and 72
featured the 1925-1926 Dunedin and South Seas Exhibition - The greatest
spectacle of its kind, parts 1 and 2 with part 1 receiving a record 782 views.
Episode 73 – “Tis the season”, focussing upon
Christmas, and Episode 74 “Christmas time to teatime” about tea
company advertising ephemera. These are all viewable on the Toitū YouTube
channel.
18 Two ODT Cool
and Collected articles were published:
· Service his wee
slice of Scotland by Seán Brosnahan, published 13 December 2025 (about
Captain Cargill’s fish slice) Serving
his wee slice of Scotland | Otago Daily Times Online News
· Steam dreams roll
out at scale by Pete Read, published 7 March 2026 (about model trains in the
collection) Steam
dreams roll out at scale | Otago Daily Times Online News
19 Dunedin
Anzac profiles: In the lead up to Armistice Day 2025, 10 short profile
videos on Dunedin service personnel were released on the Toitū YouTube and
Facebook channels. Another 17 were made available in April 2026 before Anzac
Day. As well as being available online, these stories are linked to the digital
Roll of Honour entries in the Call to Arms display at Toitū.
20 Three talks
were delivered by Pete Read, Curator, all based upon the 1925 Exhibition:
· The
greatest spectacle of its kind talk on 1925 Exhibition for St Peter’s
Church talk series, 4/11/25
· Get
your motor running! talk for 1925 Exhibition centenary talk series,
24/11/25
· The
greatest spectacle of its kind talk on 1925 Exhibition for Gore Historical
Society talk series, 16/3/26
21 Nine talks
were delivered by Seán Brosnahan, Curator:
· 10-12
Oct 2025 Poppelwell family reunion at
Toitū
· 14
Nov 2025 Oamaru
Heritage Festival: The Devil’s Half Acre: Slums, Sleaze
and Sludge in 19th-century Dunedin
· 23
January 2026 St Kevin’s Oamaru on Dominican
History in New Zealand
· 23
January 2026 Hilary Travel Group, History of New
Zealand
· 10
February 2026 Toitū Tuesday Club, Lebanese project
· 18
February 2026 Port Chalmers Historical Society, JTNE
· 5
March 2026 Cashmere High
School, Chinese and Taranaki prisoners
· 16
March 2026 Timaru U3A, Two Mackenzies and South
Canterbury
· 28
March 2026 Clan Mackenzie reunion bus tour etc
Collections
Acquisitions
22 During this
reporting period 39 new donation groups were accepted into the collection.
Highlights include a collection of sixteen letters home from Private Charles
Cyril Newbury of the Otago Infantry Regiment during WW1; a gold nugget from
Gabriel’s Gully by an early digger, and the purchase of an oil
painting by Fredrick Tudgay of the Union Steam Ship Company steamer Bruce,
which is significant in local history as a coastal trader.
Staffing
23 Our new
registrar Anne Harlow, previously at Tūhura Otago Museum, joined us in
February and has already provided us with an additional level of expertise and
support for our Vernon CMS.
24 Our conservator
has been on extended leave due to illness from December through to March, and
is currently completing a phased return to work programme.
Collections support of exhibitions
25 The capacity
to support exhibition updates and new displays has been severely curtailed by a
lack of staff and this will continue especially while our Conservator is coming
up to speed through a phased return to work programme.
Collections projects
26 Costume:
We were able to secure some casual and consultant services to complete a couple
of projects on our costume and textile collection, both flowing on from the
Lotteries funded project we finished in 2024. We finished cataloguing and
rehousing some previously uncatalogued materials held in the Registry. Many of
these items are unfortunately unprovenanced and there is a lot of duplication,
but we now have a greater level of understanding and control over these
collections. We also finished rehousing our shoe collection into drawers which
were installed as part of the Lotteries Project.
27 Exonumia
(medals and badges): We are currently rehousing and auditing these collections
– relocating them from the old strong room into secure locked storage
within the main collection storage area.
Conservations projects
28 Please see
comments above under Staffing. Prior to our conservator taking sick leave, her
energies had been applied to collections duties while we were short of staff,
ensuring the acquisition process was managed efficiently.
Archives
29 Our Outreach
database records 111 separate public enquiries. The reporting does not reflect
the time spent on an enquiry or whether it included a personal visit to view an
object/item on site – some can take several hours to complete and the
most basic takes approx. half an hour including recording into Outreach. The
team has been sharing these across three staff – the Manager and two
Curators, with the Manager processing the majority of the enquiries.
30 We
have completed an extensive review of the Archive collection, with the aim of
identifying priorities for digital access. Our criteria for selection is
currently based upon both popularity (e.g.: portraits, subject matter
photographs of early Dunedin, Early Settler forms) and significance and will
complement a planned project to relaunch our Vernon browser online. We are
currently scoping out and costing digitisation.
Sector Engagement and Support
31 We provided
several guided tours of our facility to staff working on the redevelopment of
Te Unua Southland Museum and Art Gallery. Loans of mannequins were made to the
Dunedin Gasworks and Ashburton Museum.
32 We also
attended the following:
· Seán
Brosnahan attended and presented at the ISAANZ (Irish Studies Association of
Australia and NZ) conference on 20 and 21 November 2025.
· Jane
Macknight and Anne Harlow attended an ARANZ workshop in Invercargill gaining
updates on Archive issues on 26 March 2026 and also took the opportunity to
visit the new collections facility for Te Unua.
· Cam
McCracken and Jane Macknight attended and presented at a Hui at Tūhura
Otago Museum to discuss “Māori exhibitions in Museums.” This
was attended in person and online by representatives of all the medium and
large museums of the South Island.
audience development
Enriching Local Curriculum (ELC) – Education
33 The Ministry
of Education contract held by the DCC to deliver education programmes across
DPAG, Toitū and Lan Yuan was extended for an additional 12 months from
January 2026.
34 Themes explored
in Toitū’s education programme during this reporting period for
early childhood, primary and secondary ākonga included the significance of
water and its connection, through the hydrosphere/water cycle, to the sea
through a local context, reasons why Chinese miners came to the area, the
perspectives people in Otago held towards them, how this shaped their
treatment, the long-term significance of the miners and how this shaped
Dunedin, a general theme of culture and identity, including local stories and
migration, the significance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, as well as pacific
explorers and emigration, learning at the turn of the 19th century,
Otago’s history, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Visitor Programmes
35 In addition
to the broad range of programmes and events delivered during this reporting
period, three significant areas of focus included the festive programming
presented as part of A Toitū Christmas, the monthly public talks
commemorating the centenary of the 1925 New Zealand and South Seas
International Exhibition, and the Chinese New Year celebrations delivered
collaboratively across Lan Yuan and Toitū.
36 As part of
the 1925 Exhibition Centenary programme, Toitū hosted a series of public
talks exploring different aspects of the Exhibition and its historical context.
Speakers included Toitū Transport Curator Peter Read, who discussed the
motor vehicle displays featured at the Exhibition; Moira White, Humanities
Curator at Tūhura Otago Museum, who examined the range of work created by
women and exhibited in the Women’s Court; and local fashion historian Dr
Jane Malthus, who explored 1920s fashion through the lens of this landmark
Dunedin event.
37 Throughout
December, Toitū presented a diverse programme of free and paid activities
under the banner of A Toitū Christmas. Events included festive
craft-making sessions, creative workshops focused on Christmas tote bags,
decorations and stockings, performances by choirs and solo musicians in the
Josephine Foyer, Pixie Town Quiet Hour sessions supporting neurodivergent visitors,
and the popular Great Pixie Hunt Gallery Trail. In 2025, the Visit Santa
experience was significantly enhanced through its relocation to the Transport
and Technology Gallery, where a themed Christmas grotto atmosphere was created.
Although promotion was relatively modest, visitation increased substantially on
previous years, driven largely by positive word of mouth. Pixie’s Tinker
Town also proved highly successful, with approximately 3,000 visitors
participating in free festive craft and card-making activities over a nine-day
period.
38 February’s
Chinese New Year celebrations encompassed an evening of Chinese cultural
performances, giant lanterns, food trucks, entertainment, and fireworks, in
celebration of the Year of the Horse. Reflecting the close working relationship
between staff across both institutions, Toitū and Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese
Garden collaborated on a new exhibition titled A Shared Light –
Illuminating the Chinese New Year with Lanterns, presented across both
sites, including a lantern display within the Transport and Technology Gallery
at Toitū. Additional programming included a quiet session held prior to
the main festival evening, as well as the Lantern Festival, a family-focused
daytime event featuring lantern decorating, live Chinese instrumental music, a
traditional tea ceremony, and watercolour pencil art activities.
COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY
Retail
39 Retail performance
at Toitū Otago Settlers Museum remained strong throughout Q2, with all
three months showing growth compared with the same period last year. More than
10,000 items were sold during the quarter, representing a record result. Cruise
ship visitation continued to have a significant positive impact, with some days
generating more than double our normal summer sales. December was again a
particularly strong trading period, supported by the museum-wide Christmas
theme, Pixietown and the Santa experience.
40 Activity during
the second quarter focused heavily on processing indent purchases,
merchandising and vendor replenishment as product lines sold through. The
retail offer was expanded to include a broader range of generic tourism
products to meet demand from cruise ship passengers and international visitors.
41 Our annual
Christmas shopping evening in December was again highly successful, attracting
many returning customers as well as newcomers.
42 The Santa
experience and Santa photography activation was relocated to the Technology and
Transport Gallery, where a dedicated space was developed. Visitors responded
very positively to the refreshed experience, and the museum generated
additional revenue through its share of the photography profits.
43 Retail performance
in Q3 remained strong, with record sales continuing, particularly within the
tourism sector. There was also excellent sell-through of products targeted at
families and children.
44 We remain
committed to supporting Dunedin and Otago artists and brands and continue to
expand our locally sourced product range through the introduction of new lines.
Functions and Commercial Events
45 A total of
23 private venue bookings were held at Toitū Otago Settlers Museum between
1 October and 31 December 2025, compared with 14 bookings during the same
period in 2024.
46 A total of
18 private venue bookings were held between 1 January and 31 March 2026,
compared with 8 bookings during the same period in 2025.
47 Our
Functions and Commercial Events coordinator books all venue hire requests
across the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Toitū Otago Settlers Museum, and
Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden. This consolidated approach is proving
successful, with significant growth in venue hire bookings during the current
financial year. Year-to-date bookings total 69, compared with 34 for the same
period in the previous financial year so we have doubled our venue hire over
the last nine months – this is in part due to a high number of internal
requests for rooms from the DCC.
48 Following
the approval of Toitū’s licence to serve alcohol, this service
commenced during Q3. Where appropriate, Toitū will provide alcohol service
directly for event clients, creating an additional revenue stream for the
museum while enhancing the overall event offering.
options
49 There are
no options as this report is for information only.
NEXT STEPS
50 There are
no next steps as this report is for information only.
Signatories
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Author:
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Cam McCracken - Director DPAG and Toitū, Lan Yuan
& Olveston
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Authoriser:
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Mike Costelloe - General Manager, Arts, Culture &
Economic Development
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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 enables democratic local
decision making and action by, and on behalf of communities.
This decision promotes the social
well-being of communities in the present and for the future.
This decision promotes the economic
well-being of communities in the present and for the future.
This decision promotes the environmental
well-being of communities in the present and for the future.
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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Future Development Strategy
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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
The Museum consults with and works with the Ngāi Tahu
Advisory Group as well as Rūnaka on a regular basis.
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Sustainability
The principles of sustainability underpin all the activity
of Toitū and Lan Yuan.
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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
This decision is considered low in terms of the
Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy.
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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 implications for Community Boards.
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