The redevelopment of the Whakatāne Museum and Research Centre in Boon Street has received a $45,000 grant from the Grassroots Trust. The redevelopment will see a southern extension built into Burgess Park and the existing building upgraded, and Paula Chapman, Redevelopment Project Manager at Whakatāne District Council, says the funding from the Trust is greatly appreciated.

“Thanks to the support of the Grassroots Trust and our other partners, we can now begin to create a new community facility which will house a multifunctional education space, a public research centre, provide improved access for the community and deliver climate control for the Museum’s rich collections. We have an incredibly important collection here, one of both local and national significance, and it is fantastic that we will soon have a worthy facility to house it.”

Work is expected to begin onsite in mid-July, and museum staff and contractors have already begun the process of relocating the collection. The entire project expected to take 12 months.