Connections reached back through the decades at a ceremony in Burgess Park last week to mark the beginning of the building stage of the Whakatāne Museum Research Centre Redevelopment Project.
The sons of H D London, whose father was instrumental in the establishment of the Whakatāne Museum, sat side by side with three generations of the Burgess Family, descendants of the former Councillor after whom Burgess Park is named.
J P (Jack) Burgess was a Whakatāne Borough Councillor from 1962-71 and chaired the Council’s Parks and Reserves committee. He also served a term on the Whakatāne Harbour Board. Mr Burgess had a passion for protecting the district’s cultural heritage and was a keen member of the Whakatāne and District Historical Society.
His son Ron Burgess, and Ron’s grandson Oscar Burgess-Mahy, were special guests at Wednesday’s blessing, turning a sod of grass in front of family members, Council representatives, past and present Museum staff, and other interested members of the public.
Speaking after the ceremony, Paul London said he thought his father would be astounded to know that the Museum ‘seed’ he had planted 50 years ago was “still flourishing”.
Mr London said his father was part of a group of like-minded people who saw a need for a museum in Whakatāne to stop the flow of cultural material which was being taken from the region and deposited in Auckland Museum. He later gifted a significant collection of books to form the Whakatāne Museum’s HD London Library.
The Museum redevelopment will start this month and is expected to be completed by August 2018. It involves the retention and refurbishment of the existing museum building in Boon Street and an extension south into Burgess Park.
New features include:
- Enlarged collection storage areas with the environmental control systems required to adequately protect the Museum’s valuable collections
- A dedicated, multi-functional room for delivering outreach and education programmes
- Secure collection viewing areas for families and researchers
- A community research centre providing enhanced access to Museum resources