The Whakatāne Museum has worked quickly to find alternative storage for part of its museum collection after water leaked into the Boon Street Museum Research Centre during the Easter weekend storm.

Whakatāne District Council Team Leader Museum and Arts, Hamish Pettengell, says the fast response by staff when the problem was discovered over the weekend went a long way to containing the extent of the damage to the collection. However, it was imperative that items were now relocated offsite to prevent further deterioration and provide a safe environment for further assessment and treatment.

Many of the items in the affected storerooms had been rehoused in 2010 into specialist packing materials which also mitigated the potential water damage.

Relocation of the collection items concerned is expected to be completed by the end of this week.

The Boon Street Museum Research Centre is closed to the public until further notice.