Museum set for a thrashing in Hillary row
The spat between Sir Edmund Hillary's children and the Auckland War Memorial Museum over Sir Ed's bequest has all the hallmarks of a major media brouhaha.
Just invoking the iconic name of Sir Ed is enough to send most editors and producers into rapture but this argument has plenty of juicy ingredients to fuel the row.
We have the children of New Zealand's greatest hero threatening legal action against the Auckland Museum, which itself is a frequent target of criticism in the media. Also, although it is not entirely clear in the original story, it seems it is only Peter and Sarah Hillary who are arguing for control of their dead father's memorabilia. There is no mention of the position on the will taken by their stepmother, Sir Edmund's widow, June. This raises the question of whether there is a rift in the family over this particular issue.
The museum is likely to get a thrashing in the media because it has more than its fair share of cultural critics who intensely dislike the new more user friendly direction it has taken. There is nothing nastier than a feud in the arts world and I would expect the critics to leap at the opportunity to attack the museum's director, Vanda Vitali, who has aroused their ire.
I suspect the museum is caught in a nasty bind. It has the prospect of a looming court case and will have to watch what it says. It also cannot be seen to be attacking Sir Ed's kids or getting caught up in Hillary family issues. It also has to be seen to respect Sir Ed's wishes for his papers and gear.
At the same time it has an Elgin Marbles type of problem. Yes, Peter and Sarah are right, some of the stuff held by the museum is their shared family heritage which they "own", as all families "own" their photo albums and memorabilia. The problem here is if the museum hands over formal control of the bequest to the children, what other treasures that it holds may then become subject to ownership issues from descendants of the original owners?
The issue is further complicated by the fact that while your and my family photo albums and other assorted memorabilia may not be worth very much, Sir Ed's is of considerable value due to its historic nature.
It is not clear yet from the stories published so far but is this a struggle over copyright and who gains revenue from future publications and exhibitions?
There are many unanswered questions as to what is going on. I guess that will help to fuel the story over the coming weeks.
Besides, the poor museum does not have to do much to find itself under fire.
It was earlier pilloried for not somehow acquiring Sir Edmund's house. Apart from the fact Sir Ed built it himself and I'm sure it was a lovely home for the family in its day, it was not of huge architectural or historical merit. Besides, apart from the land under its foundations, the museum doesn't own any other land to put the house on. The Domain that surrounds it is owned by the Auckland City Council.
I have long been a great supporter of the museum and I fear it is about to become media carrion, again.
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"Besides, the poor museum does not have to do much to find itself under fire."
You maybe should have a bit of a closer look at what has gone on there in the last 18mths or so, as it seems the Museum has done plenty to find itself under fire!
As one who never worshipped at the shrine of St Ed, I find the entire story yawn provoking.
You're correct in saying the museum copped an unfair serve over the fate of Sir Ed's home. That was certainly a case of the media beating a dead fly into a dragon. You're also correct in saying the museum has been transformed into a more user-friendly place. But I feel you're being disingenous touching on the rift between the Hillary children and Lady June because there is certainly gaping hole in their relationship, and has been for more than two decades -- and really you only have to look at what's going on with the winding-down of the Hillary Trust (despite Peter Hillary's desperate attempts to keep his father's great work alive) and the exclusion of the Hillary children from the running of the Trust to see that Lady June has little real interest in what the museum does with Ed's things. They could turn his letters into paper airplanes for all that she cares I'd suggest. She's too busy decorating her luxury flat and carrying on with the gentle-faced indifference of that other old corrupt figure of national adoration, the Queen Mother.
The Museum is showing incredible arrogance and insensitivy to Peter and Sarah. I'm sure the issue is access and good stewardship of the material and the intention of Ed's last wishes in respect to allowing his children access to their fathers legacy / writings etc. The issue should have been solved by mutual dialog and compromise. Dr Vanda Vitali has refused point blank to engage in discussion and deserves every piece of critisism for mishandling the whole affair. You are right... the sheer mention of an iconic name such as Ed's Hillary's sparked passionate response and this has been mine. Auckland Museum... Epic Failure.
The Director should be fired and if the Board has supported her offensive and stupid stance then they should go too.
The will stipulations appear to be quite clear and the Hillary children are being very reasonable as opposed to the museum head. Added to that the previous head of the museum appeared to also be more reasonable the current one, Vanda Vitali, who I think should lose her job over this if it escalates further.
I don't think the museum agreeing to the wills stipulations, which they do by accepting the material, does open a can of worms. There is a 20 year stipulation in there as well - again incredibly reasonable. 20 years is not long for a public institution - private papers are routinely sealed for longer that, and copyright laws are also much longer. 20 years is nothing. Plus the Hillary family are not seeking to stop others from accessing the material - they just want the museum to abide by their father's, and family's, wishes.
Nothing to do with whether we "worshipped at the shrine of St Ed" or not - more a sense of clearly stated wishes being ignored in a case that appears pretty straighforward to most fairminded Kiwis.
Tell me Bill, How would you feel if your family tragedy was displayed at Auckland Museum for all to see just to titilate the NZ public. I think this is maybe what the Hillary family are concerned about. Perhaps this is really about a museum that will do anything to get people through the door to justify its existence. Perhaps you need to do a bit more homework on what is really going on there.
It is such a shame this is even happening. I am sure Sir Ed hoped that all NZ's could have access to his stuff. How dare the museum take Sir Ed's generosity as a right and dominate and control the situation and his family. There will be much debate now around what his wishes really were in the gesture he has made to the museum but the family should decide the outcome not a court. Come on Auckland Museum, settle now and give final say to the family.
Seems Hillary left control and ownership largely to the museum with some major special rights for the family. Why does everyone want to rewrite his will for him, and what right do they have to do that?
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Yes it would open a can of worms... a can of worms that some iwi have been trying to pry open for generations to get their taonga back. Good luck to the Hillary's!