Maori rock art to be returned
BY RHONDA MARKBY
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Pieces of Maori rock art cut from areas around South Canterbury and North Otago 70 years ago, will be repatriated to Te Ana Whakairo – the Ngai Tahu Rock Art Centre being planned for Timaru.
Newly appointed centre manager Ben Lee said the Wanganui Museum had agreed to the pieces of rock art in their collection being repatriated to South Canterbury, and being displayed in the new centre which is only months off opening.
The rock art trust was also discussing the return of other pieces held in museum collections around New Zealand. The pieces were cut out of the surrounding rock back in the 1940s. One of the pieces being returned by the Wanganui Museum weighed around 100 kilograms.
Mr Lee's appointment signals the next stage of the eight-year-old trust's plans for a rock art centre in Timaru. He said it was an interesting role to be working with a business right from the start, helping build it from the ground up.
He is the former operations manager/deputy chief executive of Aoraki Polytechnic and was deputy chairman of Central South Island Tourism for the last three years. "I have a strong track record in management and a passion for getting jobs done."
Having been on the board of Central South Island Tourism for nine years, he said he already had a good understanding of the rock art project. He saw his role as ensuring the rock art centre was a financially viable visitor attraction, which in turn produced the funds required to ensure the rock art trust could preserve the district's rock art sites.
The centre is expected to attract 20,000 visitors in the first year. The Oamaru Penguin Colony was now attracting more than 80,000 people a year, and it was anticipated many of the same visitors would visit both attractions.
The rock art centre to be known as Te Ana Whakairo will be housed in Timaru's historic landing service building which is also home to the Timaru i-SITE. More than 100,000 people visit the i-SITE annually. Work on preparing the building for the new centre is already under way.
The centre will feature short documentary-style films and life- size and three-dimensional animations and holograms. Much of that work was being undertaken by Wellington company Story Inc, which creates exhibitions and experiences for museums and tourist sites worldwide.
- © Fairfax NZ News
