Good News Everybody!
Well if you are one that can see beyond the extremely narrow line of everything must return a MONETARY profit.
I notice while having my breakfast this morning that Auckland Council, Central Government and Te Papa are looking at a joint venture in establishing an “outpost” of the national museum right here in the Manukau City Centre (my back door step).
From the NZ Herald
Te Papa museum to bring its treasures to Manukau
South Auckland is set to gain a rich cultural and economic boost as a northern outreach of Te Papa, the national museum.
The Government, with the blessing of Auckland Mayor Len Brown, will this afternoon announce an agreement towards developing a national centre for cultural collections and exhibitions in Hayman Park, Manukau.
That is where the Manukau Institute of Technology is also building a $94 million campus on top of the locality’s railway station at the end of a new branch line, soon to be served by fast electric trains.
Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Chris Finlayson is expected to outline an agreement between the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and Auckland Council with the Super City’s own art and heritage institutions to develop an “innovative cultural hub” at the heart of the country’s most culturally diverse and fastest-growing region.
Although the initiative will be led by Te Papa, the Weekend Herald understands that the deal will also involve the Auckland War Memorial Museum and the Auckland Art Gallery, which can expect to contribute exhibits from their own collections to the new super-hub. That should allay any concerns about a Wellington-led cultural takeover, according to officials close to the venture, which will have a strong educational mandate to serve the needs of everyone from pre-schoolers to “life-long learners” and academic researchers
…
Another said an aim in choosing South Auckland with its ethnically diverse population was to “embed a cultural facility for the 21st century in the community”.
…
Although the site is 20km from downtown Auckland, officials hope it will become a magnet for visitors from home and abroad and point to relative ease of access from the airport along the Southwestern Motorway, as well as the development of a new rail and bus interchange next to Hayman Park. Government officials will also have been reminded by Mr Brown, a former Manukau mayor, of Auckland Council’s 30-year “Southern Initiative” focused on improving accommodation and job opportunities in that part of the Super City.
Details of scale, cost and timing of the centre have yet to be worked into a business case, expected to be presented to the Cabinet before the end of this year.
But it is certain to require a substantial building, which will also provide Te Papa with much-needed storage space to spread the risk from natural disasters such as earthquakes hitting Wellington.
Where it will beTe Papa outreach at Hayman Park
• 20 hectares
• 20km from downtown Auckland
• 1.6km from Westfield Manukau shopping mall
• Next to Manukau railway station and new Manukau Institute of Technology campus
—ends—
Correction, looking at the GIS maps the Westfield Mall is actually about 400 metres away from the Hayman Park site – not 1.6km unless someone has the site entirely wrong.
Again from the Herald
Auckland branch for Te Papa museum
A major announcement has been made about a new Auckland branch for the national museum Te Papa, currently based in Wellington.
“Our place”, Te Papa, will have a second place at Hayman Park in South Auckland.
The initiative has been announced by MP Chris Finlayson, Mayor Len Brown and CEO of Te Papa Michael Houlihan.
The new facility will have three focuses; storage for art and museum items, exhibition space and an education centre
—ends—
This is where the potential site for the Te Papa outpost will be
Well after the proceedings at the Unitary Plan meetings that have recently wound up I did say Manukau was open for business:
I did not quite have Te Papa in mind when I coined that phrase. None-the-less though I am quite excited that this joint venture is starting to roll. Mind you one has to bear in mind this:
“Details of scale, cost and timing of the centre have yet to be worked into a business case, expected to be presented to the Cabinet before the end of this year.”
So we have a while yet before anything concrete happens with Te Papa. Mind you we still have three more years to go before the Unitary Plan becomes operative so we are stuck in moving Auckland forward through that piece as well.
I will post a separate post on the possible Benefit:Cost breakdown of Te Papa as I would see it.
But what are your thoughts first? Leave your comments in the comment box below
Related articles
- Auckland’s Te Papa plans (stuff.co.nz)
- Te Papa museum to bring its treasures to Manukau (nzherald.co.nz)
- New national cultural centre (radionz.co.nz)
- Editorial: Te Papa North an idea whose time has come (nzherald.co.nz)
Talking Southern Auckland 
The idea of having an extension of Te Papa in Manukau I agree with. Taking more public ‘and to enable it, I don’t. There is a lot of land in Manukau, closer to the mall, that is currently under used. You need to keep public, open, green space. Look at Vic Park, Albert Park etc. You can even use Hyde Park or Central Park as good examples. To me the chance to integrate the transport centre and the gallery, in very close proximity to the mall, the university and the PT links is a chance in a lifetime. Don’t repeat the mistake made with the train station by placing it 200m too short.
The other crucial thing that is needed, is to fix the severance between Rainbows End and the city centre. Not everyone will ‘me Rainbows End but it is a major attraction and could multiply the benefits.