Don Stafford Wing opens at Rotorua Museum this weekend

This Saturday [3 September] Rotorua Museum will be opening the doors to the new Don Stafford Wing, finally marking the completion of the $22 million Centennial Development project.

While work started on the project over six years ago, it has taken a journey of more than 100 years to complete the iconic Bath House building in which Rotorua Museum is housed.

Since opening in 1908, Rotorua’s famous Bath House has evolved from its origins as The Great South Seas Spa to the highly respected status it enjoys today as one of New Zealand’s leading regional museums.

Museum director Greg McManus says the finished building, based on the original vision of balneologist Arthur Stanley Wohlmann, has certainly been worth the wait.

"With 55% more public gallery space and a whole range of new exhibitions we have taken the visitor experience to a truly world class level," he said.

The new signature exhibition Ngā Pūmanawa o Te Arawa – The Beating Hearts of Te Arawa, uses innovative displays, iconic taonga (treasures), and stunning design, to follow the journey of the Arawa people, the original inhabitants of the area, from their homeland in Hawaiki to their descendants in Rotorua today.

In addition, Rotorua Museum now boasts five state-of-the-art changing exhibition spaces, including two brand new galleries on Level 1 of the south wing extension.

On opening, the new Southern Trust Gallery will feature Blomfield in Wonderland. Famous for his paintings of the Pink and White Terraces, this exhibition illustrates how Charles Blomfield’s art focused on more than just the scenic wonders of Rotorua. In the new Chamber of Commerce Gallery, A Catalogue of Wonders features a selection of works from the Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust Heritage Collection.

In addition to the new exhibitions in the new south wing, three changing exhibitions are currently on display in the Rotorua Trust Galleries: Bay Proud – A Century of Bay of Plenty Rugby; Heather Straka – The Asian; and Neil Pardington – The Vault.