Action stations

It’s all go on the museum development front at the moment, as four major projects are simultaneously working towards making the museum look super. The big one, Blue Water Black Magic – A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake, continues on its merry way with the fit out progressing at an impressive rate. With construction having been completed several weeks ago, the exhibitions team are going through the massive process of installing all the priceless artefacts and groovy interactive stations. There’s also the not-so-insignificant job of proofreading all the panels that will accompany objects, and help tell the stories of New Zealand’s yachting prowess. The majority of the fit-out will actually be complete shortly to allow us several weeks to test the space, including a series of soft-openings with some lucky people.

Yellow ‘RESTRICTED AREA’ tape guards the concourse entry to the top secret Blue Water Black Magic exhibition. We also lock the doors, just in case someone manages to get past the tape.

The Edmiston Gallery of Maritime Art is also nearing its public re-opening on 20 November. Given its proximity to Blue Water Black Magic, the Edmiston Gallery was temporarily closed to redevelop the space. Much of the gallery is complete, although as you can see from the photo, there’s still the odd piece that needs installing.

A wooden figurehead waiting, waiting, waiting for installation.

A major refit of our front-of-house and shop has also commenced, to transform it into a modern and welcoming space. As the photo shows, the old area has been stripped right back and we’re essentially starting afresh. We’ve reclaimed some of space from the western side to increase its size, which will give us more room to display a cool new range of museum merchandise and gifts that we’re having prepared. The museum’s entrance has temporarily shifted around the eastern side to the start of Princes Wharf, with the new area ready for the start of November.

Resembling little more than a work site at present, come Monday 2 November this space will be unrecognisable as its predecessor.

One project that’s almost complete is a repaint of our entire building footprint. Many people don’t realise just how big the museum is, due in part to the disjointed appearance of our buildings. So we’ve taken some action, and painted almost everything black. Bold, awe inspiring, New Zealand black. It even includes repainting the massive cradle that supports KZ1 at the front entrance of the museum. The painting is also part of a much larger and far more exciting project that we’ll be able to announce in a couple of weeks...

Maritime Museum 2009/10 Speaker Series

The Maritime Museum’s 2009/10 Speaker Series is focusing on the environment, and we have two great speakers to get us started this year.

First up is Pete Bethune on Tuesday 13 October. Pete skippered the uber-cool boat, Earthrace, to its world-record circumnavigation of the globe in 2008. What’s more, Earthrace achieved this feat using 100% biofuel, proving that marine craft can travel as fast and efficiently across the oceans as anything using conventional fuels. Great reward for Pete, who started the Earthrace project to make a positive impact on the environment by increasing awareness of renewable fuels.

Pete will be speaking about the 60 day, 23,500 nautical mile voyage as well as updating attendees about his next plans for Earthrace ahead of his official media announcement on Friday 16 October. Attendees can also check out Earthrace prior to the talk, as it will be moored at the Maritime Museum.

Register your attendance on 09 373 0800 or info@maritimemuseum.co.nz – entry with $5 donation to charity of Pete’s choice.

Then on Tuesday 10 November, we’ll be welcoming Dr Mark Orams. Mark is a successful yachtsman, scientist, environmentalist and adventurer. He was part of Sir Peter Blake’s crew on the triumphant Steinlager 2 which won the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race, and was a member of Team New Zealand’s two America’s Cup defences in Auckland.

Mark has recently published ‘Blake: Leader. Leadership lessons from a great New Zealander’, and hopes the book conveys something of the essence of the remarkable Sir Peter Blake. The book provides insights from Mark, and observations of Sir Peter’s leadership style from other crew mates and colleagues – including Grant Dalton and Douglas Myers – who worked closely with him before he was tragically killed in 2001.

The book was officially launched during the year’s New Zealand Leadership Week; an event started by the Sir Peter Blake Trust. Mark was the inaugural executive director of the Trust from 2004 to 2007. Mark is now a Professor of Tourism at AUT University and associate director of the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute.

Keep an eye out for registration details at a later date.

We’re currently planning presentations for the start of next year, along the same environmental theme. If you’ve got any ideas for people you'd like to see, let us know.