sharing the past - Auckland Museum

teacher background
The Institute's part of the Museum's activities represented
the educational service the Museum
should give. Their avowed aims were to "advance
the diffusion of knowledge and promote alike,
pure taste, intellectual pleasure and material
advancement". They therefore held public lectures
and readings of scientific papers, discussions
on literature and art and also established
the first School of Art to be based in the Museum.
A varied selection of classical statuary casts was
imported by Thomas Russell. Sir John Logan-
Campbell funded a tutor and the equipment for
students who would sketch these examples of
good taste. Many museums throughout the world
used this same technique to assist their artists.
However, Auckland's statues seem to have been
modest in comparison with some cities, where single
sex viewing was necessary. After 11 years
the school closed down as Dr. Elam's bequest
established a new independent art school which
still functions today.
The new Museum building seemed ideal initially.
However, in 1892 and 1904 two extensive additions
had to be constructed to one side of the
building. Enthusiastic collecting by the first curator,
botanist Thomas Cheeseman, and further public
spirited subscriptions and donations to an
expanding human history collection meant that by
1913 the building's space had become totally
inadequate. The Institute and Museum Council
interviewed the then Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon.
W.F. Massey, requesting government aid for
building a new museum on Domain Hill. The
request was granted the next year. Unfortunately
the outbreak of World War I meant plans had to
be postponed until 1920.
The devastating events of Gallipoli and the
Western Front had so affected New Zealanders
that the concept of a war memorial as part of the
new Museum was enthusiastically embraced. A
citizens committee, which operated for 10 years,
raised 4/5 of the necessary funding and ran a
successful competition to select a design for the
building itself. The three winning architects,
Auckland Museum
Te Papa Whakahiku
Sharing the Past
Grierson, Aimer and Draffin, were war veterans.
They based their design loosely on the Grecian
style but more directly on the Pennsylvania
Railway station which was in turn based on the
Roman Baths at Caracella. In line with 'modern'
practice a feature of the new building was to be
plentiful natural light, hence the huge windows set
into each wall and the internal light wells.
Ironically today's scientific evidence suggests that
U.V light is highly destructive, especially of natural
materials, and all the windows have had to be
blanked out.
Unfortunately Thomas Cheeseman, the curator of
50 years, died in 1923 and was not able to see
this planning come to fruition. Thomas Cheeseman
was an energetic and farsighted individual.
Under his direction the Museum became a noted
research institution, yet one always in touch with
public needs. Although the Princes Street building
was soon too crowded to hold separate exhibitions,
he was in touch with overseas trends and
even at this early time was keen to set aside an
exhibition space especially for children as soon
as larger premises were established. His legacy
to the Museum was an excellently preserved collection
of 10,000 native plant specimens which is
still widely studied and includes examples of an
extinct plant from the Manukau Heads.
A range of innovations was able to be incorporated
in the new War Memorial Museum. Many
more curators were to be accommodated in the
new building. A fund established by the Carnegie
Museums Trust allowed for a fulltime education
officer to be appointed. Olwyn Turbott was given
the task of creating experimental displays, using
the latest techniques, aimed at engaging the visitor
in a more educational experience. The new
director, Gilbert Archey's special project involved
providing cinema opportunities for the public.
Curators were encouraged to make their own
16mm films on natural history topics. C.W. Dover,
the taxidermist, was actively engaged in shooting
birds in the Hauraki Gulf so that the Museum
would have the freshest possible specimens.
Teacher Background
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