A couple of pedestrians glance at the window display at the
Otago Settlers Museum, which alerts the public to the
museum's planned reopening late next year. Photo by Linda
Robertson.
The Otago Settlers Museum has had to ditch plans to
display a large banner - heralding the museum's $35 million
redevelopment - on its Cumberland St frontage, citing insurance
and safety concerns.
The Dunedin City Council-owned museum has instead installed
two window displays, promoting the message: "No peeking.
We're changing" and announcing the museum will reopen late
next year.
At a recent settlers museum board meeting, council community
life general manager Graeme Hall said the initial idea of
attaching a banner to the wall had struck complications that
concerned requirements of insurance cover for the museum's
new paintwork.
There had been further concerns a large banner could prove
distracting for motorists using the state highway outside the
museum.
Initial plans had proved too difficult and a different
approach would be taken, Mr Hall said.
Museum director Linda Wigley said this week that as the next
tourist season drew nearer, museum officials were keen to
promote the message that although the museum's main galleries
were closed to the public, a redeveloped facility would be
open late next year.
Other museum activities, including its education programme,
were still continuing.
The museum now planned to display a large banner on the east
side of the museum's new storage building and another, at the
north end of the museum complex, by about the middle of
October, she said.
The north-facing banner was intended to alert visitors to the
Dunedin Railway Station that the nearby museum complex was
closed, rather than having people walking along to the museum
and finding it closed for the redevelopment.
- john.gibb@odt.co.nz
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.