Tony Brook was part of New Zealand’s rowing eight that won a world title in 1982, and he says the nation’s Sports Hall of Fame in Dunedin must remain open.
The crew triumphed at Lucerne in Switzerland and was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
If Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson, Sport New Zealand and the Dunedin City Council have not received correspondence from Brook requesting suitable funding for the sports hall to remain and prosper in Dunedin, they can expect its arrival.
"We cannot let the Sports Hall of Fame close because of a lack of government funding," he says.
"We owe it to the young sportspeople of today and tomorrow."
Brook, now living in Britain, says he was inspired by past New Zealand sporting greats to achieve a dream.
"For me, Dudley Storey, a 1968 Olympic gold medallist, inspired me to take that extra step."
Rowing two-time Olympic champion Mahe Drysdale, a contender for induction into the hall of fame after he retires, admires the 1972 rowing eight that won an Olympic gold medal in Munich.
"History is a very important motivator, from an athlete’s perspective," Drysdale says.
"Any New Zealand athlete would aspire to stand alongside the greats of New Zealand sport."
But there are doubts about its viability as a stand-alone sports museum and the suitability of the Dunedin Railway Station as a long-term host. The hall’s budget is small and its displays, though fascinating for sports fans, are static. A report commissioned by Sport New Zealand and completed this year says the status quo is not an option and decisive action now is essential, but staying in Dunedin is not.
Sport New Zealand’s annual funding of $100,000 is due to run out at the end of this year and the Dunedin City Council has staved off the hall’s closure by chipping in $50,000 on top of its usual rental rebate. That will keep the hall open until June, at least.
Sports Hall of Fame chairman Stuart McLauchlan says the city council’s move is much appreciated.
Some serious progress will be needed from here, however.
That may need to involve the council stepping up its ongoing involvement.
Legendary Silver Ferns netball coach Lois Muir says the hall’s health is due to the efforts of chief executive Ron Palenski, who built up its memorabilia.
Muir, who was inducted in 1993, would hate to see the hall’s content relegated to a back room somewhere. She says the value of heritage should not be understated.
"I believe every sport has some young person watching and saying, ‘I could
achieve that’."
But the venture needs to have a heart and clear purpose, she says.
Muir believes it should be possible to leverage off people’s enthusiasm for rubbing shoulders with sports stars and that the facility could benefit from introducing more appealing elements for children.
The railway station was a marvellous option at the time the hall of fame took it up, she says.
Former Highlanders rugby coach Tony Gilbert sometimes took his players for a visit.
"I think it’s a treasure that’s too good to let go from Dunedin," he says.
Sports broadcaster and former Sport New Zealand board member Paul Allison says New Zealand is a country rich in sporting heritage and the hall of fame is an ideal way to celebrate achievements.
"It’s a great way to help educate future generations on our country’s champions."
Mr Allison has an open mind about what form would be best and the ideal location, but he does not discount Dunedin.
He can see the upside of aligning with either a stadium or a museum. Other opportunities include developing commercial relationships and creative use of technology, he says.
The New Zealand Rugby Museum in Palmerston North is one operation that does align with another organisation. It has been part of the broad Te Manawa art, science and museum complex since 2011.
Rugby museum director Stephen Berg says the transition from a stand-alone entity to joining Te Manawa took a lot of work, but benefits include professional conservation and presentation of exhibits.
International awareness of the All Blacks is one advantage for the museum.
Backing is received in kind from the Palmerston North City Council, which offers free rent and electricity. The museum gets a $35,000 annual grant from the New Zealand Rugby Union, though not in Covid-19-afflicted 2020. The budget is tight and visitors are greeted by volunteers.
Mr Berg began his involvement as a part-time director in 2008 and has since stayed on.
Fitting out Te Manawa for the rugby museum cost about $1.4million. Mr Berg says moving all the exhibits took more than a year.
The Te Manawa space includes an interactive area, where people can pass or kick a ball or try scrummaging.
"Parents can wander around looking at things and the kids can play," Mr Berg says.
He has visited the World Rugby Museum at Twickenham in England, the Australian Sports Museum in Melbourne and a popular ice hockey museum in Toronto, Canada.
The National Hockey League clubs have a stake in the Toronto museum. Every winner of the Stanley Cup contributes a hockey stick, skates and a puck and the cup itself is housed there.
Such a comprehensive partnership with sports is not replicated in New Zealand.
The hall of fame has been part of the Halberg Awards since 2001. Members of the hall have been inducted at the awards and Halberg Foundation chief executive Shelley McMeeken says this connects the present with the past.
"The concept was that there was synergy in acknowledging past and present New Zealand athletes and para athletes at the same event," she says.
The foundation did not volunteer a comment on the value of the hall having a physical presence in Dunedin.
As might be expected in Australia — a country unlikely to put up with an understated hall of fame — politicians there dipped into the public purse.
The Australian Sports Museum, which houses its sports hall of fame at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, finished an $A17million ($NZ18.1million) redevelopment this year. It was funded by the Melbourne Cricket Club and the Victorian government, the latter putting in $A5million.
It is marketed as no ordinary museum and features touch screens, avatars, climbable objects, sporting challenges, cutting-edge technology and immersive experiences.
The Australian Government also put $A25million into the national sports museum before its 2008 opening.
New Zealand cannot hope to compete with that sort of scale.
However, the Government has committed a lot of money for one national museum. Ms Ardern announced in May this year Te Papa in Wellington would get an extra $18million for the 2020-21 financial year. This was to help Te Papa after the impact of Covid-19.
Mr Berg says sports museums do not get the support they deserve.
"There are people in the arts, culture and heritage area who are anti-sport, almost."
Little money is available from central government and the sports themselves. But sports museums serve a public-good function, as do libraries and parks, and that’s where Mr Berg sees a role for local government.
Mr Robertson’s office has repeatedly referred questions about funding to Sport NZ.
A spokesman says labelling his attitude to the sports hall of fame as "indifference" is unfair.
The minister has not yet taken up an invitation to visit the hall, but his spokesman says that is because of logistical reasons. Funding is not the minister’s decision to make, the spokesman says.
Mr McLauchlan, among others, is unwilling to let the Government get away with avoiding the issue. It remains to be seen, too, what attitude new Sport New Zealand chief executive Raeleen Castle will take.
The hall’s model may not be sustainable, but significant moves will need to be made to take it to the next level.
