History of The Museum
Southland Museum and Art Gallery, Niho o te Taniwha (the tooth of the taniwha), has grown from a small collection first exhibited in 1869 by Andrew McKenzie in his Invercargill "Scotch Pie House and Museum". The collection was purchased by the Invercargill Athenaeum in 1876 and transferred to the Southland Technical College by 1912.
Although a museum board was formed in 1915, the museum remained under the control of the Southland Education Board until it was constituted under the Southland Museum Board (Inc) in 1939. The original building at the entrance to Queen's Park was built as Southland's New Zealand Centennial memorial and opened in 1942, but without an art gallery, due to insufficient funds. There have been many extensions to the original structure with the art gallery opening in 1960, the additional of the Southland Astronomical Society Observatory in 1972, extensions to the building in 1977 and 1984, a total redevelopment in 1990, and a proposed extension for 2010-2015.
The period of redevelopment from the 1970s to the 1990s was credited to the leadership of Museum Director, Russell Beck, and Chairman of the Southland Museum & Art Gallery Trust Board, Dr Alfred Philip (Alf) Poole (1922–2005).
This 1990 redevelopment enclosed the previous building in a 27m tall pyramid, the largest in the southern hemisphere, added dedicated art gallery spaces, a Tuatarium Gallery for the captive Tuatara breeding programme, and retailing spaces for the Artworks Cafe, Museum Shop 'Momento' and iSite Invercargill Visitor Information Centre .
The current proposed extension to the museum is planned to take place in over the next few years. The new design (plans available for viewing at the museum) will almost double the interior space available for exhibitions and storage.
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