Submission Details

The services we provide

What do you think we should do?

Proposed option: Continue to provide all the current services, to mostly the same standard?

Any other comments on this?

Firth Tower Museum as a community asset: the proposal to “review operating hours and/or the future direction of our facilities – such as pools, libraires, Council offices, Firth Tower, and Te Aroha i-SITE” can certainly impact the functioning of the Firth Tower Museum which is run as a collaboration between MPDC and MHS. For the past 40 years (since 1978) the Matamata Historical Society has been working at the Firth Tower Museum site (at first with the Matamata Borough Council and then MPDC) to build and maintain a unique outdoor and indoor museum precinct on one of the very few historical reserves within MPDC boundaries. The purpose of the museum is to provide a cultural hub which is also a central point for cumulation of local history information and resources. There are multiple layers of use for the site which may not be clear to outsiders, an attempt will be made to list groups of users of the museum who benefit from its current opening hours and the fruitful working relationship between MPDC and MHS personnel. So, who is visiting Firth Tower Museum and why (1) locals from the district interested in the history of the area, they may or may not be descendants of earlier generations of settlers; they may also be new residents who have down-sized to retirement locations in town (e.g. Longlands, Matamata Country Club, etc.); (2) visitors from other areas of New Zealand passing through but who have an interest in local history (or who need a place for the kid to stretch their legs); (3) international tourists looking for a local activity to add to the list of Hobbiton and the Wairere Falls (in particular that awkward half day either before or after a Hobbiton tour); (4) local individuals planning weddings—the Firth Tower Museum church (1914) is one of the cheaper and more accessible (i.e., cheap) venues for wedding ceremonies and also the only ‘vintage’ such venue in town; (5) parents or grand-parents who need a safe, interesting outdoor environment to take children for a few hours (if only to get them away from screens or Minecraft); (6) local iwi visiting the Tamihana stone cairn; (7) cyclists on the Hauraki Rail Trail passing by who are interested to find out what the landmark Tower is or was for (some of course only stop for a breather); (8) collectors looking to see if we have examples of local bottle ware, ceramics; (9) individuals with properties (urban or rural) looking for old photos of their home or office—a number of business in town have historic photos reproduced and on show on their walls (very much ‘pride of place’); (10) family tree researchers looking for local resident information, farm maps, cemetery records etc. (11) people wanting to ‘donate’ antique or vintage items of local historical interest (especially if their children do not want them); (12) motor rally clubs looking for a spacious place to meet, park up to display their cars, have a picnic etc.; (13) retirement homes from far and near needing a quiet, traffic-free, walkable place to bring seniors for a few hours (some with walking frames and others with cognitive decline issues); (14) campers needing a moderately priced park spot for the night—in particular international tourists heading back to Auckland airport the next day who do not want to be too far from Auckland, but also not too close); (15) local individuals focused on art (Art society) (16) local community groups using our Heritage room for meetings (Writers' group, Spinners and Weavers) (17) Place to begin a fun run (Tower Fun Run) (18) Families from different regions choosing to meet in the middle and coming to Firth Tower Museum for a combined picnic (coming from Taupo, Auckland, Tauranga etc.). There are more categories (e.g., garden clubs) but the idea is clear I think—Firth Tower Museum as it currently operates for the public is a site of exceptionally varied use and a major asset for both individuals, businesses, schools, retirement homes and others in the area. It is difficult to find a parallel with such a local history, local icon, park-like grounds facility: perhaps those familiar with Auckland would regard the War Memorial Museum in the Auckland Domain as such a location. Firth Tower Museum is Matamata’s scaled down version. MPDC staff keep the museum open in a way volunteers cannot, they also ensure site safety, maintain health and safety compliance and other more administrative functions. The Matamata Historical Society regards the current opening hours of the facility as the minimum ones (i.e., six hours a day x five days a week = 30 hours) and have in the past tried to get these expanded to seven days a week and public holidays included—we realise now may not be the time to achieve that target. However, maintenance of what we have now is our preferred position.