Media Release
For immediate release
Thursday 25th November 2010

Crombie Support Creates New Legacy for HBMAG

Mayor Barbara Arnott was pleased to announce today the generous donation of $500,000 from Diana and Colin Crombie to the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust for the HBMAG redevelopment.

“My personal thanks go to Diana and Colin for stepping up right at the beginning of our fundraising to assure their support for the redevelopment project” says Mayor Arnott. “This significant contribution is the sort of patronage the HBMAG was founded on, so I feel really proud that the community of Napier is recognising the value of the Museum today”.

Long term Napier residents, the Crombies are avid supporters of and frequent visitors to the HBMAG, and Diana is the current Patron of the Friends of the Museums Trust. Colin Crombie began what is now Crombie Lockwood, an insurance broking business in Napier in 1978. In the ensuing years, Crombie Lockwood grew into one of New Zealand’s biggest insurance broking companies with 17 offices throughout the country with over 300 staff, before being sold in 2007.

Diana has always had an interest in the Museum and in particular, the collection of historical items pertaining to Hawkes Bay. Since Douglas Lloyd-Jenkins became Director and has kept uncovering more and more of the treasures in storage, she feels having somewhere bigger and more suitable to display them seems both necessary and a wonderful asset.

“Having commenced business in Napier many years ago and remained here we feel fortunate to be able to now give something back to the City and the community that we enjoy living in”, say the Crombies.

The Mayor says the HBMAG redevelopment has been a huge fundraising effort, but things are progressing well.

“We have had success from all quarters, which means that we have been able to demonstrate to the two main funders, Napier City Council and the government with $6million each, that the community, local businesses, the gaming trusts are all supportive of the project. It’s a true public private partnership”.

The HBMAG in its finished form will be a landmark building that draws people to the cultural precinct of Herschell St and Marine Parade where there are many heritage buildings linking through to the main retail hub of the Napier CBD. The redeveloped HBMAG will build on the already strong visitor numbers of regional and international visitors, with a positive flow-on effect to the cafes and businesses in the surrounding streets.

ENDS

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