All FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
30 April 2008
MEDIA STATEMENT
Sir Peter Blake Waterfront Tribute ready to go
The New Zealand National Maritime Museum has announced at a function in Auckland today that funding is in place to
proceed with building BLUE WATER BLACK MAGIC – A TRIBUTE TO SIR PETER BLAKE. The project has been in an intensive
fundraising phase for almost 2 years, to meet the full cost of the building and exhibition - $8.9 million. Grants,
sponsorship and individual donations have been secured over this time, to reach this target, and building tenders will
be called in May.
“We are very excited to be at this stage of the project. It has been an enormous undertaking, raising the funds needed
to build this wonderful waterfront Tribute exhibition,” Alastair Aitken, Chairman of the Maritime Museum said today. “We
are well progressed with working plans to enable us to secure a building consent, and we’ve already obtained all our
resource consents. We expect to call for tenders in May and commence work around July this year.”
When the project was first presented in 2003, it was agreed that the design would be redeveloped and the costs of the
project reduced. A new design by renowned Auckland architect, Pete Bossley, was announced in May 2006 reducing the
overall cost of the project by an estimated $3.5 million. The new building will replace a segment of the New Zealand
National Maritime Museum where the current Hall of Yachting is housed – at the northern end of Hobson Wharf in the
Viaduct Harbour.
The exhibition it will house, BLUE WATER BLACK MAGIC – A TRIBUTE TO SIR PETER BLAKE features as its core, a tribute to
the leadership and legacy of Sir Peter Blake, within the context of the history of New Zealand yachting and this
country’s tradition of innovative yacht design, past and present and looking to the future. The exhibition emphasises
learning and engagement with young people, with interactive elements to inspire teamwork and achievement.
The centre piece of the exhibition is NZL 32 Black Magic, the yacht on which Team New Zealand, led by Sir Peter Blake,
won the America’s Cup for New Zealand in 1995. NZL 32 was gifted to Te Papa and the people of New Zealand by Team New
Zealand in 2001. It will now be suspended in the Hall of Yachting, and the accompanying exhibition will surround the
yacht over three levels.
Funds have been secured for the project from a range of public and private sources. Initial core funding was committed
by the New Zealand Government ($2.5 million) and Auckland City Council ($2 million). The Lion Foundation and ASB
Community Trust were the first funding agencies to commit support and their $500,000 grants were matched by The Southern
Trust and Perry Foundation. The Lottery Grants Board Environment & Heritage Committee awarded $400,000 late in 2007. These commitments from Government, public, gaming and charitable
agencies, are
augmented by commercial sponsorship and private donor
investment from Viaduct Harbour Holdings Limited, Louis
Vuitton, Tindall Foundation and three private individual donors.
…MORE
Blake Project media release pg 2 of 2
The total raised for the project meets the budgeted cost of developing the building and exhibition.
Mayor John Banks said today “This exhibition will be a wonderful addition to the waterfront, enhancing an area which the
council recognises has huge potential. Everyone will benefit – residents of Auckland and the wider region, and visitors
to our city. The engaging nature of the exhibition, and the lasting impression it will give all people will dramatically
improve the waterfront experience for decades to come.”
Te Papa’s Chairman, John Judge, said today that the National Museum was delighted to be able to lend NZL 32 Black Magic
to the Tribute exhibition and to have worked in partnership with the New Zealand National Maritime Museum to develop the
project. “NZL 32 is a significant national treasure and I can think of no better place for it to be displayed than as
the centerpiece of the Sir Peter Blake Tribute exhibition at the New Zealand Maritime Museum in the Viaduct Harbour, a
harbour so closely associated with Sir Peter and many significant moments in New Zealand’s sailing history.”
“The Tribute honours the memory of Sir Peter Blake and places him in the context of the wonderful story of New Zealand
yachting and innovative yacht design as a living and evolving exhibition.” Said the Prime Minister Rt Hon Helen Clark.
“The exhibition is a fitting tribute to a great New Zealander and will be an inspiration particularly for young people.
It will teach them about leadership and taking risks in order to achieve goals. It’s a great New Zealand story. We are
also very pleased that Pippa Blake and Sir Peter’s family who have followed the development of the project are so
supportive of it”.
ENDS