Museum Association gathers in North

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Heritage Kaikohe, Pioneer Village, at Kaikohe was the venue for a recent meeting of over 40 members of the Northland Museums Association (NMA).

The collaborative group meet twice annually to exchange knowledge and information in an endeavour to improve the profile and services of museums. The theme for the day was governance.

The NMA  is chaired by John Bull who is Patron of the Mangawhai Historical Society, and The Kauri Museum at Matakohe looks after its administration.

North Island Museums Development Officer, Sally August, from Te Papa National Services Te Paerangi, assisted in bringing governance consultant Lesley Moffat from Wellington to give two very enlightening sessions called The Simple Solution of Governance. The morning session looked at the differences between management and governance and the afternoon session discussed conflicts of interest within organisations or businesses.

The meeting was also treated to a presentation from Roy Clare, Director of The Auckland War Memorial Museum. He shared some of his past experiences and visions; his love for museums and preservation for the future came through strongly.

There are 28 organisations and seven individual members  in the Northland museum cluster and the group is seen as a leader among museum groups in the country. Members came to the meeting from as far south as Silverdale.

The next NMA meeting will be held in Dargaville when the topic for the day will be ethics.
 

 
MUSEUM MINDS: From left, Stuart Park (Kerikeri), Bernard Makaore (Taumata a Iwi) and Roy Clare, Director of Auckland War Memorial Museum.