Auckland War Memorial Museum, with the cenotaph / 'Court of Honour' in the forefront.

The new dome atop the rear of the museum, with the glassed events centre underneath it.

Model of the museum, the new copper dome at the rear.

The museum seen from Mount Eden, showing the wavy shape of the copper dome. Mount Eden ( Maungawhau, the 'Mountain of the Whau tree ' in Māori) is the name of a volcano and surrounding suburb in Auckland City,

The Auckland War Memorial Museum (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand's most important national museums and war memorials. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island A museum is a "permanent institution in the service of society and of its development open to the public which acquires conserves researches communicates and exhibits the A war memorial is a building monument statue or other edifice to celebrate a War or victory or (predominating in modern times to commemorate those who died or were injured Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history, natural history, as well as military history. The history of New Zealand dates back at least 700 years to when it was discovered and settled by Polynesians who developed a distinct Māori culture centred on kinship Natural history is the Scientific research of Plants or Animals leaning more towards the Observational than Experimental methods Military history is a Humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity

The museum is also one of the most iconic Auckland buildings, constructed in the neo-classicist style, and sitting on a grassed plinth (the remains of a dormant volcano) in the Auckland Domain, a large public park close to the Auckland CBD. The Auckland metropolitan area or Greater Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century both as a reaction against the Rococo The Auckland Domain is Auckland 's oldest Park, and at 75 hectares one of the largest in the city A central business district ( CBD) is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city

Building history

The museum was established in 1852, the present heritage building in the Domain being opened in 1929. It was extended in the late 1950s, when an administration annex with a large semi-circular courtyard was added to the southern rear. ^[1]

Renovation

In the last two decades, the museum was renovated and extended in two stages. The first stage saw the existing building restored and the exhibits partly replaced during the 1990s for $NZ 43 million. The second stage of this restoration has seen a great dome / atrium constructed within the central courtyard, increasing the building's floor area by 60% (an addition of 9,600 m²)^[2] for a price of $NZ 64. In modern Architecture, an atrium (plural atria is a large open space often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows often situated within an 5 million. $NZ 27 million of that was provided by the government, with the ASB Trust ($NZ 12. 9 million) and other donors making up the remainder ^[3]. The second stage finished in 2007.

The copper and glass dome, as well as the viewing platform / event centre underneath it had been criticised by some as 'resembling a collapsed soufflé', but quickly won the admiration of critics and public, being noted for 'its undulating lines, which echo the volcanic landscape and hills around Auckland'. Standing in the event centre underneath the top of the dome was likened to being underneath the 'cream-coloured belly of a giant stingray', 'with its rippling wings hovering over the distinctive city skyline'. ^[4] In June 2007, the 'Grand Atrium' project also received the Supreme Award of the New Zealand Property Council, which noted it as being "world-class", and a successful exercise in combining complex design and heritage demands. It has also received the ACENZ Innovate NZ Gold Award (Structural Engineering) for the redevelopment. The Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand ( ACENZ) is New Zealands main business association representing Engineers providing Consultancy ^[2][5]

The new sections underneath the dome, mostly contained within a kauri-wood-panelled sphere approximately 30 m across, will add 900 m² of additional exhibition space, as well as a 700 people event centre under the dome roof with a 48 m wide free span, new areas for tour and school groups including an auditorium in the sphere/bowl with 200 seats, as well as a restaurant with 450 seats. The genus Agathis, commonly known as kauri or dammar, is a relatively small Genus of 21 species of Evergreen Trees in the The bowl which is the internal centre-piece of the expansion weighs 700 tonnes and is suspended free-hanging from trusses spanning over it from the elevator four shafts located around it. A new 204-spaces underground parking garage at the rear has also been constructed to help cover the high demand for parking in the Auckland Domain. ^[4][6][5]

The new sections of the museum have been favourably likened to a Matryoshka doll, buildings nested within a building. A matryoshka doll or a Russian nested doll, also called a stacking doll is a set of dolls of decreasing sizes placed one inside the other ^[1]

Possible train station

There have been preliminary talks of building a new railway station (possibly featuring the historic station building of the Newmarket Train Station) in the Parnell suburb directly to the east of the Museum. It is thought that such a station would see high demand from Museum visitors, especially students and school children. ^[7]

Collections and exhibitions

The museum houses the largest collection of Māori and Pacific Island artefacts and treasures in New Zealand, including for example three entire buildings and a waka (war canoe) from 1830. This article discusses the Māori people of New Zealand For their language see Māori language, and for other meanings see Māori (disambiguation. Pacific Islander (or Pacific Person, pl Pacific People, also called Oceanic[s] ' is a geographic term to describe the Austronesian A cultural artifact is a human-made object which gives information about the Culture of its creator and users Treasure (from Greek θησαυρος Thesaurus, meaning "a treasure of the chest" is a Cognate) is a concentration of riches often one In the Māori language and New Zealand English, waka (IPAwɔka are Māori watercraft usually Canoes ranging in size from small unornamented The museum also stores a photographic collection of 1. 2 million images, and stores and exhibits 1. 5 million natural history specimens from the fields of botany, entomology, geology, land vertebrates and marine biology. Botany, plant science(s, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of Biology and is the scientific study of plant Life Entomology (from Greek grc ἔντομος entomos, "that which is cut in pieces or engraved/segmented" hence "insect" and grc -λογία Geology (from Greek γη gê, "earth" and λόγος Logos, "speech" lit Vertebrates are members of the Subphylum Vertebrata, Chordates with backbones or spinal columns The grouping sometimes includes Marine biology is the scientific study of living Organisms in the Ocean or other marine or Brackish bodies of water The stated goal is to eventually possess specimens from all New Zealand species. ^[8]

There is also an extensive permanent exhibition covering wars wars within New Zealand as well as New Zealand's participation in overseas conflicts. The New Zealand Wars, sometimes called the Land Wars and also once called the Māori Wars, were a series of conflicts that took place in New Zealand This exhibition is linked to the War Memorial (see below), and for example shows models of Maori pas (earth fortifications) and original Spitfire and Mitsubishi Zero airplanes. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

The museum also offers changing special exhibitions. In the recent past (2006), these have included a Da Vinci and a Vikings exhibition. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci ( April 15 1452 – May 2 1519 was an Italian Polymath, having been a scientist Mathematician, Engineer A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas The initial exhibition after the grand re-opening in early December 2006 was 'Vaka Moana', a show about the first polynesian explorers reaching New Zealand. Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over Afterwards, the exhibition will travel the world for several years.

War Memorial

Parts of the museum, as well as the Cenotaph and its surrounding consecrated grounds (Court of Honour) in front of the Museum, also serve as a war memorial, mainly to those who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including There are two 'Halls of Memory' within the museum, whose walls, together with a number of additional marble slabs, list the names of all known New Zealand soldiers killed in major conflicts during the 20th Century. ^[9]

RSA representatives have noted that the Cenotaph area is in need of renovation, and also would like measures put in place that ensure the area is treated with more respect by people using the park or visiting the museum. The Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association, often referred to as the Returned Services' Association but best known simply as the RSA, is one of the largest Auckland City was considering replacement the old concrete paving with granite and basalt pavers. ^[10] This was apparently decided against, possibly for cost reasons. The city has however conducted substantial remedial works, to improve the condition of the existing Court of Honour, including repairs to and lighting of the steps, uplighting of the Cenotaph, as well as general cleaning and a new interpretive engraving provided by the Auckland RSA. ^[11]

References

Stained glass skylight and window, 'Halls of Memory'.

External links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum (official website)

Front façade of the Auckland War Memorial, with the cenotaph on the left.