Heritage Rescue: a sea-inspired scheme for Kawhia

22 Sep 2016

Kawhia settlement began with the arrival Tanui Waka, one of seven seafaring canoes that brought the first Maori to New Zealand from Polynesia. The captain of the Tainui chose the abundant harbour at Kawhia as the perfect place from which to grow a community of tribal leaders for the new colony.

The  Kawhia Museum building dates back to 1916 when it housed the Kawhia County Council. The museum is home to a wide collection of artefacts that reflect Kawhia's history as a port town, from the arrival of Maori through European settlement to the present day.

Located right on the harbour, the original blue colour scheme was perfect for one of the display rooms, dedicated to the area’s relationship to the sea.

The Heritage Rescue team colour matched the original blue to Resene Wedgewood and set about cleaning up and restructuring the Kawhia Moana room to give a better flow and relationship between artefacts and items.

They used a faux distressed plank wallpaper from Resene, Walltrends Ill (BN47531), to enhance the maritime focus and to add extra visual dimension.

Wooden 3D letters were painted in dark blue Resene Aviator and metallic blue Resene Time Warp and mounted onto the wallpaper so that they could be seen from down the corridor. This helped to link the spaces once the museum’s impressive fossil collection was moved out of the main room and organised into better cabinets in the corridor. The interior of one large cabinet was freshened up with Resene Alabaster.

The existing natural light levels of the Taonga Maori room were too high for the proper preservation of traditional textiles. A large feathered korowai cloak inspired the selection of Resene Metamorphis for the walls while Resene Paua was chosen to complement the natural browns and flax kete in the room.

Here’s a glimpse of last Sunday’s programme, or to see more, see the episode here.

Published: 22 Sep 2016