Rain damages historic documents in leaky storage area

Water leaks after heavy rain damaged documents at The Nelson Provincial Museum’s Isel Park facility.

Water damage to historic documents stored at a leaking Nelson Provincial Museum building highlights the need for its planned new $14.9 million facility, staff say.

The downpour in Nelson last Thursday night led to another leak at the ageing Isel Park, Stoke research facility, with water running down a wall into two boxes of papers.

Ahead of the storm, museum staff had moved the documents from known leak-prone parts of the building to a desk in the collections office. However, a new leak sprung in the ceiling above.

Books, pamphlets and other documents were damaged, although the staff said many were duplicates being considered for removal from the collection. More valuable items of the collection, which is valued at $20 million, were nearby but were in plastic tubs or covered by plastic.

Museum collections leader Shae Trewin, who spent Friday morning using towels and sponges to help dry out the saturated carpet, said staff felt the responsibility of finding safe areas in the building.

The leak at the Isel Park storage facility that led to historic papers being damaged after heavy rainfall last Thursday.

“We can’t cover the entire collection with plastic continually and live on the edge of our seats every time there is a storm.”

The chair of Tasman Bays Heritage Trust that operates the museum, Stephen Broad-Paul, said the incident underlined the ongoing challenges faced by staff and the need for the planned new archive, research and collection facility in Nelson city.

“We have an amazing team of people who put the collection first, but it is not a great environment to be working in,” he said.

The building was not fit-for-purpose with parts not able to be used because they were earthquake prone, and new leaks appearing after heavy rain.

“It’s ultimately going to be just like a sieve,” he said.

The Nelson City and Tasman District councils have agreed to contribute a total of $6.3 million to the new facility, planned for what is currently a carpark in Church St.

The trust will apply for a central Government grant from the culture and heritage fund, has applications for other grants and is about to launch a campaign to raise around $1 million from the community.

If Government funding was secured, construction could start this year, and would take a couple of years to complete.

Broad-Paul said the new building would be another key contributor to the revitalisation of the central city.

Sophie White, a visiting researcher from the University of Otago was at the Isel facility on Friday morning.

“It’s sad to see the facility continually facing flood risk, a facility which houses major collections of national significance, and to see the ongoing challenges for collections staff protecting our regional heritage.”

The museum has launched a Givealittle page to help its community fundraising campaign.

This article was originally published in The Press on 15th April 2024. To view the story - click here.