The head of the region’s museum has announced his retirement.
Peter Millward has been the chief executive officer at the Nelson Provincial Museum for seven years and he says he’s stepping down to spend more time with his family and to devote time to other interests.
The Tasman Bays Heritage Trust, which runs the museum on behalf of the Nelson City and Tasman District councils, says Peter will leave the museum in great shape.
“In Nelson he lifted the public image of the museum, he has overseen some outstanding exhibitions, including the current exhibition on World War One, and he leaves the museum in a sound financial position and with increasing admission numbers,” says chair Terry Horne.
In a double blow for the trust, Mr Horne is also stepping down from his role as chair, due to health reasons. Current deputy chair, Aaron Brown, has been appointed chair of the trust.
Aaron, who was raised in Nelson and has quite recently returned from Wellington, has an extensive background in modern museums and traditional and digital heritage work both nationally and internationally. Another board member, Phil Thomason has also resigned, as he and his family are moving to the North Island.
The museum has recently undertaken a review of its operations, facilities and structure, which Mr Horne said made it an exciting time for a new director to take over.
“We will be going through a recruitment process, and it is to Peter’s credit that we are in a very good position to attract people of top calibre.”
The Nelson Provincial Museum is thought to be the oldest museum in New Zealand. It moved to its current site in the central city in 2005 and has attracted over 46,000 visitors in the last year.
