South Wairarapa Rebus Club

The guest speaker at our 23 April meeting was Ken Gorbey, a remarkable man who for 15 years was involved with developing and realising the revolutionary cultural concept that became Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand. There were over 2 million visits in the first year, three times the expected number. 

Then in 1999 he was headhunted to salvage the Jewish Museum Berlin, which was failing and fast becoming a national embarrassment. Led by Ken, a young, inexperienced staff rose to the challenge and the museum opened to acclaim. Today the Jewish Museum Berlin is one of Germany’s premier cultural institutions, family oriented and devoted to the culture not to the holocaust.

Museums can be markers of cultural conservatism, seemingly worlds removed from Black Lives Matter and climate change activism but worldwide they are changing. Ken discussed these fundamental changes, taking Te Papa and the Jewish Museum Berlin as examples. He also spoke of other projects he has worked on in New Zealand and Australia. He suggested a future based on a new model of museums that not only have cultural fit but might also be more dispersed.

The four South Wairarapa towns all have museums: the notable Carterton Railway Museum, the Fell Locomotive and the Heritage Museums in Featherston, Cobblestones Museum in Greytown and the Martinborough Museum.

Before tea, Club President Perry Cameron recounted some of his interactions with the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, during Royal Tours, when Perry was head of the Department of Internal Affairs. On one occasion, after the Duke had chaired an all-day meeting of WWF notables in Wellington, Perry advised the police that they were returning to Government House, expecting them to notify the staff. However, on arrival, although the security guards were on alert, Government House was in darkness requiring Perry and the Duke to hammer on the door for admission by one of the maids.

The South Wairarapa Rebus Club meets in the South Wairarapa Working Men’s Club on the fourth Friday morning of each month and organises an outing in those months with a fifth Friday. Anyone in the retired age group who may be interested in SW Rebus Club is welcome to come along to a meeting as a visitor.  Please contact David Woodhams 306 8319.