Waitomo Caves Museum spends most of its council grant money on flushing the toilets, museum director Dr Bridget Mosley told Waitomo District councillors last week.
The grant for the Waitomo Caves Museum was $44,000 + GST, the council reported afterwards.
“More than 75% of our funding goes directly into the costs associated with running the public toilets for Waitomo,” museum director Dr Bridget Mosley said.
“The grant comes in and goes straight out again in terms of cleaning, paying for water and waste water, because we are on a pay-for-water scheme,” she said.
“In Waitomo, we spend $4000 to $5000 a year of that grant basically flushing the public loos.”
Bridget said costs directly related to the toilets amounted to $33,100 in total, including water and waste water, the cleaning contract, sanitary bins, skip hireage and cleaning consumables.
The 75% did not cover electricity, maintenance, and staff time checking when things needed to be done during the day.
“The toilets are in dire need of an upgrade. We are talking to your staff about the tourism infrastructure funding, hoping to be a little readier should it come round again, with a little more notice next time.”
For a few years they thought the museum was not eligible for tourism funding because of land ownership and the way the criteria were worded, Bridget said.
“But I’ve spoken to some people there and they said we are, so long as we have council support. So, we need to arrange that council support.”
The museum provides access to public facilities including four public toilets, one of which is expected to be open 24 hours per day, and access to three rubbish receptacles through the grounds.
Since fire destroyed the previous centre in December 2005, the country’s only specialist speleological museum has taken on a lot of peripheral roles. It is a postal centre and a visitor information centre for the area.
“Since the previous visitor centre burned down, the caves centre has also been the community’s main meeting rooms,” Bridget said.
They regularly host several groups at no charge – the caves choir, marae komiti, and Tere Waitomo. The museum also hosts yoga classes, te reo Māori classes, book launches and art exhibitions, and school groups that come to the area.
The museum also hosts public events such as the NZ Mountain Film Festival tour, although the museum’s 45-seat theatre did not get enough use, and should get more.
“We would like to see more than one movie open in a 24-hour period,” Bridget said.
The museum’s main role was centred on its nationally and internationally known paleo-faunal collection.
“That’s because all the birds and animals walked along and then fell down the tomo,” Bridget said.
“We ended up with a lot of bones of extinct species and we regularly work with post-graduate students and professors at national and international universities, working with ancient DNA, geological formations, that kind of thing.
“And we hold a lot of material relating to the history and heritage of Waitomo as a tourist destination and taonga in the landscape.”
About 5000 school children a year pass through the museum and the Ōtorohanga Kiwi House and Native Bird Park.
This brought flow-on effects with accommodation, hospitality and adventure activities, with the museum acting as an information provider and community hub for the people coming through, Bridget said.
The Waitomo Caves Discovery Centre opened in 1973, and turns 50 this year. It is tasked through the 2021-2024 Community Partnership Grant Agreement between the museum and the Waitomo District Council with reporting twice a year to council with a focus on the key performance indicators below:
n Providing counter/phone enquiry and booking activities for visitors to the Waitomo Village
n Providing and maintaining a website, distributing brochures and providing signage and advertising that promotes the Waitomo Caves Discovery Centre.
It is also required to develop and promote the existing museum, train local guides on the Waitomo District attractions, participate in regional and local tourism groups and advocate for Waitomo Caves and the Waitomo District, provide information promoting attractions of the Waitomo District, provide information relating to the heritage of the Waitomo Caves region, and archive, document and store items of heritage value – as well as provide the Ministry of Education learning experiences outside of the classroom, and look after the toilets.
