Waterfront tribute to commemorate life of Sir Peter Blake

The government today announced a memorial to commemorate the life and work of kiwi hero and sporting icon, the late Sir Peter Blake, to be built on the Auckland waterfront.

Minister for Sport and Recreation Trevor Mallard today committed $2.5 million towards the Sir Peter Blake Tribute - a permanent $10 million museum exhibition which will include NZL32 (Black Magic), the boat with which Sir Peter and Team New Zealand first won the America's Cup for New Zealand.

"This is a major project commemorating the life and work of Sir Peter, including the environmental work he had begun not long before his death. It’s important that Sir Peter’s legacy is remembered for future generations of New Zealanders,” Trevor Mallard said.

“The proposed exhibition – Blue Water Black Magic - will ensure a lasting tribute to a New Zealand hero and icon who was recognised the world over."

The Auckland City Council has also agreed to contribute to the project which marks a first-time partnership between the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and the New Zealand National Maritime Museum. The museums will lead a fund-raising drive and aim to complete the project in 2005.

“NZL32 was gifted to Te Papa by the Team New Zealand Trust in 2001,” Trevor Mallard said.

“It was Sir Peter’s wish that Black Magic come into the national collection and be displayed. This Sir Peter Blake Tribute is the result of discussions between Te Papa, Pippa Blake, the New Zealand National Maritime Museum, the Auckland City Council, and Team New Zealand.”

NZL32 will be housed in a specially designed dramatic glass and aluminium clad building adjacent to the Maritime Museum. The tribute will also house a dynamic, interactive exhibition celebrating the life of Sir Peter focusing on his early years, on the sportsman and leader, the Whitbread Round the World Races, the NZL32 story, and on the explorer and environmentalist.

The exhibition will be developed and maintained by Te Papa in conjunction with the Maritime Museum.

“This partnership between the museums means that for the first time our national museum will have a presence outside Wellington,” Trevor Mallard said.

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