letters
to live by Steve Austin is Marlborough Heritage Trust executive director and keeper of community memories. He hopes his future self will remember the pivotal moments where passion and commitment paid off.
Dear Steve,
R
emember, Marlborough offers us all space to be brilliant. Our ambitions for heritage must be well understood – what we are doing and why we are doing it. But this must be combined with perseverance if the potential is to be realised. I hope you will be able to continue to look back and identify moments when perseverance and passion enabled our longterm goals to bear fruit. The politics of heritage (it is very vulnerable to being exploited for personal and political gain), and resource constraints within the heritage sector, mean that it is not for the faint hearted. Motivation and determination need to be sustained over time. Heritage work is often a team marathon rather than an individual sprint. With renewed interest from Kiwi visitors, and more teaching of our history in schools, we have a bright future. I first came to Marlborough Museum to use the research facilities in 2004 and become the first museum professional employed here in 2006. It was obvious that the archives and museum had a lot of potential but there is a long journey from recognising potential to getting traction for the transformation to take place. A clearly defined strategy for heritage is essential for community museums to thrive and find their place with all
the other heritage offerings of a region, it stops petty politics and the personalities distracting from the main tasks. Developing the relevance of the museum to people who may not necessarily have family roots to the area is an important consideration. Museums are the memory of a community, collections need to be cared for properly but they also need to be accessible, and this balance is one that is always a challenge. Museums are part of the service sector, and this year we have been heartened by the recent interest in the redevelopment of the Edwin Fox site in the context of the visitor economy. The Edwin Fox has huge potential as a national heritage icon, and an internationally significant artefact, to become a real hero of Picton heritage tourism, the Marlborough visitor economy, and the poster child for Picton maritime heritage. Heritage, and investment in it, is essential for community pride and regional branding. Knowing our roots inspires us through the tough times, but this is also an important part of the essence of heritage tourism, strategic investment in heritage, and sustainable development. Over the coming decades, I also hope to celebrate gains for our natural history. I am really looking forward to the coming decades which promise so much. Best wishes,
Steve
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