The Thames museum where no-one, not even staff, can eat or drink

Wednesday, 30 September 2020

The Thames School of Mines is an urupā and in respect of this Heritage NZ has protocols in place that include food and drink not being consumed on-site.

People visiting or working at a Thames museum cannot consume food or water on site, a restriction that is unique to a building rich in tapu.

But while the same rules don’t apply at a public swimming pool down the road, the local council has already planned to see the land returned to iwi.

The Thames School of Mines on Cochrane St was initially part of an urupā (burial ground), and was gifted to the Wesleyan Church by Ngāti Maru chiefs in 1868 for the construction of a church.

Less than 20 years later however, the Wesleyans transferred the site for use as a School of Mines, expressly against the wishes of Ngāti Maru.

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So, when Heritage NZ purchased the buildings in 1979, protocols were put in place that included no food or drink being consumed on-site.

The School of Mines will reopen on Thursday, operating between the hours of 10am-4pm, Wednesdays to Sundays.

The rules were developed in agreement with iwi some years ago, Heritage NZ spokesperson Natalie McCondach said.

“No other property that Heritage NZ manages is located on an urupā and wāhi tapu, so these protocols are specific to this particular property.

“[They] are explained to visitors through signage and by our experienced and knowledgeable guides who talk about the Māori and Pākehā heritage associated with this place.”

McCondach said staff have access to toilet facilities and an eating area off-site across the road. For visitors, there are nearby public toilets, in addition to the number of nearby cafés in town.

The Thames Centennial Pool was built on an urupÄ and will be vacated by 2027.

Joanne Woods, a founder of the museum’s store, The Rock Shop, recalled having to eat lunch in the rain or in her car, and told Stuff, employees also weren’t allowed a chiller on-site to keep their water cool.

She said she was always happy for the place to be wāhi tapu, but the restrictions did prove challenging at times.

Ngāti Maru could not be reached for comment, but according to Te Ara, an urupā is one of the most tapu places in all of Māori society. No eating, drinking, or smoking is permitted within its boundaries since those activities are noa (the antithesis of tapu), it said.

But at the town’s centennial pool, the same rules don’t apply.

The pool, on MacKay St, was built on an urupā, and the facility must be vacated by June 2027. The council and the iwi have agreed to not renew the lease so the urupā can be returned.

“Our council works closely with our iwi partners in a collaborative relationship,” council said in a statement.

“We know it’s been a long-known desire of Ngāti Maru that the site of Thames Centennial Pool not be used for a replacement pool, because the land holds an urupā/burial ground.”

The School of Mines will reopen on Thursday, operating between the hours of 10am-4pm, Wednesdays to Sundays.

McCondach said the museum and rock shop had “enjoyed a high level of success since it started trading”, and had not been limited by the regulations.

Woods estimated the shop had made more than $125,000 for Heritage NZ since 2013.

“I think on the first day, we made $1.50. We chugged along, and then next thing we were making $50 a week. I thought to myself: ‘If I can double this every month, we’d be going somewhere’. And we did.”

And while Woods is no longer working at the site, she fears the museum’s and adjoining store’s opening hours could be more of a hindrance than any urupā regulations.

“It should be opened seven days a week, 9 to 5.

“Why sabotage something that can be even greater than it already is?”