Army Museum campaign complete

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 585, 9 May 1995, Page 7 (Supplement)

Army Museum campaign complete

The Army Museum in W aiouru, just south ofMt Ruapehu, has gone through many changes in the past 12 months, both outside and in. To round off the changes, the new entrance to the museum, The Kippenberger Pavilion, was officially opened in March as part of the New Zealand Army's 150th anniversary celebrations being held throughout the year. The Pavilion houses 'Rations' cafeteria and souvenir shop along with a library and archive. All facilities are available for public use. The pavilion also offers a taste of what' s inside the museum with a display depicting New Zealand Special Air Service 'Tree Jumpers' jumping out of a Vickers Valetta plane during the Malayan Emergency. Then walk up the ramp, across the moat and you will lay your eyes on what is reputed to be the world' s largest greenstone structure, Tears on Greenstone - Roimata Pounamu, built in memory of New Zealand' s 33,000 war dead. It is a memorial that is a mixture of Maori and European

culture, water, ancient stone and state-of-the-art electronics. The sound system for the greenstone wall plays a continuous intonation of the roll by reading names of the fallen, how old they were and the places they died. A waterfall glides over the greenstone, representing tears and healing and a touch-screen monitor enables people to research specific names. The original concept for a memorial wall inside the museum came from interior design students at the Wellington Institute of Technology. The circular steel structure for the wall was completed by army engineers, as was the construction of the Kippenberger Pavilion. The building of the pavilion has opened up extra space for display purposes. New displays include a 150th anniversary display and a Victory in Europe display. Theimposing, stark and simple structure ofthe Queen Elizabeth II Army Memorial Museum belies the many and varied experiences that can be found inside.