Museum in dispute over Maori artefact

Press, 21 September 1984, Page 7

Museum in dispute over Maori artefact

The Canterbury Museum is involved in a dispute over who should have possession of a Maori artefact lent to the museum 40 years ago. The museum’s director, Mr M. M. Trotter, told yesterday’s Museum Trust Board meeting that four Maori artefacts had been lent to the museum in 1944 by a Mr J. D. Andrews, of the West Coast

The artefacts had never been put on show but had been held in storage. Mr Trotter said that in 1976 the grandson of Mr Andrews came to the museum and asked the then director, Dr Roger Duff, if he could see the artefacts.

“The grandson asked Dr Duff if he could have one of them for his Maori wife,” Mr Trotter said. “He said he understood one had been discovered by his father.” “According to Mr Andrews jun., Dr Duff looked up his records, found that that was the case, and

handed it over,” he said. By this time, the father of the grandson had died. “Two years ago the grandfather died and the estate was left to another member of the family who wrote and asked for them (the artefacts). We had to say that in 1976 one was given back to the grandson,” Mr Trotter said. The museum was now in a rather awkward position, with the recipient of the estate now demanding that the artefact be retrieved from the grandson by the museum.

“The grandson says it belongs to his father and Dr Duff gave it to him. On the other hand we have a very irate person who is demanding all sorts of things and threatening legal action,” Mr Trotter said.

Legal opinion had suggested that the museum should not have returned the piece to the grandson. A board member, Mrs

Myrtle Duff, said that Dr Duff (her late husband), had had a firm rule of not returning anything except to the same member of the family who gave it to the museum.

“Quite frequently other members of the family would try to get things back,” she said.

Dr Duff must have been very satisfied in this case, Mr Trotter said.

There had been no legal demand for a solution yet. “But I suspect from the tone of the letters that that will be the next step,” he said.

Earlier this year, the board declined to return two Maori artefacts bequeathed to the museum in 1967. The woman who had bequeathed them was seeking their return, but the board decided to keep to its policy formulated, because sometimes relatives tried to get. back bequested items purely for financial gain.