THE WAR MEMORIAL

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 51, 28 August 1926, Page 9

THE WAR MEMORIAL

WILL ART GALLERY BE INCORPORATED?

CABINET COMMITTEE'S DECISION

AWAITED.

The possible incorporation of n National Art Galley in the National War Memorial wag alluded to at the annual meeting of the Now Zealand Academy of Fine Arts last night by the president (Mr. E. W. Hunt), who" said that it was quite clear that tho Government had an obligation, which ho believed it would carry out, to erect a war memorial. The Government had promised £100,000 if the citizens of Wellington could raise another £100,000, but there were several important matters. An art gallery or museum should be under the control of an independent or semi-independent board of trustees. It was only right that if tho people subscribed a large sum of money they should have trustees. Secondly, there was the matter of legislation, in regard to tho present gallery building, namely, if the academy agreed to hand over to a national scheme the proceeds of its building, and take up its abode within the combined building, then it would be necessary to obtain the right to sell the land now held by tho academy only so long as it was used as an art gallery. The intention was that if the scheme was carried out, .the land sold, and the proceeds put into the big scheme, a wing of the building should be set aside for the use of tho academy for annual exhibitions, and that the academy should have some control over „ that section of tho building. Though a Cabinet Committee had been set up and a reply was promised by the Primo Minister, it had not yet been received, though it was shortly expected. The schemes,proposed to be incorporated in tho memorial were the Now Zealand War Memorial, a Dominion Museum, and a Dominion Art Gallery. Another interest, tho carillon, it was proposed by tho Mayor and othfers interested, should be amalgamated iii the one big scheme—that was, that all these should be erected on a site together, and that there should be cooperation between the war interestc. That matter had not proceeded very far, and several meetings had been held quite recently. They were now awaiting the decision of the Cabinet Committee set up by the Prime Minister to report to him.

Mr. Killick said he thought that the National Art Gallery question should be pushed along. There seemed to be a lack of progress in that direction. Mr. Hunt said that Mr. Killick might rest assured that everything had been done to forward the project. The matter would have to go out of their hands. It was a public matter.* Until the questions of trusteeship and controlwere settled in a satisfactory way ho would have nothing whatever to do with it. "I am against handing anything over to, the Government, lock, stock, and barrel, "he said. "lam not saying anything against Government control, but the pooplc should have tho right to say something in the matter."