The gifting of a new name for the Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum means the facility can embark on the final stage of a merger that started nearly five years ago.

The purpose-built building on West Street opened in 2015 with the council-managed museum on the ground floor and an art gallery managed separately by Ashburton Art Gallery Incorporated on the top floor. It also provided space for the Mid Canterbury Family History Group.

The art gallery and museum combined in 2021 as an in-house activity of Council and this week they were gifted the name Rokowhiria by Ūpoko of Te Rūnaka o Arowhenua, Tewera King.

Mr King said it had been an interesting process weaving the various themes together, to create a name that honoured manawhenua and acknowledged the role the facility played in protecting and caring for art and heritage collections.

Rokowhiria would continue to provide a place for artistic expression and be a home for the district’s taonga, he said.

Roko is the Kāi Tahu spelling of the word ‘Rongo’ which is the name of a Māori god Rongomātāne, who was the god of agriculture, abundance, creativity and peace.

‘Whiria’ comes from the word ‘whiri’ which means to twist, weave or spin. The words ‘he awa whiria’ refer to the concept of a braided river and as a metaphor extends to the ways in which different knowledge streams may come together.

Chief Executive Hamish Riach said it was an honour to receive the te reo name, which beautifully captured the essence and spirit of the facility. The name now allowed staff to begin a rebranding process, and any associated costs would be covered by the facility’s operational budget.

“We’ve been running two separate websites, two social media channels and two marketing programmes and now we’ll be consolidating those. Both the museum and art gallery have long and separate histories and we’ve been mindful about respecting that history as we’ve combined the two at Council level.”

Earlier this year, a new combined reception desk and retail space were built on the ground floor to gain further efficiencies in running the merged facility.