Tourist attraction? Or reverence – The Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum. A case study of the tensions between intent and presentation

Abstract

The military museum has in the last quarter of the 20th Century undergone a transformation in Western societies. The military museum has become less concerned with remembrance and more concerned with education and analysis. In New Zealand the armed services operate three museums; the Army, Air Force and Navy Museums. The following article is a case study based upon an interview undertaken with the Director of the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum. This case study highlights the tensions a military museum Director may encounter in undertaking their duties, and satisfying their diverse stakeholders. For the Director of the RNZAF museum, a conflict has arisen between the needs to offer critical analysis of historical actions (in an educative context); to provide a tourist destination (as a primary means of funding) and to ensure a site of remembrance for those affected by the events portrayed.