Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Rock art tourism venture gets lottery grant

Updated at 4:14 pm on 28 April 2010

A Ngai Tahu tourism venture showcasing pre-European rock art should be open by the end of the year, thanks to a $650,000 Lottery Board grant.

Maori Rock Art Centre curator Amanda Symon says the grant completes fund-raising for the $2.7 million venture in Timaru.

She says it's taken eight years to raise enough money to fit out the virtual display centre and identify and protect the 500 pre-European rock art sites in the Ngai Tahu rohe.

"To get to this end, where it moves from dream to reality - it's just amazing," she told Waatea News.

Ms Symon says she's grateful to the Government and local body organisations that have believed in the vision and "put their money where their mouth is." She expects the centre to open this year.

Copyright © 2010, Radio New Zealand