The event drew key representatives from the Waitaki District Council, Te Rūnanga o Moeraki, the Friends of the Forrester Gallery, and contractors Naylor Love.
The ceremony was led by Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher, former Forrester Gallery director Warwick Smith, Friends of the Forrester Gallery life member Rob Douglas, and Moeraki Marae representative Joseph Tipa, who took part in breaking the ground.
"This day has been a long time coming. It’s great to see so many people involved in the gallery’s journey here today — people who’ve all contributed to getting us to this point. We’re looking forward to this project getting under way," Mr Kircher said.
Arts, culture and libraries manager Chloe Searle acknowledged the years of hard work from various stakeholders.
‘‘A lot of work by a lot of people, including the Waitaki District Council, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, the Friends of Forrester Gallery, and staff — past and present — have contributed to this project. We’re grateful for your generosity, support, and patience as we move forward with this extension.”
She also highlighted the significance of Te Rūnanga o Moeraki’s involvement in the project.
"We have a beautiful heritage building, built in 1884, but I doubt there was much conversation with the rūnanga about that. Our building needs to be a 2025 building, and this is part of that mahi,” she said.
Former Forrester Gallery director Warwick Smith said the long awaited ceremony was ‘‘emotional". A director from 1987 to 2013, Mr Smith said there had been many iterations of the extension.
‘‘Like a good cheese it takes a while to develop . . . Helen Stead, who was chair of the establishing committee, really was a true visionary for the project," Mr Smith said.
The gallery will continue to operate throughout the construction work.
The project is expected to be completed next February 2026, with an opening in April.
