Seddon Leonard Bennington (8 October 1947 – c. 11 July 2009) was a New Zealand museum
executive
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dire ...
. Bennington was the chief executive of the
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...
, the national museum of New Zealand, from January 2003 until his death in 2009, and had also been the director of the
Carnegie Science Center
The Carnegie Science Center is one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Chateau neighborhood. It is located across the street from Heinz Field.
Overview
The Carnegie Science Center is the most visited mu ...
in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, from 1994 until 2002.
Biography
Early life
Bennington was born in
Hanmer Springs
Hanmer Springs is a small town in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. The Māori name for Hanmer Springs is Te Whakatakanga o te Ngārahu o te ahi a Tamatea, which means “where the ashes of Tamate’s (sic) fire lay” ...
,
North Canterbury
Canterbury ( mi, Waitaha) is a region of New Zealand, located in the central-eastern South Island. The region covers an area of , making it the largest region in the country by area. It is home to a population of
The region in its current fo ...
, on the
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
of
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. His parents, Charles and Lillian Jean Bennington, reportedly named him after the former
New Zealand Prime Minister
The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017.
The prime minister (informa ...
Richard Seddon
Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the List of prime ministers of New Zealand, 15th Prime Minister of New Zealand, premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. ...
, whom they admired for his efforts to benefit working class New Zealanders.
Bennington attended Hanmer Springs Primary School, Culverden District High School and Shirley Boys' High School. He credited a teacher at Culverden with introducing him to
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
, his favourite subject. An art teacher also took him and other students on a birdwatching trip to
Kapiti Island
Kapiti Island () is an island about off the west coast of the lower North Island of New Zealand. It is long, running southwest/northeast, and roughly wide, being more or less rectangular in shape, and has an area of . Its name has been used s ...
when he was in seventh grade, and the trip left him with a lifelong appreciation for art and
nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...
.
[
Bennington joined the ]Volunteer Service Abroad
Volunteer Service Abroad - Te Tūao Tāwāhi (VSA) a New Zealand-based volunteering agency working in international development.
Operations
VSA volunteers share skills with people in the wider Pacific. VSA's work is diverse and driven by the ...
in Western Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); a ...
in 1966.[ He then returned to New Zealand to study across the arts and sciences, and during this time also worked as a teacher.][
He obtained his doctorate in ]zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
from the University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...
,[ and also studied a variety of subjects, including ]New Zealand history
The history of New Zealand ( Aotearoa) dates back to between 1320 and 1350 CE, when the main settlement period started, after it was discovered and settled by Polynesians, who developed a distinct Māori culture. Like other Pacific cultures, M ...
, Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
studies, art history
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
and anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
.[
Bennington had two sons, Emile and Marcel.
]
Early career
Bennington was appointed the head of the Otago Early Settlers' Museum in Dunedin, and then director of the Wellington City Art Gallery, early in his career. He went on to be the head of both the Scitech Discovery Centre SciTech, Scitech or Sci Tech may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Scitech, a not-for-profit science and technology organization in Western Australia
* Sci-Tech Daresbury, a science-related business campus near Daresbury, Cheshire, England
* ...
in Perth, Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, and the Division of Professional Services at the Western Australian Museum
The Western Australian Museum is a statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the ''Museum Act 1969''.
The museum has six main sites. The state museum, now known as WA Museum Boola Bardip, officially re-ope ...
. He wrote a book entitled ''Handbook for Small Museums'' while living and working in Australia.[
]
Carnegie Science Center
Bennington became the director of the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh in 1994.[ He is credited with reviving the ]science centre
A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...
and making the institution financially stable.[
Bennington joined the Carnegie Science Center at the height of the museum's financial and attendance problems. The museum, which opened a new building in Pittsburgh's North Side in 1991, was suffering from ]budget deficit
Within the budgetary process, deficit spending is the amount by which spending exceeds revenue over a particular period of time, also called simply deficit, or budget deficit; the opposite of budget surplus. The term may be applied to the budget ...
s and a wavering mission since its opening three years before his arrival. He quickly moved to establish a new vision and mission for the Carnegie Science Center. Much of his strategy centred on the establishment and maintenance of institutional relationships between the Science Center and other cultural, scientific
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
and business organisations. He introduced travelling exhibits to the museum, especially through the former UPMC SportsWorks complex.[
Bennington became a fixture within Pittsburgh's cultural and artistic communities during his nine-year tenure as director of the museum, and volunteered with the city's theatre and art groups.][
The reforms which he brought to the center proved popular with the general public and it became the most popular museum of the four ]Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh are four museums that are operated by the Carnegie Institute headquartered in the Carnegie Institute complex in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Carnegie Institute complex, which includes t ...
during his term as director, and continued to be the most visited museum of the Carnegie system in July 2009.[
Bennington left the Carnegie Science Museum in late 2002 to become director the ]Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...
.[
]
Te Papa
Bennington sought to emphasise and redefine Te Papa's strengths to the public during his six years as the museum's head. He worked with staff to create exhibits which would grab the audience's attention saying, "I want our exhibitions
An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery
An art gallery is a roo ...
to be richer in things and richer in information."[
One of the highlights of his tenure was the opening of the "]Monet
Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...
and the Impressionists
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...
" exhibition at Te Papa in early 2009. The travelling exhibit, featuring Monet's masterpieces, arrived at Te Papa following two years of negotiations with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Massachusetts. Bennington noted at the time, "It's the most significant collection of works by Monet that will ever have come to New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
or Australia. It's certainly the most valuable exhibition that has come to New Zealand."[
]
Death
Bennington and a long-time family friend,[ Marcella Jackson, 54, disappeared while "]tramping
Tramping may refer to:
Travel
*Hiking
*Trekking
*Tramping in New Zealand, a style of backpacking or hiking
* Czech tramping, a Czech outdoors pastime
Places
* Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380, Saskatchewan, Canada
** Tramping Lake, Sas ...
" (hiking)in the Tararua Range
The Tararua Range, often referred to as the Tararua Ranges or Tararua, is one of several mountain ranges in the North Island of New Zealand.
The Tararua Range runs northeast–southwest for from near Palmerston North to the upper reaches of ...
on the North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
of New Zealand on 11 July 2009. Authorities were alerted after they failed to return from a weekend of tramping.[
They had planned to hike from Otaki Forks to Kime Hut within the Tararua Range, but were caught in a sudden winter southerly storm on Saturday, 11 July, on an exposed section of the Tararuas. Their bodies were recovered on 15 July 2009, four days after they went missing. Both had died from ]hypothermia
Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe h ...
. Bennington was 61 years old.
Memorial service
A memorial service and funeral
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
for Bennington was held at the Te Papa museum in Wellington. His body was taken to Te Papa's marae
A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...
on 21 July 2009. Bennington's family members carried his coffin to the entrance of the marae,where it was given to Te Papa staff members who carried it up the stairs accompanied by Māori instrumental music and conch shells
Conch () is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point at both ends).
In North ...
. His casket was then returned to his family at the top of the stairs, to be carried onto the ''marae''. Bennington's coffin was greeted by Te Papa's staff with a haka
Haka (; plural ''haka'', in both Māori and English) are a variety of ceremonial performance art in Māori culture. It is often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted or chanted accompani ...
, and was then placed on a stage in the center of the marae and covered with three '' kahu kiwi'' (kiwi
Kiwi most commonly refers to:
* Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand
* Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders
* Kiwifruit, an edible berry
* Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency
Kiwi or KIWI may also refe ...
feather coats) as a sign of respect. One of the kiwi cloaks had been used for the '' tangi'', or funeral, of the former prime minister, Richard Seddon, in 1906. The cloak was significant not only because Bennington was named after the Prime Minister, but also because Bennington had personally accepted the cloak from the Seddon family as a donation to Te Papa. The second cloak was originally from Tuhoe, where Bennington spent time during his younger years. The third kiwi cloak used to cover Bennington's coffin had been used previously to repatriate the remains of New Zealanders who died abroad back to their homeland. Bennington's funeral was held on 22 July 2009, at the marae at Te Papa in Wellington.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennington, Seddon
2009 deaths
Directors of museums in New Zealand
Directors of museums in the United States
University of Canterbury alumni
People from Wellington City
People from Pittsburgh
1947 births
Deaths from hypothermia
People from Hanmer Springs