"In 1968 the Whanganui Regional Museum underwent a major renovation project to extend the existing building to add the Māori court, a classroom, parking garage and the Davis Lecture Theatre, which included the mosaic mural to be placed on the exterior wall.

Don Wilson designed the mural, based on rock drawings, to be rendered in Italian glass tiles. Wilson worked with Bas Benseman who had the technical knowledge turn the design to reality. The mosaic took 10 months of painstaking work to complete and was finished in 1968."

~ quoted from Coastal Art Trail listing.

The work consists of around 26,000 hand-cut Italian glass tiles, and features dynamic forms and moa figures inspired by the Whanganui Regional Museum collection.

Don Wilson and Basil Benseman had worked together previously, but the mosaic was a unique addition to the museum build, possibly inspired by Wilson’s travels through Mexico where he observed mosaics on civic buildings.

Fifty-seven years later the mosaic had fallen into a state of disrepair with tiles falling off the wall. Local mosaic artist, Louise Herdman, was engaged by the Whanganui District Council to restore the mural in 2025.

See also:

• A Mosaic Renewed - Whanganui Regional Museum Facebook post

• Restoration of museum mosaic underway to honour design and artistry - Whanganui District Council

• Restoration of Whanganui Regional Museum’s 1968 mosaic in final phase - NZ Herald (paywalled)