Three generations of family members of a former Whakatane councillor congregated in Burgess Park to mark the beginning stage of the Whakatane Museum Research Centre Redevelopment Project.

The Burgess family, whom Burgess Park is named after, turned a sod of grass at the blessing ceremony on Wednesday, July 5.

Jack Burgess was a Whakatane borough councillor from 1962 to 1971 and chaired the council's parks and reserves committee.

Jack had a passion for protecting the district's cultural heritage and was a keen member of the Whakatane and District Historical Society.

His son Ron Burgess and Ron's grandson Oscar Burgess-Mahy, were special guests as well as sons of H D London, whose father helped establish the Whakatane Museum.

Paul London says he thought his father would be astounded to know that the museum ‘seed' he had planted 50 years ago was 'still flourishing”.

'Father was part of a group of like-minded people who saw a need for a museum in Whakatane to stop the flow of cultural material, which was being taken from the region and deposited in Auckland Museum,” says Paul.

The museum redevelopmentwill start in August and is expected to be completed by August 2018.

It involves the retention and refurbishment of the existing museum building in Boon Street and an extension into Burgess Park.

New features include enlarged collection storage areas with control systems required to protect the museum's valuable collections, secure collection viewing areas for families and researchers, and a community research centre.