Stewart Island is about to get $1 million in government funding to build a new museum.

Photo: 123rf

The old Lockwood home currently housing the island's historic artefacts is not fit for purpose and the Rakiura Heritage Centre Trust has been searching for cash to help them put up a proper building.

The $1.08m government grant was just under a third of the total cost of the new museum. A number of other community groups and trusts were also contributing to the project.

The entire cost of the new museum was a little more than $3.5m.

Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni met with the trust today, which she said has worked tirelessly to pull this project together.

"The community is excited about the prospects that come with the investment," she said. "The new building will be an important community and cultural hub and a tourist attraction."

She said construction on the new building would be starting soon, and would incorporate environmentally friendly design features, including solar power generation and water collection.

"The New Zealand Fire Service has generously made the new site available to the trust," she said.

The new building will display around half the museum's current collection, while the remaining collection will be safely stored in a much improved collection storage space.