Memorial building In the early years of the 20th century the museum and its collections flourished under visionary curator Thomas Cheeseman, who tried to establish a sense of order and separated the natural history, classical sculpture and anthropological collections which had previously been displayed in a rather unsystematic way. The need for better display conditions and extra space necessitated a move from the Princes Street site, and eventually the project for a purpose-built museum was merged with the idea creating a memorial to commemorate soldiers lost in the First World War. After extensive consultation between the Mayor, Sir James Gunson and Thomas Cheeseman, the site chosen was a hill in the Government Domain commanding an impressive view of the Waitematā Harbour. Permission was granted by the Auckland City Council in 1918, the Council in its liberality being given three seats on the Museum Council. In addition to an initial gift of , the council also agreed to an annual subsidy from rates towards maintenance of the facility, and eventually coaxed several of the other local bodies to the principle of an annual statutory levy of to support the museum's upkeep. A worldwide architectural competition was funded by the Institute of British Architects, with a prize of sterling drawing more than 70 entries. The Auckland firm of Grierson, Aimer and Draffin won with their neo-classical design reminiscent of Greco-Roman temples. In 1920, the present site was settled on as a home for the museum, and in August 1925, after successful fund-raising led by Auckland Mayor Sir James Gunson, building of the Auckland War Memorial Museum began. Construction was completed in 1929, and the Museum's new building was opened by the Governor-General, General Sir Charles Fergusson. The museum's architects commissioned Kohn's Jewellers of Queen Street to create a finely detailed silver model of the museum. This was presented to Gunson upon completion of the museum, in recognition of his extensive work in leading the project. After the death of Sir James, the model was presented to the museum by his son Wallace Gunson, where it remains on display to this day. The building is considered to be one of the finest Greco-Roman buildings in the Southern Hemisphere. It has an 'A' classification from the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, designating it as a building whose preservation is of the utmost importance. Of particular interest is the interior plasterwork which incorporates Māori details