New Zealand first major purpose-built art gallery is using Tait radios to keep a discreet level of communication for staff, and is even naming a gallery after the company that's proud to call Christchurch home.

The Christchurch Art Gallery - Te Puna O Waiwhetu in Maori - opened its doors in Christchurch on May 10, some 30 years after the city first began to dream about developing a new art gallery.

Prime Minister Helen Clark officially opened the world-class exhibition house during a ceremony featuring Christchurch Mayor Garry Moore, members of Ngai Tahu, and performances from Dame Malvina Major and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra. Ms Clark referred to the spectacular venue as the "Jewel in Christchurch's crown".

Tait is the preferred communications supplier to the Christchurch City Council which owns the gallery, and is now providing the art gallery's radio communications. The gallery required discreet radios that were in keeping with an art gallery being a place of quiet reflection, and a repeater that could deliver complete coverage to every angle of the building - and Tait delivered.

It provided a single aerial simplex repeater, Tait Orca 5010 portable radios and specially customised 'surveillance' gear.

Things got a little tricky when it came to installing the repeater. The radios needed to work in every nook and cranny of the huge building, which includes two floors of exhibition space, an auditorium, a café and bistro, and two retail outlets.

After testing the equipment, perfect coverage was obtained when the repeater was installed at the front of the second floor gallery. This called for concealment of the antenna by a discreet plastic shield.

Tait Electronics is also a major sponsor of the Christchurch Art Gallery, with naming rights to a wing. The Tait Electronics Antarctica Gallery is currently home to "Antarctic Heart" - an evocative, multi-sensory exhibition by New Zealand artist Virginia King.

Tait is the largest commercial employer in Christchurch and prides itself in having an active role in the local community, says Tait Electronics chairman Angus Tait.

"The Christchurch Art Gallery is an excellent addition to the city's cultural heart and Tait is proud to be associated with it," Mr Tait says.

The gallery, situated in the central city, replaces the Robert McDougall Gallery as the public art museum of Christchurch. Its impressive undulating frontage comprises 3000 panes of glass, with its architecture inspired by the Avon river which winds through the city.

Developed at a cost of $47 million, the Christchurch Art Gallery has been planned since 1996. The gallery's creation was enabled by a community trust grant, government funding and additional donations provided by local businesses and families.