EXPERIENCE

Our museum experience starts with a 15 minute film about Maori lore, characters and stories of integration between Maori and European settlers.


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Life like displays showcase local Maori traditions such as tool making and harvesting, whaling history, early European settlers way of life and industries such as logging and farming, Chinese mining history, and war stories from ANZAC and Passchendaele.

We also have a Discovery Depot, which has a focus on the geology of the area, and gives you the opportunity to use our microscope and access to our library of geology resources.

Special Exhibition

Ventifacts - Sandblasts from the Past
On until 31 January 2018
Come and admire nature's artistry in our exhibition - Sandblasts from the Past. Ventifacts are stones shaped by the erosive action of wind-blown sand. The fact that Southland has so many ventifacts is evidence that our landscape once looked very different! Featuring Russell Beck's collection, which includes pieces from as far as Antarctica and China! We even have a ventifact hunt to keep the kids entertained.

Thank you to the exhibition funder, Southern Victoria Trust, and curators Jenna Halder and Russell Beck.

Shop

Our retail space features locally produced gifts and souvenirs.  

We also have a wide range of books, from unique heritage books to childrens books.