Articles
Waitangi Day, on February 6, marked 176 years of the signing since the Treaty of Waitangi, the much contested founding document of New Zealand.
The first copy...
Kevin Smith, Fleet Manager from New Zealand Maritime Museum is finishing up with the Museum on 19 December, after 15 years of service. In this interview we get...
25 Years: The story of Ted Ashby, Freightways Scow
While many maritime museums have significant collections of vessels of all types and sizes, not many still...
25 Years: Pre-Museum, Plans and Concepts
The Museum was first proposed in 1980 by a group of like-minded individuals, many of whom were Auckland Harbour Board...
Exhibition Talk - World Builder
Sun 30 Sep, 11am-12pm
Bob Gerrard’s daughter, Faye Johnson, speaks about his life and art and unpacks some ideas in this...
International Archives Day
To celebrate International Archives Day, we have asked Line in our Collections team to talk about her role here at the Museum:
The museum hosted a second Pecha Kucha on 23rd February 2017 in collaboration with Pecha Kucha Auckland. The event was inspired by the ‘At The Water’s Edge’...
By Vincent Saunders
New Zealand is renowned for its sailors and their dominance in the fiercely competitive international sailing arena. Events, such as the...
Nautilus has had a colourful life, travelling the world, since first being launched as family vessel used for picnics and racing in 1913. Since then she has...
Earlier this year, Hal Wagstaff visited the New Zealand Maritime Museum. At the time, he was planning on attending the World Moth Championships to be held in...
By Marleene Boyd
The year is 1904, the place is the Waitemata Harbour of Auckland and the plan is to design a port that will meet the ship, passenger and cargo...
By Rebekah Clements
If you’re a young Kiwi sailor (or were!) it’s likely you’ve spent some time in a boat designed by John Balmain Brooke, known as Jack....
For Easter I thought I’d share my favourite thing in the New Zealand Maritime Museum collection, on loan to us from the Edmiston Trust.
Robert Snr, Robert Jnr, John and Archibald Logan are responsible for the design and construction of some of the fastest racing yachts in New Zealand’s history...
It’s been all about the beach here at the museum for the last four months. With only two weeks to go until At the Beach closes, I thought it was a perfect time...
![MV AUSTRALIA, Crossing the Line Dinner 27th March 1960. Lloyd Triestino. [16028] Gentians – flowers of Italy](https://www.maritimemuseum.co.nz/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/articles/Australia%20menu.jpg?itok=z3ZpjofI "MV AUSTRALIA, Crossing the Line Dinner 27th March 1960. Lloyd Triestino. [16028] Gentians – flowers of Italy")
Imagine a gaily coloured menu on your dining table and the anticipation of wondering what food might be on the menu for your meal. Opening the page and finding...
Part of our collection showcases the ingenuity of a kiwi who needed to get far away from the sea. Sir William (Bill) Hamilton wanted to travel upstream to...
So many new arrivals in awe of the beach. Working hard, but then taking their reward, family seaside outings, shore holidays and sandy walks. Some captured...
As part of our current “Ferries on the Waitematā” exhibition (on until 4 October), we commissioned Silena Griffin, a 3rd year photography student enrolled at...
This week marks the museum’s 22nd birthday here on Hobson Wharf, after the Right Hon. Jim Bolger Prime Minister of New Zealand cut a ceremonial ribbon on 19...
What could be more evocative of sea travel today than the names of the three Cunard liners: QUEEN MARY 2, QUEEN ELIZABETH and QUEEN VICTORIA.
Dining in luxury...
The year 2015 marks a centenary event for Auckland of the maritime kind. The 600 ton slipway in Westhaven was built by the Auckland Harbour Board to provide a...
A look at Bean Rock Lighthouse, the only surviving wave washed wooden cottage lighthouse in New Zealand
10 July 2015 marks the 30th anniversary of the bombing of the RAINBOW WARRIOR and the killing of a Greenpeace photographer by French Secret Agents.
New Zealand...
Tessa Duder is a versatile New Zealand writer who has crossed the Tasman under sail, lived as an expatriate wife and written several books on Auckland. She...
This week (June 21 to 27) represents National Volunteer Week (NVW) in New Zealand. It is a fantastic chance to celebrate the invaluable knowledge, skill and...
The tragedy of losing a loved one to the sea can be too much to bear for some. The Tamaki Strait has been a place of many sea tragedies. On the 16 November...
Visitors to the New Zealand Maritime Museum love REWA, the 37 foot gaff cutter we have on display inside the museum, and we love having her here. She had a...
In 1915, the Auckland Harbour Board erected a memorial beacon to commemorate 40 of its employees who had enlisted in the First World War.
New Zealand’s Hospital Ships Maheno and Marama captured New Zealand’s hearts 100 years ago and their memory continues to resonate both down the years and...
BREEZE and her hardworking crew spent the last weekend in the Bay of Islands running public sailings alongside fellow tall ship, R Tucker Thompson. A highlight...
It’s not all fun in the sun on board tall ship BREEZE! Here mate James Brock explains what it’s like sailing at night, as the crew make their way from the Bay...
The 175th Anniversary of the founding of Auckland city is being celebrated this weekend with a range of events on Auckland's waterfront, including the annual...
This Valentine’s Day we've chosen one of the most romantic objects from the Museum's collection to share with you – a Merchant Navy sweetheart brooch – and...
The Volvo Ocean Race Village for the Auckland stopover of the gruelling round the world event opens in Viaduct Harbour today, with the first of the race yachts...
After 22 days at sea, SCA crew member Annie Lush anticipates the team's arrival to Auckland with a mixture of excitement and nerves.
The Immigrants Gallery tells the stories of people who came to New Zealand. This scrapbook was made for an 11 year old Dutch immigrant in 1952.
HMS Orpheus was wrecked on the west coast of Auckland in 1863. Of the 259 men assumed to be on board, 189 lost their lives.
SS Puke, the Museum’s steam launch, is typical of the small craft once used for local transport on Northland harbours and rivers.
Breeze is a traditional wooden sailing ship similar to vessels used for New Zealand coastal and inter-Dominion trades in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Ted Ashby is a ketch-rigged deck scow, typical of the fleet of scows that once operated in northern New Zealand waters.
From shipwrecks to Kiwiana, ocean-going ships to the Hamilton jet, New Zealanders have ties to the ocean like few other nations on earth.
Learn about NZ's astonishing maritime achievements, a country which has at one time or another held every significant sailing trophy in the world.
Ferries were an important part of early travel, connecting New Zealanders with one another in the absence of roads.
As some of the earliest settlers, whalers and sealers survived harsh conditions to work the bountiful hunting grounds around New Zealand’s coasts.
Re-live the stories of immigrants from the 1850s through to the 1960s, as they leave their homes for a life on the other side of the world.
When Hobson settled on building his new capital on the shore of the Waitemata, John Logan Campbell spotted the opportunity. He and his friend William Brown...
Some sections of our coastline are more dangerous than others. The part that Joseph Day patrolled for 45 unbroken years was fraught with danger and needed an...
When HMS Orpheus floundered at the entrance of the Manukau Harbour in 1863, with the loss of 189 lives, the career and reputation of Captain Thomas Wing and...
![Profile of the west coast of Staete Landt (New Zealand) discovered on 13th December 1642. Abel Janszoon Tasman's journal of his discovery of Van Diemens Land and New Zealand in 1642. [2276]](https://www.maritimemuseum.co.nz/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/articles/20140219105746237_0002.jpg?itok=6yV7KWGb)
Abel Tasman - Aotearoa’s first Manuhiri Tuarangi – visitor from the other side of the sky.
“He ao! He ao! Ka awatea!”
Ko Kupe , he atua, he tipua, he tangata
In 1885, Joseph James Craig inherited his late father’s 20-year-old general merchant and cartage contracting business. For the next 45 years, nearly every...
The “eights” is the glamour event of rowing regattas. When the New Zealand crew arrived in Munich for the 1972 Olympic Games, they were ranked favourites to...
Before a harbour was built around the turn of the 20th century to tame the wild seas, many ships were wrecked off the coast of Timaru.
In October, 1867, a...
He might have been looking for an unknown southern continent, but what James Cook really discovered when he sighted land near modern day Gisborne was equally...
Mrs Chippy, Trim, Jenny and Aussie - all cats and seafaring heroes. For centuries, felines were welcomed on board merchant and Navy ships, as pets, protectors...
Thousands of valiant New Zealanders served in the Merchant Navy in both World Wars These seafaring civilians volunteered to serve on commercial ships that were...
If you peered into a crystal ball at the future of New Zealand yachting, the chances are very high you would see Peter Burling and Blair Tuke sailing front...
Mary Jane Bennett was not only dedicated to taking care of her husband and seven children. She was also committed to looking after the wellbeing of seamen...
When Russell Coutts drove a sleek black yacht across the finish-line off San Diego on Sunday, May 14th, 1995, a nation on the other side of the Pacific Ocean...
![Plan of HAWAIKI-NUI / Designer Jacques Pariselle, conception Frances Cowan, realisation Frances Cowan and Matahi Brightwell. Proceedings Waka Moana Symposium, Voyager NZ Maritime Museum [1996.132]](https://www.maritimemuseum.co.nz/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/articles/HAWAIKIS.jpg?itok=niPxN1Pu)
![Barbara in the lead in a mistral board race. Barbara Kendall Collection, Voyager NZ Maritime Museum [2003.215]](https://www.maritimemuseum.co.nz/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/articles/DSC02362.JPG?itok=OJ9Bi2lg)
In a dazzling 24-year boardsailing career, Barbara Kendall became known as The Rainbow Girl – winning a medal of every hue at the pinnacle of sport, the...
Rob Waddell’s accomplishments in world sport are best described as Herculean - reaching the pinnacle of not one, but two very demanding sporting codes.
An intricately hand-carved and gold-embellished roll of honour pays homage to the men of the Auckland Tally Clerks’ Union who fought in the World Wars.
With a strong affinity with the ocean from a young age, it was not surprise that Ingrid Visser followed a natural path to became a guardian of all orcas, not...
Around the world, in all cultures there are heroes, and here in Aotearoa New Zealand, Maui appears as a hero whose achievements benefit people. Taranga who,...
According to the Tahitian story, the ancient king and voyager Tumu-nui listed eight dangers of the sea: long-wave, short-wave, isolated-coral-rock, fish-shoal...
From being attacked in the safety of port, to taking protest action to the open seas, the people who crew protest vessels often find themselves in extremely...
Travel by sea was fairly dangerous in the 19th century. Ships were wrecked because of the lack of lighthouses to guide them; the inaccuracy of maps and lack of...
Navigating New Zealand’s coastline and harbours can be a perilous undertaking, even with all the technology available today. Lighthouses have always been, and...
We all know that lifejackets are essential pieces of equipment on boats – allowing wearers to keep afloat if they somehow end up in the water, saving them from...
During World War One the New Zealand Government requisitioned two Union Steam Ship Company trans-Tasman liners the MAHENO and the MARAMA to be refitted as...
As New Zealanders, we’re lucky to live in a country with so many beaches. But we also need to be aware of how dangerous our waters can be. Surf Life Saving New...
![Ticket to the Rangitane Ball [16044g], part of the reserve collection of the Maritime Museum.](https://www.maritimemuseum.co.nz/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/articles/Ticket%20to%20RANGITANE%20Ball.jpg?itok=N09fgdw8)
During the early hours of 26 November 1940, RMS RANGITANE was travelling from Auckland to London when she was attacked and sunk by German raiders. Of the 300...
Friday 29 August marks one hundred years since what is considered New Zealand’s first military action in World War I.
On Wednesday 3 September we remembered the bravery and sacrifices of the civilian seamen known as the Merchant Navy. They were not a military force; they were...
The ORPHEUS disaster is often called ‘New Zealand’s worst sea disaster’. Although the WAHINE disaster would be New Zealand’s most famous shipwreck, the ORPHEUS...
One of the most dangerous and urgent duties on the sea is the job of salvaging wrecked or grounded vessels and their cargo.
Find out how coastal trade became the lifeline between New Zealand's many ports and harbours.
Discover the stories of Dutch, English, French and Spanish explorers as they set sail to the far side of the world.
Explore the Museum's world-class display of replica voyaging canoes and historical Maori objects.
Museum educator Frazer Dale is setting off on the expedition of a lifetime.
Yellow-eyed penguins are the rarest penguins in the world and unique to New Zealand. Their natural habitat is cool coastal forest, but by the late 1980s much...
The Museum’s Education team is always keen to build their sailing knowledge and skills so they can offer more training to visitors, including a Coastguard...
Day two of Spirit of New Zealand’s coastal journey from Wellington to Napier saw the crew putting extra safety lines around the boat. This was to mitigate the...
Because of the dangers faced by sailors and fishermen, there are countless superstitions around safety and luck on the sea. Some seem a little strange today.
Museum Educator, Frazer Dale, is on his way to the Auckland Islands to count Yellow-Eyed Penguins as part of a Department of Conservation (DoC) survey of the...
During the 19th century, sailing ships were sometimes lost to the stormy Southern Ocean. Eleven were shipwrecked on bleak islands to the south of New Zealand’...
Now that the Yellow-Eyed Penguin Survey expedition team have made it safely to the Auckland Island, they’re taking some time to get to know the locals. With no...
Thursday 20 November marked the first official penguin counting day for the Yellow-Eyed Penguin Survey expedition team. The dedicated volunteers were up at 4am...
The 2014 DoC Yellow-Eyed Penguin Survey expedition team have made it to the Auckland Islands! And it was a testing trip on board their 28 meter yacht, SV Evohe...
Friday 21 November was the team’s second day of counting Yellow-Eyed Penguins – this time at the northern tip of Rose Island with views over to Enderby Island...
The Yellow-Eyed Penguin Expedition crew spent the first part of this week in Carnley Harbour, a body of water between Adams Island to the south and the larger...
With some time for island exploration, geography teacher Christine tells us more about the unforgiving landscape of the islands surrounding Carnley Harbour.
On 25 November the team awoke in Waterfall Inlet to be greeted by calm, still and sunny weather – at last! Rather than going ashore, they were able to watch...
Human habitation has never succeeded on the Auckland Islands. And even on a still, calm day, nature can be unpredictable, as Christine explains:
As predicted, the Yellow-Eyed Penguin Expedition team have spent the last days of their trip battling 50km an hour winds. With gusts of over 60 knots, they...
Trapped on board the yacht by bad weather, Frazer reflects on how the weather influences the team's mood and behaviour, and introduces us to more of the team...
Howling winds persisted all night and well into the morning for the Yellow-Eyed Penguin Survey team, which meant the penultimate penguin count on Enderby...
Buried treasure, eye patches, wooden legs, parrots, Jolly Roger, hats, hooks, rum, swashbuckling, Davy Jones’ locker, the Flying Dutchman, Captain Hook,...
Climb aboard a scow, a steam launch or a tall ship and explore the sparkling Waitemata harbour.
Current
September 29 2017 - April 29 2018
An installation by Jae Kang that invites visitors to touch and play
Often galleries and museums are off-limits to visitors as...
Current
A fantastic new art exhibition created by artists, Erica Duthie and Struan Ashby, has just opened at the Museum. It comprises a large taped mural made by the...
Current
The At the Beach exhibition, in the New Zealand Maritime Museum continues to draw a large enthusiastic audience including a special visit this week from Lady...
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World Builder: The Bob Gerrard Story
11 May - 30 September 2018
World Builder presents the life and work of an extraordinary self-taught artist whose work...
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18 March - 3 September 2017
Explore the journeys made by migrants to New Zealand in a compelling exhibition inspired by real-life experiences. Created by...
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Powerful ethereal imagery, compelling conceptual drawings and models make up the latest exhibition At the Water’s Edge on at the New Zealand Maritime Museum...
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Dravuni: Sivia yani na Vunilagi - Beyond the Horizon explores cultural transmission in the digital age, belonging and place-making, legends and storytelling....
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For people living in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, the sea is integral to our identity.
Ko au te wai, ko te wai ko au: I am the water and the water is...
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17 October 2015 to 8 February 2016, celebrating changing beach fashions and fun since the early 1900s.
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This exhibition features a selection of paintings by W. W. Stewart (1898-1976) and photographs which capture the romance of the steam ferry era.
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From folk art to ship souvenirs, navigational equipment to flags, we’re unveiling the weird and wonderful treasures from the Museum's archive.