The Kauri Museum at Matakohe in the North of New Zealand is one of the countries most amazing theme museums. Approximately 95,000 people visit our internationally acclaimed museum every year. This is a real Must See Attraction for anyone visiting Northland.
This award-winning museum tells a fascinating story of the pioneering days through the use of kauri timber and kauri gum. Settlers first came to Matakohe and nearby Paparoa and Maungaturoto in 1862. This museum was established to celebrate their centennial and to pay tribute to those early pioneers.
There are many exceptional displays and dedicated galleries to admire. You can expect to see a magnificent collection of antique kauri furniture. There is restored machinery including NZ’s earliest tractor, a 1929 Cat 60 and a turning Steam Sawmill.
The Qualmark accredited Kauri Museum also has the largest collection of kauri gum in the world, a replica boarding house, a school and an historic post office with a fantastic collection of telephones.
The Kauri Museum was established in 1962 to preserve the history of local pioneers through the theme of the giant kauri tree, the second largest tree in the world. Although internationally renowned for its excellent exhibits and stories of the early pioneers, The Kauri Museum has, until recently, been overlooked for its art collection.
With the unveiling of local artist Dennise Brownlie’s mural depicting the bullock teams of the pioneering era, The Kauri Museum also launched its own ‚Arts Trail‘ within the Museum. This enables visitors to enjoy the many art forms that are in the various halls of the Museum; significant paintings by New Zealand artists John Holmwood, Garth Tapper and Turkington, to name a few.
Kauri sculptures ranging from bowls and statues to a large tuatara and massive archway, woven pictures and marquetry, antique kauri furniture, lifelike mannequins, early photographic collections, exquisitely carved kauri gum and in the Museum Shop, a wonderful range of New Zealand handmade crafts.
Source: The Kauri Museum Matakohe