More Exhibitions:
Ngā Wai Honohono – Bound by Water
Taonga (treasures) Maori have been gathered together around the great waka taua (war canoe) Te Mata-o-Hoturoa in Te Atihaunui-a-Paparangi, the Māori Court. They bind together the people of the awa (river), their stories and the great awa itself.
Ko te Kākahu o te Marama – Outfit of the Month
Every month, as part of the ongoing Outfit of the Month series, the Museum exhibits a special item from its extensive fashion and textile collection.
Te Pūaha-o-Whanganui – Crossing the Bar
The Port of Whanganui has a dramatic history and is now making a brave comeback.
He Huruhuru te Manu Ka Tau! Dressed to Thrill!
Fashion from the 1890s and the 1990s. A vibrant celebration of two very different decades of fashion from the Whanganui Regional Museum collection.
Te Pātaka Whakaahua – The Lindauer Gallery
Paintings of Maori tupuna (ancestors) by Gottfried Lindauer.
Hāhā Te Whenua – Young Land
The geological beginnings of the notable Whanganui Basin and the first creatures to live here.
Te Hunahuna – Beaked Whales
Beaked whales dive deep under the sea off the Whanganui and Taranaki coast. They are magnificent and mysterious.
Tangihia Te Pere – Opening the Door
The Friends School, Native Schools along the Whanganui River and Whanganui Girls College all feature.
He Mātanga – Movers and Shakers
Remarkable scientists, educators and scholars who have lived and worked in Whanganui and influenced the world.
Te Awanui – The Avenue
The look and feel of long-remembered shops and businesses that lined the centre of Whanganui during a golden era of commerce.
Te Ora te Whenua – Living off the Land
The fertile, productive Whanganui lands have fed and clothed people for centuries. See how men and women worked the earth to provide for their families.
Ngā Manu ō Whanganui – Birds of Whanganui
The birds of Whanganui once thronged the forest, riverbanks and shoreline. Some are gone forever while others struggle to survive.
Aitanga-a-Pēpeke – The Smallest Creatures
Aitanga-a-pēpeke is the family name for all the tiny crawling, flying and burrowing invertebrates that populate Aotearoa New Zealand.
Ngā Moa – Moa
The amazing story of the different moa species that once lived in Whanganui.
Ngā Ika – Fish in the River
Fish sustained people and kept the mighty awa clean for hundreds of years. The Whanganui River was famous for its pā tuna (eel weirs) and utu piharau (lamprey weirs).
Te Oranga – Getting Better
Stories of the improving health of children in Whanganui and some of the remarkable local healers who have contributed to getting better.
Whakapono – We Believe
What is religion? It may be belief in supernatural or spiritual traditions. It may be a set of practices appropriate to that belief.
He Tau Hou, He Tauhou – Settling In
As waves of new migrants from Europe arrived to settle in Whanganui, already populated with a sophisticated and diligent Maori society, misunderstanding, misinterpretation and confrontation were inevitable.
Past Exhibitions:
Fortune
A sumptuous assortment of dim sum dishes, wontons, dumplings, pork buns, spring rolls, and more, all carefully crafted in wool.
From Sat, 10 Feb, 2024
Ends Sun, 14 Jul, 2024
Between skin & shirt – The photographic portraits of William Harding
Selection of 60 portraits by prominent Whanganui photographer William James Harding, from the collection held by the Alexander Turnbull Library.