The Whanganui Regional Museum is a bicultural waharoa (gateway) to local social and natural histories. It stands proudly in Pukenamu Queen’s Park, the cultural heart of Whanganui. The Museum has a special relationship with mana whenua, those Māori who have historic and territorial rights over this land. It is also warmly supported by the many communities who continue to help develop it.
Learn about the people, objects, and stories that make this vibrant region so important through our stunning collection, which includes outstanding Taonga Māori, the Gottfried Lindauer Gallery of paintings of Whanganui Rangatira, a remarkable moa collection, and a noteworthy collection of historical fashion and textiles.
Fully acknowledging our past, explaining the present and preparing for the future starts here, at your museum.
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Other Exhibitions
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.
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Te Pataka Whakaahua – The Lindauer Gallery
Paintings of Maori tupuna (ancestors) by Gottfried Lindauer.
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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.
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All Exhibitions
Collection Highlights
2002.34.6
PHOTOGRAPH; Taupo Quay in flood.
This photograph was taken on Taupo Quay near the Old Tram Shed, after the flood of the Whanganui River in 1940. Four people can be seen rowing a boat down the flooded street. The Durie Hill Tower is visible in the background.