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

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He Awa Ora – Living River

A unique exhibition of ancient and new taonga (treasures) that tell the story of Te Awa Tupua, the Whanganui River and its people. The Awa and iwi feature in a narrative supported by taonga Maori, encompassing the past, the present and the future.
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Whanganui Mūmū – Whanganui By Design

Highlighting the creativity, innovative spirit, cultural integrity, and strength of the tradition of art and design in the Whanganui region.
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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

Learn More

He Awa Ora – Living River

A unique exhibition of ancient and new taonga (treasures) that tell the story of Te Awa Tupua, the Whanganui River and its people. The Awa and iwi feature in a narrative supported by taonga Maori, encompassing the past, the present and the future.
Learn More

Whanganui Mūmū – Whanganui By Design

Highlighting the creativity, innovative spirit, cultural integrity, and strength of the tradition of art and design in the Whanganui region.
Learn More

More Exhibitions:

Nga 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 Maori Court. They bind together the people of the awa (river), their stories and the great awa itself.
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Ko te Kakahu 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. 
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Te Puaha-o-Whanganui – Crossing the Bar

The Port of Whanganui has a dramatic history and is now making a brave comeback.
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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.
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Te Pataka Whakaahua – The Lindauer Gallery

Paintings of Maori tupuna (ancestors) by Gottfried Lindauer.
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Haha Te Whenua – Young Land

The geological beginnings of the notable Whanganui Basin and the first creatures to live here.
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Te Hunahuna – Beaked Whales

Beaked whales dive deep under the sea off the Whanganui and Taranaki coast. They are magnificent and mysterious.
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Tangihia Te Pere – Opening the Door

The Friends School, Native Schools along the Whanganui River and Whanganui Girls College all feature.
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He Matanga – Movers and Shakers

Remarkable scientists, educators and scholars who have lived and worked in Whanganui and influenced the world.
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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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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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Nga Manu o Whanganui – Birds of Whanganui

The birds of Whanganui once thronged the forest, riverbanks and shoreline. Some are gone forever while others struggle to survive.
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Aitanga-a-Pepeke – The Smallest Creatures

Aitanga-a-pēpeke is the family name for all the tiny crawling, flying and burrowing invertebrates that populate Aotearoa New Zealand.
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Nga Moa – Moa

The amazing story of the different moa species that once lived in Whanganui.
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Nga 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).
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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.
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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.
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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. 
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