LOCATION
The Kauri Museum in Matakohe, Northland, New Zealand is a 2 hour drive north of Auckland, or a 1 hour drive from Whangarei. Take the turn off at the Brynderwyn hills (State Highway 1) onto State Highway 12 (towards Dargaville). We are 20 minutes up the road from the turn off. The Museum is on the Ancient Kauri Trail to the Waipoua Kauri Forest and on the Twin Coast Discovery Highway.
Helipad transfers on request.
WHEELCHAIRS
The Museum has loan wheelchairs available for guest use.
EV CHARGING POINTS
The Kauri Museum has two charging points outside the main building. These are J-1772 and Type 2 plugs. For more details visit this link.
GUIDED TOURS
Private tours of the museum and behind the scenes special tours are available for an additional cost. Please CONTACT US to find out more. The Museum also opens for private evening functions. PRIVATE TOURS of our Historic Villa - Totara House are available by appointment only. The cost per head is $10.
LOCATION
The Kauri Museum in Matakohe, Northland, New Zealand is a 2 hour drive north of Auckland, or a 1 hour drive from Whangarei. Take the turn off at the Brynderwyn hills (State Highway 1) onto State Highway 12 (towards Dargaville). We are 20 minutes up the road from the turn off. The Museum is on the Ancient Kauri Trail to the Waipoua Kauri Forest and on the Twin Coast Discovery Highway.
Helipad transfers on request.
WHEELCHAIRS
The Museum has loan wheelchairs available for guest use.
EV CHARGING POINTS
The Kauri Museum has two charging points outside the main building. These are J-1772 and Type 2 plugs. For more details visit this link.
GUIDED TOURS
Private tours of the museum and behind the scenes special tours are available for an additional cost. Please CONTACT US to find out more. The Museum also opens for private evening functions. PRIVATE TOURS of our Historic Villa - Totara House are available by appointment only. The cost per head is $10.
COLLECTIONS
A large portion of the Museum’s collection is on display in our galleries.
From the world’s smallest revolver to the world’s largest kauri slab, at The Kauri Museum you can walk inside life size recreations of pioneer homes, through a working mill and get up close with operational machinery kept in working order. The Museum grounds also include the original pioneer church, school and post office. Adjacent to the Museum is the magnificent Totara House. Behind the scenes, the Museum’s collection includes an extensive photograph, document archive and textile collection, displayed from time to time in special exhibitions. Below are galleries with with just a sample of the many items in the Museum collection.
5,000 pieces of golden, honey-coloured, kauri gum glow in this jewel in the Museum’s crown: the best and biggest collection of gum in the world.
FURNITURE
The Museum has one of the most extensive collections of kauri and antique furniture in New Zealand. From elaborately carved dining furniture and display pieces, through to the simplest home made items, nearly all of the collection is on display.
The photographs of Tudor Collins are a priceless record of images of the kauri industry, the people, and the forests of Northland.
MACHINERY
The Museum holds an important collection of operational machinery that helped mould the kauri timber industry, from sawmills to the very first version of a chain saw. The stand out in the collection though is our Caterpillar 60 Bulldozer. Sitting proudly in the Operational Machinery Wing, the Cat 60 was considered to be very important for replacing the once mighty bullock teams in the kauri and native bushes of the north. It is fully operational, having been in regular use until its arrival here in 1969.
HILDA McCARROLL BOTTLE COLLECTION
Locating and unearthing old bottles was a passion of Hilda McCarroll for over 50 years.
Many of these bottles were embedded in the sand and mud at nearby Pahi, Batley and Whakapirau. They were probably tossed overboard from the countless sailing ships that once plied the Kaipara Harbour. Hilda’s family often accompanied her on bottle expeditions. They searched at the sites of many houses, now long gone, which were built on the edge of the harbour. Taking a picnic lunch, they made a day of digging bottles, often stopping only when it became too dark to continue.
Hilda’s collection came to the Museum from her home in Taipuha in 2004.
