Kiwi North is home to Whangarei’s Museum, Kiwi House & Heritage Park. It is situated on a 25-hectare historic farm in Maunu, Whangarei, overlooking the harbour and city.
At Whangarei Museum you will gain a sense of place through the stories told in the early settler history, beautiful taonga Maori and natural history displays. How was our local environment formed, what was its native flora and fauna, who lived here and why and how is this reflected in the city and its inhabitants today?
One of these stories tells how many skeletons of the now extinct Moa were recently discovered by a private landowner in a cave on his property. These have lain undiscovered for over 2000 years, with their finder being presumably the first human to ever set foot in that cave. See the magnificent kauri waka (canoe), over 200 years old, that bridges and links cultures and eras through varying utilization by different peoples.
These stories are told through a collection founded c1890, and now numbering in excess of 80,000 artefacts. The collection is accessible to the community and visitors through research enquiries, education and exhibition. Permanent displays and a programme of changing exhibitions are shown in both the large Museum main gallery and the more intimate Mim Ringer Gallery. Occasional traveling exhibitions are also hosted.
