Canterbury Museum

Canterbury Museum, located in Christchurch it’s one of New Zealand’s finest heritage institutions. Half a million people a year - school children, local residents, and international tourists - visit the displays, see the exhibitions, and study the collections.

The Museum was founded in 1870, and the buildings themselves are now regarded as being of outstanding historic and architectural significance. More than 2 million priceless items of New Zealand’s cultural and natural heritage are presented and preserved for the people of today and the generations yet to come. The Museum collections cover a wide range of topics :

• Canterbury’s first people
• The Moa hunter Maori
• Later Maori descendants
• The European settlers
• Cultural backgrounds and economic developments
• Family and local history
• Arts of Asia
• The discovery and exploration of Antarctica
• New Zealand birds
• Mammals, insects, rocks, minerals, and fossils
• and much, much more!

Canterbury Museum opened its doors to the public in October 1870, in a building financed by the Provincial Government and public subscription.

Now, over 120 years later, the original building has been supplemented by five major additions. The principal collections, of national and international importance, cover the human history and natural sciences of the greater Canterbury area, as well as New Zealand, the Antarctic and Subantarctic regions. The Museum also holds valuable material relating to Africa, America, Europe and the ancient world and has outstanding collections of Chinese and Japanese decorative arts.

Location and Hours:

The Museum is located on Rolleston Ave, adjacent to both the Arts Centre and the Botanic Gardens. It is open daily, except for Christmas Day, from 9 am to 5 pm (extended hours during daylight saving).

Admission to the Museum is free, except for special exhibitions, as listed.

The Museum’s address is:

Canterbury Museum
Rolleston Ave
Christchurch
New Zealand
Telephone and fax : (03) 366 8379

Exhibition Galleries

The Museum has a number of special exhibition galleries which house permanent collections and temporary exhibits.

• Iwi Tawhito-Whenua Hou/Ancient People-New Land (Gallery of Moas and Moa Hunters)
• Nga Taonga Tukuiho O Nga Tupuna/Treasures Handed Down To Us By the Ancestors (Gallery of Maori Culture - opening late 1995)
• Hall of Canterbury History 1840s to 1860s - temporary exhibits
• Edgar Stead Hall of New Zealand Birds
• Hall of Antarctic Discovery
• Gallery of Asian Arts
• Hall of Geology and Natural Sciences
• Mountfort Gallery of Applied Arts and Costumes (opening April 1996)

Other services :

• Library and Archives: open to researchers Monday to Friday, 1.00-4.30pm.
• Pictorial Archives: open to researchers Monday to Friday, 1.00-4.30pm; photographic copying service available.
• Gift shop and coffee shop.