Whanganui Regional Museum at Pukenamu Queen's Park, Whanganui, is rated 4.6 from 527 reviews and founded in 1892. With free admission and daily hours 10am-4:30pm, it serves as a bicultural gateway to local social and natural histories through outstanding collections, family-friendly exhibitions and a gift shop.
The museum's collections span Taonga Māori, the Gottfried Lindauer Gallery of paintings of Whanganui Rangatira, a remarkable moa collection, and historical fashion and textiles. Contemporary Taonga Pūoro Māori reflect ceremonial, healing and ancestral significance. Exhibitions explore Lower Palaeolithic tools to Neolithic implements, Victorian fashion, regional art and design, earthquakes and volcanoes, and spiritual heritage through photography. He Kete Iti brings together 101 contemporary Māori kete and historical taonga; visitors can create jewellery inspired by the collections. A gift shop treasures unusual books and quality souvenirs, whilst the family-friendly exhibitions are guided by warm, welcoming staff.
At Pukenamu Queen's Park, Whanganui Regional Museum is the region's bicultural gateway to its people, stories and heritage.