Auckland War Memorial Museum
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The Auckland War Memorial Museum is one of New Zealand's most important national museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history, natural history, as well as military history.
The museum is also one of the most iconic Auckland buildings, constructed in the classicist style, and sitting on a grassed plinth (the remains of a dormant volcano) in the Auckland Domain, a large public park close to the Auckland CBD.
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[edit] Building history
The museum was established in 1852, the present heritage building in the Domain being opened in 1929. It was extended in the 1960s, when an administration annex with a large semi-circular courtyard was added at the southern rear.
As of late 2006, the museum is in the final stages of another major overhaul, which first saw the existing building restored and exhibits partly replaced during the 1990s for $NZ 43 million. The second stage of this restoration has seen a great cupola / atrium added over the now filled-in central courtyard, for a price of $NZ 64.5 million. $NZ 27 million of that was founded by the government, with the ASB Trust ($NZ 12.9 million) and other donors making up the remainder [1].
The new sections will add 900 m² of additional exhibition space, new areas for tour and school groups (auditorium with 200 seats, as well as a learning centre) as well as a restaurant with 450 seats. A new 204-spaces underground parking garage at the rear has also been constructed to help cover the high demand for parking in the Auckland Domain.
[edit] Collections and exhibitions
The museum houses the largest collection of Māori and Pacific Island artefacts and treasures in New Zealand, including for example three entire buildings and a waka (war canoe) from 1830. The museum also stores a photographic collection of 1.2 million images, and stores and exhibits 1.5 million natural history specimens from the fields of botany, entomology, geology, land vertebrates and marine biology. The stated goal is to eventually possess specimens from all New Zealand species.
There is also an extensive permanent exhibition covering wars wars within New Zealand as well as New Zealand's participation in overseas conflicts. This exhibition is linked to the War Memorial (see below), and for example shows models of Maori pas (earth fortifications) and original Spitfire and Mitsubishi Zero airplanes.
The museum also offers changing special exhibitions. In the recent past (2006), these have included a Da Vinci and a Vikings exhibition. For the initial exhibition after the grand re-opening in early December 2006, 'Vaka Moana', an show about the first polynesian explorers reaching New Zealand is planned. Afterwards, the exhibition will travel the world for several years.
[edit] War Memorial
The museum and the cenotaph grounds in front of it and also serve as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars. There are two 'halls of memory' within the museum, with the names of all known New Zealanders killed in major conflicts during the 20th Century recorded on the marble walls.
[edit] External links
- Auckland War Memorial Museum (museum homepage)
