Although Gisborne is one of the smallest cities in New Zealand, it has museums which you cannot find even in the capital. Located in the Stout Street District, Tairāwhiti Museum and Art Gallery cost a few dollars for entrance. But the rare and unique items, kept in the collection, cost much more. Many of them do not have analogs in the world.
A couple of gallery halls tell how life appeared and developed in this area.
Gisborne Photo News Hall gives a wonderful retro opinion towards the region and its inhabitants. The photographs cover several eras, from the middle of the 19th century to the beginning of the 21st one. Aborigines’ settlements, nurses in the hospital during the World Wars, national holidays, old schools, private collections, offered to the museum, construction of the most important buildings of the city – several albums show the entire story of Gisborne.
Another interesting exposition is Wyllie Cottage. That is the oldest European house in Gisborne. Inside, you can see furniture, clothing, and household items of the 19th century.
The next stop on a trip to the history of the city is Te-Moana Maritime Museum. The history of seafarers is shown there. Boats, ships, weapons, and special equipment keep the memory about adventures in the ocean. If you are a surfer, you need to see the exhibition of surfboards.
But one of the parts of the Tairawhiti Museum is especially popular among locals. That is the memorial home of Company C, which honors the fighters of the 28th Maori Battalion. The exhibits in this house evoke various feelings, make you stop and think a little.
Another unique collection is the heritage of the island’s inhabitants. There you can find textiles, processed stones, wood carvings, painted facades of houses, jewelry, crafts, weapons, and household items.
The Tairawhiti Museum is the history of several peoples and several millennia preserved in one building. It is definitely worth the attention of Gisborne guests.