Whanganui Regional Museum

Whanganui Regional Museum Review

For an overview of the region's history and one of the best collections of Maori treasures in the country, drop into the Whanganui Regional Museum, by Queens Park. The museum contains taonga (Maori ancestral treasures) of the River people. There are some wonderful waka (canoes), as well as carvings, jewelry, ornaments, kiwi-feather cloaks, greenstone clubs, tools, bone flutes, and ceremonial portraits. The museum also re-creates 19th-century pioneer-town Wanganui in a series of traditional shop windows filled with relics and curios. Another treasure in this museum is Te Pataka Whakaahua (the Lindauer Gallery), with 19th-century paintings of Maori leaders by respected artist Gottfried Lindauer.