Auckland War Memorial Museum
The Auckland War Memorial Museum, Tāmaki Paenga Hira or Auckland Museum is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory Hill, the remains of a dormant volcano, in the Auckland Domain, near Auckland CBD. Museum collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Auckland Region), natural history, and military history.
Tāmaki Paenga Hira | |
Auckland War Memorial Museum | |
Former name |
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|---|---|
| Established | 25 October 1852 |
| Coordinates | 36°51′37″S 174°46′40″E |
| Type | Encyclopedic / Universal |
| Key holdings |
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| Collection size | 4.5 million objects |
| Visitors | 859,779 (FY 2016–17) |
| Director | David Reeves |
| Chairperson | Richard Bedford |
| Public transit access | Parnell railway station, Grafton railway station |
| Nearest parking | Museum Carpark and Auckland Domain |
| Designated | 6-June-1985 |
| Reference no. | 94 |
Auckland Museum's collections and exhibits began in 1852. In 1867 Aucklanders formed a learned society—the Auckland Philosophical Society, soon renamed Auckland Institute. Within a few years Auckland Museum was transferred to Auckland Institute, thereafter known as Auckland Institute and Museum until 1996. Auckland War Memorial Museum was the name of the new building opened in 1929, but since 1996 it has been more commonly used for the institution as well. From 1991 to 2003 the Museum's Māori name was Te Papa Whakahiku.