Former name Museum of City & Sea | Established 1972 (1972) | |
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Location Wellington Harbour Board Head Office and Bond Store,3 Jervois Quay, Queens Wharf, Wellington, New Zealand Website museumswellington.org.nz | ||
Wellington Museum (formerly the Museum of City & Sea) is a museum on Queens Wharf in Wellington, New Zealand. It occupies the 1892 Bond Store, a historic building on Jervois Quay on the waterfront of Wellington Harbour. It was recently voted as one of the top 50 museums in the world The Times, London.
Contents
The museum has four floors covering the history of Wellington. Celebrating the city’s maritime history, early Maori and European settlement, and the growth of the region, the museum seeks to tell Wellington's stories and how the city has evolved over its 150 years as capital of New Zealand. A giant cinema screen stretching between the ground, first and second floors shows a series of films about Wellington. There are three theatre areas: one tells Maori legends using a 'Peppers Ghost', the other is a memorial to the tragic sinking of the Wahine ferry in Wellington harbour and located on the top floor a Wellington Time Machine. A new exhibition space, The Attic, opened in late 2015 after extensive refurbishment and restoration to the top floor.
Hours and admission
The museum is open every day (excluding Christmas Day). Museum hours are 10.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. General admission is free (booking is essential for education and tour groups). There are free tours every Sunday at 2pm.
Background
The museum started in 1972 as the Wellington Maritime Museum of the Wellington Harbour Board.
In 1989, with the reorganisation of local bodies throughout New Zealand, the museum was transferred to the Wellington City Council (WCC) and expanded in scope to include social history of the region. The conversion of this building into the Museum of Wellington City & Sea was completed in 1999, and it became Wellington Museum in July 2015. It is run by the Museums Trust.