Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Wairoa Museum's treasures open door to the past

By Anneke Smith
Hawkes Bay Today·
23 Nov, 2016 09:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Wairoa District Heritage and Museum Trust chairperson Benita Cairns, museum director Mike Spedding and Kiwa Hammond officiated at the reopening of the Wairoa Museum. Photo / Duncan Brown

Wairoa District Heritage and Museum Trust chairperson Benita Cairns, museum director Mike Spedding and Kiwa Hammond officiated at the reopening of the Wairoa Museum. Photo / Duncan Brown

Wairoa museum's archives were given a new lease on life yesterday as the doors were opened to the public after three weeks of renovations.

Many locals braved the sweltering heat to be a part of the special occasion that has been two years in the making.

Wairoa Museum Friends secretary Jenny Roper said the renovations were "hard work" and the sheer amount of archives now on display reflect this.

"It's been really busy and exciting. We originally only had 5 per cent of our archives out on display but now we have 93 per cent," she said.

The challenging project took 18 months of planning, six months of renovating and $200,000 of funding; much of which was donated by the community.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Museum curator Nigel How said the "heartwarming" turnout was bigger than he expected.

Kiwa Hammond of Te Reinga Marae addressed the crowd in the main foyer and reflected on his role as a "mouthpiece" for the descendants pictured on the walls of the museum.

"What better way to learn about ourselves than to learn about our past," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A wall in the museum reads that this conflict is 'as relevant today as it was then' and conflict is a strong theme for the museum's archives.

A Pai Mārire flag returned from Scotland hung in the main foyer as a centrepiece for the museum.

Its historical significance was marked on Christmas Day in 1865 when 200 troops attacked the small village of Omaruhakeke; it was likely to have been one of the flags surrendered.

After a New Zealander found this flag in Scotland it made its final voyage back to Wairoa where it now rests in a glass case.

Museum director Mike Spedding spoke highly of the education the archives would provide whanau, particularly the younger generation.

"Education is a priority and we hope that the museum will unlock taonga and korero," he said.

Along with education programmes for schoolchildren, Mr Spedding announced the curation of informational books that will be sent out to local schools.

Wairoa Deputy Mayor Denise Eaglesome-Karekare said the newly-renovated museum will "absolutely" benefit the Wairoa community.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

Motorist dies after four crashes in 40 minutes in Hawke's Bay

Hawkes Bay Today

'We have you surrounded': Police stood down after Hawke's Bay stand-off, search continues

Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

Black Ferns: Tui pair on the big bird for matches in South Africa


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Motorist dies after four crashes in 40 minutes in Hawke's Bay
Hawkes Bay Today

Motorist dies after four crashes in 40 minutes in Hawke's Bay

Some roads remained blocked.

17 Jul 06:02 AM
'We have you surrounded': Police stood down after Hawke's Bay stand-off, search continues
Hawkes Bay Today

'We have you surrounded': Police stood down after Hawke's Bay stand-off, search continues

17 Jul 04:06 AM
Premium
Premium
Black Ferns: Tui pair on the big bird for matches in South Africa
Hawkes Bay Today

Black Ferns: Tui pair on the big bird for matches in South Africa

17 Jul 04:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP