Dargaville’s vintage machinery museums full of treasures for tractor fans

Visitors to Dargaville are sure to enjoy checking out the Kaipara Heritage Machinery Museum.

Dargaville boasts two museums that are a must-see for any tractor fans. They also offer a fascinating glimpse into the past. The Country’s Kem Ormond finds out more about the museums and the passionate people behind them.

Kaipara Heritage Machinery (Dargaville) Inc was founded in August 2001 by a group of enthusiastic gentlemen with a passion for preserving vintage machinery once used in the Kaipara region.

Bruce Galloway made a call for people who were interested in forming the museum.

The five gentlemen interested were David Dreadon, Edward Yakich, Basil Cole, Peter Fisher and Eric Burgess.

Their focus is on machinery that played a role in the area’s timber, gum and pastoral industries, helping to shape the development of the land.

Situated at Harding Park, 32 Mt Wesley Coast Rd, Dargaville, they lease land from the Kaipara District Council.

Through donated materials, grants and a whole lot of hard work, they have managed to erect sheds.

Run by volunteers, the Kaipara Heritage Machinery Tractor and Machinery Museum is open to visitors daily from 9am to 3.30pm.

The museum is crammed with wonderful vintage machinery and household appliances, along with fantastic memorabilia from the district.

The oldest tractor is a 1925 Fordson and among the more interesting items is a Clydesdale truck, which is on loan from Avoco Lime.

There’s also a vintage fire truck, kindly loaned by the Dargaville Volunteer Fire Brigade.

Also among the group’s acquisitions is “Rose”, a 1952 NCK excavator weighing 10 tonnes and with a 15m boom, once used for pile driving and other work on bridges and buildings.

Much of the vintage and veteran machinery and range of implements has been kindly donated by locals in the district, with some items in excellent condition and some needing a bit of TLC.

They have a 110-year-old woolshed on display that was shifted to the site and is fully operational, as the plant is driven by a dependable Lister 3hp petrol stationary motor.

There are old Bakelite radios, Planet Juniors for seed and cultivation by hand, old mowers, cowshed and dairy implements, timber and logging machinery, horse and bullock tack, plus haymaking and baling equipment.

Even a Southern Cross windmill has been relocated, taking pride of place.

Dargaville Museum

The Blackstone engine in the Gumdiggers Hall at Dargaville Museum.

Located within a stone’s throw of the Heritage Museum is the world-renowned Dargaville Museum, also at Harding Park.

This is a must-visit for all quintessential machinery buffs.

From humble beginnings, Dargaville Museum developed into seven exhibition halls.

These include Māori Taonga, Gumdiggers, Transport and Farming, Pioneers, Collections, and Maritime, which features local shipwrecks.

There’s also a music room, where over 200 of Kevin Friedrich’s accordions are displayed.

Friedrich is a world-renowned accordionist, formerly of Dargaville.

A display in the Dargaville Museum's Māori Hall.

A standout is the story of the boat-building family who constructed whalers for Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition.

Definitely a firm favourite with the children and adults alike is the working model railway, with its miniature village and transport models.

The Gumdiggers Hall focuses on the story of those who arrived early in the last century from Croatia to dig the kauri gum.

It is complete with gumdiggers’ huts – one a listed Heritage building – and features an extensive collection of kauri gum.

The main attraction is the large, fully restored Blackstone engine that drove the gum-washing plant.

Highlighted in the hall is a 16-metre waka hull that was uncovered in the sands of the Pouto peninsula about 1900.

Both these wonderful museums are worth exploring during a visit to Dargaville.