Auckland War Memorial Museum, New Zealand

Auckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland Overview

The Auckland War Memorial Museum has ensured the upholding and the glorification of the Māori culture - the traditional culture of the indigenous inhabitants of New Zealand. To keep the heritage alive in people’s memories, the museum tells many stories of the historical Māori life in New Zealand through talks, tours, exhibitions and programmes.

Many items and souvenirs resembling the Māori culture are sold online in the museum shop. Exclusive guest experiences are provided through award-winning Māori cultural performances, private tours and exclusive exhibition viewings. The Neoclassical style of architecture of the museum has been critically acclaimed and has received esteemed awards like the NZIA Gold Medal and the ACENZ Innovate NZ Gold Award.

The Auckland War Memorial Museum, also known as the Auckland Museum, plays a significant role and provides a deep insight into the city's history and the country as a whole. Its numerous exhibitions and collections cover many areas of interest, such as the World Wars, historical battles, arts and craft works, and the Pacific region's treasures. Not just this, the museum contains an exhibit of photographs. Also, it showcases the natural history of New Zealand, displaying over 1.5 million specimens. In front of the museum is the War Memorial. Complete with the Cenotaph and consecrated grounds, it was built mainly to remember those who lost their lives during the World Wars. However, many sections inside the museum also serve as parts of the memorial.

Events at the Memorial Museum

Since the Museum’s idyllic venues provide for a suitable setting for any event’s needs, many events are hosted at these venues which usually require pre-booking. Some of the famous events hosted before include ‘An Incomplete Picture: Interpreting the Past in the Future’, ‘When Neanderthals and Modern Humans met’, ‘Gibbs Sculpture Park tour’, ‘ANZAC Treasures of the Australian War Memorial’ and many more interesting lectures and programmes. Some of the upcoming exciting events at Auckland Museum this year are;

He Raa Maumahara mo Ngaa Riri Whenua ki Aotearoa: The event is about commemorating the New Zealand Wars on the 25th of October. It is free with the Museum entry and will be conducted outside the NZ wars gallery. Detailed information on the event is provided on the official site of Auckland War Memorial Museum.

#FutureSlam: Harnessing technology to amplify Arts & Culture: The event is scheduled on 21st May from 1:30 pm – 5:30 pm in the Event Centre. The tickets range from $5 - $15. Online pre-booking is recommended.

Fazioli: Fazioli Piano recital series is going to take place on 12th July and 20th October this year in the Auditorium at 6 pm. Tickets range from $40 - $60.

LIVE at the Museum: the event is a celebration of NZ music month of May and has performances from several homegrown artists of NZ. It is scheduled on 1st May, 6th May, 13th May and 20th May from 6:30 pm to 9 pm at the stunning Grand Foyer.

Māori cultural performance: To provide a vibrant glimpse of the Māori culture, the museum is the only venue in Auckland that offers an engaging 30 minute performance telling the story of Aotearoa New Zealand and Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. These take place daily and there are two packages that offer these performances at different intervals throughout the day. Tickets range from $40 - $100 depending on the number of adults and children. Bookings are possible through the registration desks, online booking and calling.

Exhibits at the Museum

Not One More Acre: This exhibition showcases iconic images clicked of the 506-day protest for the Māori land rights struggle. This exhibition is on-going and is free of charges.

Photographing Early Auckland - 1850s – 1870s: The exhibition displays the earliest photos recorded of Auckland city. It is free of cost and is on-going.

Timings and Performance Timings of the Museum

Museum Timings
Monday to Sunday:
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
It is closed on Christmas day.

Library Timings

Monday to Saturday:
10:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Closed on Sundays and public holidays.

There are special timings for the Māori cultural performance which happens every day.

Tūī package tour times include 11:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 1:30 PM. Additional 2:30 PM package is available from November to March.

Moa package tour times include 10:45 AM, 11:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 1:30 PM. Additional 12.45 pm package is available from November to March.

Ticket Prices at the Museum

-	Museum Entry	Kiwi Package (Museum entry+Highlights tour)	Tūī Package - (Museum Entry + Māori Cultural Performance)	Moa Package (Museum Entry + Māori Cultural Performance + Highlights Tour)
Auckland Residents	Free	NZD 25	NZD 30	NZD 40
New Zealand Residents	Donation invited	NZD 25	NZD 30	NZD 40
International Adult	NZD 25	NZD 40	NZD 40	NZD 55
International Child	NZD 10	NZD 20	NZD 20	NZD 25
International Family	NZD 60	NZD 100	NZD 100	NZD 100

History of the Museum

The birth of the museum took place around the early 1850s, in a two-roomed cottage in Grafton and later relocated many times to different locations from the provincial council building to the old post office building before it moved to its custom-built premises in 1876. Further, under the curatorship of Thomas Cheeseman, it was decided that a more architecturally acclaimed museum be built with a joint project of building a war memorial for the lives lost of New Zealanders in world war 1. The Auckland War Memorial Museum was officially inaugurated and opened on 28th November 1929.

How To Reach Auckland War Memorial Museum

The museum is easily accessible from any part of the city with private and public transportation both. It takes 10 minutes to drive to the museum in a car and 30 minutes by walk.
Public transportation like the LINK Bus and the Explorer bus are available and for train passengers, the nearest station is Grafton station just 10 minutes away by walk.