Motueka District Museum

The Museum building is the first noticeably historic element about the Motueka District Museum. It is the old High School, with a history dating even further back than the '1913' proudly announced atop.

The school here was a primary and high school from 1866 onward, first in a timber building then in this Heritage Listed decorated brick building. However it became older and colder with a lack of maintenance and total absence of toilet facilities and closed in 1969. It wasn't until 1987 that it was improved enough to house the museum. Maintenance is always ongoing.

Local history is highlighted in the "Tobacco: End of an Era" display. The Motueka Historial Society who run the museum are particularly proud of their 1929 Cadillac which reportedly was used as a schoolbus during the 1940s and 1950s.

Across the road and down an alley is yet more history, located in the town domain where the community centre resides. This is a lovely peaceful setting for a picnic, the walking path decorated with dozens of historical information panels.

Image Credits: Derek Smith and Maclean Barker Photography; Tobacco Farmer 1995, Tobacco picking 1981

NZPlaces looks forward to the donation of images of Motueka Museum.