Air Force Museum of New Zealand

Wigram was airforce training base from 1916, first training pilots for the RAF, then for the New Zealand Airforce from it's formation in 1937 until the base was closed in 1995. Training had moved to Ohakea in 1993.

The Air Force Museum is free entry for all. It holds the national collection of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The focus of their (several) exhibitions is on the New Zealand involvement in WWI and WWII. They also receive travelling exhibitions and run a variety of programmes including holiday programmes for children. The Museum never stops working on it's assets and collection, the latest move is re-roofing.

Interactive exhibits include a flight simulator called the mosquito, and other activities. there are several different tours, including an excellent self-guided outdoor walking tour where you can learn walk about the history of the base as it was before it was decommissioned.

Wigram base was the scene of an historic feat of aviation on 11 September 1928. Two Australian pilots, Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm, made the first ever crossing of the Tasman Sea by plane. Two New Zealand pilots had tried in January of that year but had disappeared, and the Australians' journey in the 'Southern Cross' was not without problems. Thunderstorms, icy windscreens and failing radio equipment made the flight difficult, but as they neared New Zealand the weather cleared. They circled low over Wellington before finally landing at Wigram Aerodrome, Christchurch at 9.22am.

Many other special aviation events have taken place at Wigram, and the museum holds the records.

There are still several aviation-related businesses on the south side of the former airfield, including Air Cadet Corps and Air Training Corps, and Ngai Tahu have built an entire town named Wigram Skies around the old runway.

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