This is the place

Dargaville Museum is a great place to step back in time and experience what life has been like through the decades in the Kaipara.

The museum is full of lots of unexpected treasures and was just as interesting for my five year old as it was for me - you can see a real gum washer in action, and the friendly volunteers make it a very informative and fun place to visit.

Current displays include:

- Unique display of all things nautical.
- Learn the story of the Rainbow Warrior bombing in Auckland Harbour.
- Maori artefacts - including the largest pre-European canoe exhibition in New Zealand.
- Collectors Hall with working model railway and village.
- Genealogy department.
- Impressive Kauri Gumdigger exhibition with operational gum-washing plant.
- Pioneer exhibits - see how early settlers lived and worked as they struggled to develop the land.
- Relics from the French warship L'Alcmene (wrecked 1851) and other shipwrecks recovered from the coast.
- Beautifully restored Aratapu Library building featuring the musical history of the area.