Whanganui Regional Museum, Natural history museum in Pukenamu Queen's Park, Whanganui, New Zealand.
Whanganui Regional Museum is a natural history museum in Pukenamu Queen's Park housing extensive collections of natural specimens, historical artifacts, and Māori cultural items from the Manawatu-Wanganui region. The building brings together scientific displays with cultural works in one central location.
Naturalist and jeweler Samuel Henry Drew founded the museum in 1895 by selling his private collection to the town of Whanganui. This beginning established the foundation for the significant institution it remains today.
The museum displays paintings by Gottfried Lindauer showing local leaders and holds an important collection of Taonga Māori sacred to the community. Visitors encounter works that reveal how these objects shape the region's history and identity.
The museum welcomes visitors throughout the week in one location. Archive services are available by appointment, making advance contact worthwhile for specialized research needs.
The institution holds an internationally recognized collection of moa bones discovered in the local area, including a complete skeleton found in Wanganui East. These prehistoric finds offer rare insight into the extinct giant birds that once lived in the region.
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