Trip Planner: South Pacific / New Zealand / North Island / Northland Region / Matakohe / Museums / The Kauri Museum

The Kauri Museum, Matakohe

4.6

#1 of 20 in Museums in Northland Region

History Museum Museum

Delve into the history of some of the nation's first European settlers at The Kauri Museum, documenting the profound impact of the local forestry industry. Visit the museum's extensive undercover outdoor grounds, housing an array of artifacts and displays related to the harvesting of indigenous kauri trees and the lives of 19th-century pioneers. You'll find, among other things, sets of kauri-wood furniture, period clothing, a working sawmill, and even a gigantic kauri tree stump. Don't miss the displays detailing the usages of kauri gum, a resin extracted from the trees and turned into intricate artwork, fire starters, and more. Use our Matakohe family vacation planner to arrange your visit to The Kauri Museum and other attractions in Matakohe.

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Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

606 reviews

Google

4.5

PamNottingham_UK

This place is like an Aladdin's cave for the timber industry of this part of New Zealand and is well worth a visit. Very informative and user friendly. So interesting to see the techniques used by the... more »
Veeko9512

We can't review this museum, because the $50 entry fee for the two of us was just a bit too steep. Instead we visited the Dargaville museum ($30 for 2) and loved the passionate people we met who had l... more »
clj23

We visited this on our way to Waipolia forest area and are very glad we did, as it gave us a very comprehensive overview of the kauri trees, the forest industry plus the hardships faced of which we as... more »

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Google

Michael Andrew

What a wonderful place.Loved how authentic it was,the exhibits covering human history of the people that lived and worked in the surrounding areas.Who knew a timber museum could be so interesting and was captivated by the stories of the people that once lived there and the age of the timber buried in the swamps.Thanks also to the lady who have us $5 off each as there was a group of 6 of us.Thank you and keep it up

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Ross Andring

A wonderful surprise to sum it all up. If you love anything mechanical and an antique, this is your place. You can spend all day wondering around. It's so much more than just about trees. Definitely worth the admission price. No regrets here!

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Ravi Punjwani

Could consider 5 starts but I preferred not entering the museum due to longer duration of the tour offered. It's by choice. Prefer allotting 3 hours if you are interested in Kauri trees crafts and mechanics.

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Eric Johnson

Awesome place to so much History a must see if you in the area,and for a coffee and food go to Gumdiggers across the road.

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Don Montgmery

We hired a car and toured around the north island for 3 weeks, about 6 years ago. It was great!! But our unplanned and surprise visit to the Kauri Museum was OUTSTANDING!! We still talk about it - often. The trees themselves, the logging industry, the museum!! WOW!! Who knew!! Highly recommended to visit - or if you can't, a least do a bit of research about these trees - AMAZING!! And we're from Canada - we've got (what's left) of some pretty big ones here, too.

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