Whakatāne Museum and Arts

Local museums follow no blueprint. No two museums in this long, slim country, are the same. Some are in historic buildings with tiny quirky collections looked after by kind volunteers. Others span several floors with interactive screens and every modern touch, perhaps even an app to guide. What they do have in common is a spirit that somehow manages to be both shared and unique. “This is our place”, they say, “and we love it here.”

Whakatāne Museum has the same soul, different approach. There are two facilities underneath the museum umbrella. The Whakatāne Library and Exhibition Centre – Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi – and the Whakatāne Museum and Research Centre – Te Whare Taonga ō Taketake. The first is the public face of the museum, where art exhibitions are held and there's a broad variety of historical and interesting artefacts on display. The Research Centre holds the wider collections and is more academic and archive focused.

The library and exhibition centre, located in the heart of Whakatāne, is a hub of activity. There's a semi-permanent display of local artefacts, including a gourd from the Mātaatua waka, and a collection of coins believed to have been used by early European settlers to claim the land as their own. There are three gallery spaces for art and sculpture in ever-changing exhibitions, the most well-known of which is the annual Molly Morpeth Canaday Award. The exhibition of finalists' and winners' pieces runs from February to April. Esplanade Mall, Whakatāne.

(07) 306 0509, whakatanemuseum.org.nz