Year round popular attraction, the Mercury Bay Museum enjoys waterfront views. A must-do on a rainy day and/or for heritage buffs. And for family and friends with companions who would rather go fishing the marina is opposite the museum.
TIP
Next door is a local favourite for its delicious cone ice cream creations; perfect for a holiday energy top up.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Captain James Cook (18th century explorer) has a full sized copy of the great cabin on the HMS Endeavour complete with a model in the dress uniform of Captain Cook. Joseph Banks (botanist) is nearby and an unnamed cabin boy
- The foyer is home to a statue of Kupe, his wife and his tohunga (learned priest) acknowledging the role of East Polynesian navigators to Aotearoa New Zealand. Kupe named a area along the beach after his marae in Tahiti, Taputapuatea
- Linger in the family room where photographs capture the 19th century expansion of the dairy industry
- Fishing displays and logging operations are carefully documented
- Find the butter churn continuing to stand in its original spot in the former daily factory
With exhibits about the Polynesian navigator Kupe, Maori artifacts, the Endeavour and James Cook, HMS Buffalo (sunk 1840), kauri timber and gum, the old dairy factory in which the museum is housed, early settlers’ records, natural history, fishing displays and a wonderful photographic collection
