Auckland
War Memorial Museum
By
Richard Moore
|
AUCKLAND
|
A
must-see in New Zealand's largest city is the Auckland War
Memorial Museum (pictured right).
This amazing building, also known as the Auckland Museum,
is an excellent old-style museum filled with a truly marvellous
collection of artefacts.
It
is open almost every day of the year and is a highly recommended
half-day outing for culturally aware travellers. In its
marbled halls are some fascinating collections that span
human history from the ancient days to more modern exhibits.
You
can see whale bones, Polynesian artefacts, live shows by
Maori dancers, New Zealand's flora and fauna, relics from
ancient civilisations, historical looks at Auckland city
from the days of the pioneers through to the 1960s and much
more.
With
New Zealand having such a rich Polynesian connection, the
Maori and Pacific Island exhibitions are must-sees and include
a large Maori meeting house and a mighty war canoe carved
from a single giant totara tree.
The
Auckland Museum also has a fascinating ancient collection
that includes some major items from Egypt, Greece, Rome,
China, Korea and the Americas.
Being
a War Memorial, the Auckland Museum dedicates it entire
top floor to New Zealand at War and provides a detailed
look at the New Zealand Wars against the Maoris, the First
World War, Second World War, Korea and more recent conflicts
including New Zealand's peacekeeping efforts.
Similar
in style to the Canberra War Memorial, there is a very moving
and solemn wall of remembrance dedicated to those who died
in wars.
Children
will have a marvellous time in the more-modern interactive
areas of the museum and can get their hands on with various
learning devices and come face to face with bees in a see-through
hive, cockroaches at breakfast, fish (including a Nemo clownfish)
and a lot more. Be prepared as a parent to let them explore
this area for at least an hour!
Auckland Museum also will appeal to dinosaur fans with a
terrific display of giant skeletons including the four-metre
tall Cryolophosaurus and Malawisaurus. Check out a flying
Pteranodon and then be gobsmacked by the size of the moas
- giant birds that stand three metres tall.
Auckland
War Memorial Museum is open every day except Christmas Day
and ANZAC morning (25 April). Regular hours are 10am to
5pm.
Entry
to the museum is a donation - specified at $5 for adults.
Museum
website
