Kāpiti Coast Heritage Weekend – 9-10 November 2024

The Discover Kāpiti Heritage Group

The Discover Kāpiti Heritage Group is formed by the Paekākāriki Station Museum, Steam Incorporated, Wellington Tramway Museum (at Queen Elizabeth Park), Kapiti US Marines Trust (at Queen Elizabeth Park), Museum of Aviation (Kāpiti Road, Paraparaumu), Southward Car Museum (in Otaihanga), the Kāpiti Coast Museum (in Waikanae), Mahara Gallery , The Kilns at Te Horo, Ōtaki Museum and Friends of Ōtaki Rotunda. Representatives of these organisations meet regularly and each year coordinate the Kāpiti Coast Heritage Clue Hunt and facilitate Kāpiti Coast Heritage participation in the Wellington Heritage Festival.

Website: http://www.kapitiheritage.org.nz/

Paekakariki Station Museum Precinct Trust

Situated on the platform the Paekakariki Station Museum is a great place to visit and learn of the history of the station and village. Exhibits detail how Maori were the first settlers followed by the arrival the Pakeha, the then establishment of an important NZ railway hub, and the 'friendly invasion' of USA Forces in WW2. The Museum is of great interest to kids and adults alike and there is a wonderful onsite book shop detailing anything and everything. Admission is free and a koha box is available for anyone wishing to offer a donation. The Museum is run by volunteers and is open at weekends and public holidays 11-3 and for special group bookings at other times. Check out our excellent website shown below.

Email: besidetheseaside5@gmail.com

Phone: 02102612700

Website: https://www.xplorepaekakariki.org.nz/

Steam Incorporated

Steam Incorporated is a leading operator of heritage rail excursions on the KiwiRail network in New Zealand. Departures are usually monthly with a range of day trips on offer. The society was formed back in 1972 as the steam era was finishing on New Zealand Railways with the aim to rescue some of the last remaining steam locos for eventual use back on the main line. This has necessitated establishing a comprehensive depot and workshop at Paekakariki on the Kapiti Coast 40Km north of Wellington. Besides steam and vintage diesel locos the collection now comprises a large fleet of heritage carriages.

Email: enquiries@steaminc.org.nz

Phone: 0800783264

Website: https://www.steaminc.org.nz/

Wellington Tramway Museum inc. Kapiti Coast Electric Tramway

The Wellington Tramway Museum, was incorporated in 1964 as a non-profit organisation to preserve tramcars and other items of tramway interest, to establish and operate a working tramcar museum and to foster an interest in the heritage of the Trams that used to rule the streets of Wellington City. They are now lovingly cared for and operated by volunteer members of the Wellington Tramway Museum.

Email: wellingtontramway@gmail.com

Kapiti US Marines Trust

The Kāpiti US Marines Trust (KUSMT) is a not-for-profit trust registered with the Charities Commission (CC46035). It was established in 2009 by the former Mayor of Kāpiti, Jenny Rowan. The Trust connects with a wide range of local, regional and national groups with an interest in the collection, conservation, exhibition, and promotion of Marines’ History – particularly in camps Paekākāriki, Mackay and Russell, in southern Kāpiti, New Zealand. Our goal is to keep this significant WWII story alive for future generations by creating engaging signage, relating to the 1942-44 encampment of the Marines in Paekākāriki.

Email: anthonydreavernz@gmail.com

Phone: 02102579171

Website: https://marinesnz.com/

Kapiti Aviation Museum

The Kapiti Aviation Museum is situated in the old Meteorological Building next to the Control Tower, which was built in 1947. The museum overlooks the airfield runways and is the only place where it is possible to see the Wellington region's aviation history.

Email: carleyas@outlook.com

Phone: 021 263 3417

Website: http://www.kapitiaviationmuseum.nz/

Southward Car Museum

The Southward Car Museum is a renowned automobile museum and event centre. It was founded in the 1970s by Len Southward. The museum is now managed by a charitable trust incorporated in 1972, continuing to share Southward's love for automobiles with the public. It houses a collection of over 350 vehicles, as well as three aircraft and various other exhibits including motorcycles, bicycles, and a fire engine.

Email: craig@southwards.co.nz

Phone: 04 297 1221

Kāpiti Coast Museum

The Museum will be open as usual on 7 and 8 November but will hold an event around its recently opened Home Entertainment display featuring old entertainment sources such as gramophones and valve radios. Hear the sound of entertainment over 100 years ago.

Email: manager@kapiticoastmuseum.org.nz

Website: https://www.kapiticoastmuseum.org.nz/

The Kilns at Te Horo

Explore the restored bee-hive kilns of potter Mirek Smisek in the beautiful landscaped setting. Picnic tables available. Multiple information storyboards tell of the history, the operation of the kilns and of railway station and current day operations. A small pottery store is on site too. Arrive via a protected native-bush walk. Plenty of parking and bike racks.

Email: thekilnsattehoro@gmail.com

Website: https://www.thekilnsattehoro.co.nz/

Ōtaki Museum Trust

Ōtaki Heritage is a charitable trust and is governed by a board of trustees, partly elected by local residents and partly appointed by mana whenua. It was formed in 2023 by the amalgamation of the Ōtaki Historical Society and the Ōtaki Heritage Bank Preservation Trust. The purpose of the Trust is to preserve Ōtaki’s rich heritage via exhibitions, journals, collections and more.

Email: admin@otakimuseum.co.nz

Friends of the Ōtaki Rotunda

Friends of the Ōtaki Rotunda is a non-profit, community organisation, with purpose of conserving for posterity the Rotunda building, at the site of the former Ōtaki Children’s Health Camp because of its heritage significance as both an architecturally distinctive building, and as the site of a socially significant institution.

Email: anthonydreavernz@gmail.com

Phone: 02102579171