Thames Museum Te Whare Taonga o te Kauaeranga

• Activity
• Thames
• from $2 – $5

From the district's settlement by tangata whenua through to James Cook's visit in 1769 and the opening of the goldfield in 1867, Thames Museum te Whare Taonga o te Kauaeranga depicts how the people lived and worked. Galleries tell the stories of the pioneer trades, farming, schools and domestic life, as well as the creation of Thames Hospital in 1868. Unique to our museum is a gallery of 30+ handcrafted kauri models of magnificent goldrush era buildings, most now long gone from our streetscape. Our War Memorial section honours Thamesites who served in both world wars. We offer free family history research assistance. A new bi-lingual Taonga Maori Gallery, created in full consultation with Ngati Maru iwi, opened in July 2022.