Tairawhiti Museum
Tairawhiti Museum
4.5
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
1:30 PM - 4:00 PM
About
Tairawhiti Museum and Art Gallery has a reputation as one of the most innovative regional museums in New Zealand. Our vision is to be an integral part of the Tairawhiti community and to stimulate passion for the stories of our region. Entry is free for local residents and $5 for visitors. Entry is free for children 12 years and under and Friends of the Museum. The Exhibit Cafe is open for lunches, brunches, morning and afternoon teas. A wide menu is available and changes with the seasons. The cafe is open from 9am - 1.30pm Monday to Friday, and 9.30am - 1pm on Saturdays. The Tairawhiti Museum shop stocks a high-quality range of gifts. We pride ourselves on supporting local artists and makers.
Duration: 1-2 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Full view
Top ways to experience nearby attractions
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
97 within 5 kms
Attractions
27 within 10 kms
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
191 reviews
Excellent
100
Very good
72
Average
16
Poor
2
Terrible
1
Fiona H
Palmerston North, New Zealand16 contributions
Aug 2020 • Couples
This is a fabulous museum with some really interesting exhibits and beautifully set out.
I got slightly confused by the mix of art gallery and museum. Didn't care for much of the art work but that's just my taste.
Some museum exhibits were a wee bit dark and hard to see e.g. woven items, feather cloak, but perhaps stronger light is damaging?
We spent a couple of hours pottering around and thought it excellent overall.
I got slightly confused by the mix of art gallery and museum. Didn't care for much of the art work but that's just my taste.
Some museum exhibits were a wee bit dark and hard to see e.g. woven items, feather cloak, but perhaps stronger light is damaging?
We spent a couple of hours pottering around and thought it excellent overall.
Written 3 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for visiting and taking the time to post your review. Thanks also for your feedback about lighting, yes, we do have lower lights on some of the fragile items - such as cloaks to protect them from light damage, but we will do a review of lighting levels. We are glad you enjoyed your visit overall!
Best regards, Eloise Wallace, Director
Written 21 December 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Tom C
40 contributions
Oct 2020 • Couples
Great way to spend an afternoon, plenty to get your teeth into with local history of the area. Excellent for us who are ‘backpacking’ round and in Gisborne for a few weeks. The newish exhibit on the landing of cook is brilliant and with the artefacts and geographical proximity to where it actually happened it’s the best we’ve seen in NZ.
Written 8 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for visiting and taking the time to post your positive review. We are glad you enjoyed your visit!
Best regards, Eloise Wallace, Director
Written 21 December 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Keith C
Warminster, UK1,061 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
A professionally done museum featuring the culture, history and products of Gisborne and the East Cape region.
Such an interesting layout, with a number of different themed galleries - some of them with little books seemingly in every corner.
Do not miss the ‘downstairs’ maritime room. And visiting the Wylie Cottage at the front will bring back memories to many New Zealanders.
Also go to the new Company C centre off to the left to reflect on the origins and sacrifice of our Māori soldiers. An opportunity for grateful and somber thought.
Such an interesting layout, with a number of different themed galleries - some of them with little books seemingly in every corner.
Do not miss the ‘downstairs’ maritime room. And visiting the Wylie Cottage at the front will bring back memories to many New Zealanders.
Also go to the new Company C centre off to the left to reflect on the origins and sacrifice of our Māori soldiers. An opportunity for grateful and somber thought.
Written 5 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you very much for taking the time to write a review of your visit to the museum. I'm pleased you enjoyed the variety of exhibitions on offer - the Star of Canada and Wyllie Cottage are always a favourite.
Best wishes, Eloise Wallace, Director
Written 12 February 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Lisa S
Wellington24 contributions
Mar 2021
We enjoyed the art - the short explanations in the museum - and the ship that was converted to a home was just the icing on the cake. The little cottage outside was absolutely brilliant. Maybe an explanation for the totem art outside on the field - we weren't sure who they were by and what they represented. The shop has plenty of bargains too.
Written 23 March 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Juanita B
Whangarei, New Zealand27 contributions
Jan 2021
What an amazing Museum. Full of a lot more than you initially expect! The stories and the pieces were wonderful. We particularly enjoyed watching the videos with the reuniting of the taonga from England, getting them back to the museum!! Very moving. Also loved the art exhibition! Very enjoyable.
Written 31 March 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Neil B
Auckland, New Zealand1,476 contributions
Dec 2020 • Couples
A surprisingly good attraction.
Great combination of historic museum and modern gallery. It just keeps going and going with more rooms opening up as you move through it.
Very relevant to the region. Well thought out and picks up on local stories and characters.
Well worth a visit and an easy way to spend 1-2 hours.
Cafe on site and clean restrooms.
Great combination of historic museum and modern gallery. It just keeps going and going with more rooms opening up as you move through it.
Very relevant to the region. Well thought out and picks up on local stories and characters.
Well worth a visit and an easy way to spend 1-2 hours.
Cafe on site and clean restrooms.
Written 14 December 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for taking the time to review us. We are glad you enjoyed your visit!
Best regards, Eloise Wallace, Director
Written 21 December 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
pkdk
Wellington, New Zealand147 contributions
Nov 2021
This is an excellent museum from the Lava glass exhibition to the Star of Canada Captain's bridge (kids - old and young- love climbing up to the bridge with its bell). Attractive exhibitions of Maori and western art. Well worth a visit.
Written 6 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for taking the time to post a review - we are glad you enjoyed your visit!
Written 19 August 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Vernman
Joplin, MO240 contributions
Mar 2023 • Couples
It’s a short walk from the harbor and downtown. The grounds have some impressive mature trees. The museum tilts more toward local history than art. If you are the type who enjoys looking at historical exhibits and reading all the details, you’ll probably like this place. It’s a bit light on the art side but there are some interesting items. We spent almost as long in their nice gift shop as the actual museum. The admission price is very reasonable so no complaints there.
Written 21 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Melanie Minky Whale
Auckland, New Zealand31 contributions
Apr 2021 • Family
Stopped in here for an hour or so on our way through. Had some great local art exhibitions along with a number of taonga belonging to local iwi. The fascinating history of the local area was well covered. The kids loved exploring the ship that had been partially reconstructed by the river. Worth a visit!
Written 21 April 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Family Foods
Auckland, New Zealand299 contributions
Jul 2023 • Family
We discovered this cute little museum on a miserable wet day in Gisborne. It was really good value for money. There was a really interesting well curated history of the local area. There was a good mix of art, Māori and European history, maritime history and memorabilia. There were lots of pictorial representation with great accompanying descriptions. The old cottage was an added bonus. The staff were friendly and helpful. This was a great little find that we’d highly recommend.
Written 14 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
annettetopping
Hamilton & Waikato Region, New Zealand
Hi, I have a old brown bottle. Delux, Gisborne. Would you like this, otherwise will give to
Local op shop.
Annette
Written 14 May 2016
You'd have to ask the museum staff about that.
Written 4 July 2016
Showing results 1-1 of 1
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing