Museums and cultural institutions

Wellington is home to Te Papa (the Museum of New Zealand), the National Library of New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, the Museum of Wellington City & Sea, the Katherine Mansfield Birthplace Museum, Colonial Cottage, the New Zealand Cricket Museum, the Cable Car Museum, Old St Paul's, and the Wellington City Art Gallery.

The Museum of Wellington City and Sea is a museum on Queens Wharf in Wellington, New Zealand. It occupies the 1892Bond Store, an historic building on Jervois Quay on the waterfront of Wellington Harbour.

The Museum has three floors about the history of Wellington. By The Sea We Live celebrates the city’s maritime history, while Te Whanganui-a-Tara looks at early Maori and European settlement. A twentieth century gallery explores how Wellington has changed over one hundred years. A giant cinema screen shows a series of films about Wellington. There are two theatre areas: one tells Maori myths using a 'Peppers Ghost', and the other is a memorial to the tragic sinking of the Wahine ferry in the Wellington harbour. An adjacent gallery holds the Plimmer’s Ark display, the remains of an 1848 sailing vessel uncovered during restoration of the Old Bank Arcade.

The Colonial Cottage is central Wellington’s oldest identified building and was built in 1858 as a family home by William Wallis, who had just immigrated from England.

The cottage has now been preserved as a museum and has been furnished to show mid 19th century living. It illustrates the ways in which the first colonial settlers blended their lives from their Victorian homeland with the dictates of a new country. There is also a very attractive garden around the cottage which features many plants from the period.

The Colonial Cottage Museum is within walking distance of the CBD and is at the start of the Aro Valley Heritage Trail. While general opening hours are limited, special tours and educational visits can be arranged (cooking pikelets on the coal range is a standard inclusion in all group visits).

The city is home to the innovative Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and is famed for its public art trails and Bohemian lifestyle.

You’ll find Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa on Wellington’s picturesque waterfront. This innovative museum takes visitors on an exploration of the great stories of the youngest country on earth and the people who live here; it also houses New Zealand’s national art collection and regularly showcases international touring exhibits.

A lot of places have art. A lot of places have galleries. A lot of places have art and galleries. What makes Wellington New Zealand’s cultural capital is its spirit – its enthusiasm and passion for the arts. The city’s compact nature makes for a great place for following public art trails and enjoying dinner out, followed by a night at the theatre; and so the locals do in spades. You’ll find a show on almost every night in the theatre district – centred around Courtenay Place – or if you’re interested in live indie music, head to vibrant Cuba Street.