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Canterbury Museum

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LenR
LenR
First Reviewer
3 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
4
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Editor Pick

A Look into New Zealand's Past

  • December 22, 2008
  • Rated 3 of 5 by wolfbrother from Edinburgh, United Kingdom
A Look into New Zealand's Past

Canterbury Museum is a great place. Donation only, if you're strapped for cash then you can drop in a few pennies or even browse around the place for free. It's a short ten minute walk from Cathedral Square, sitting right beside the Botanic Gardens, usually with a banner outside to let you know what the current exhibition is.

Inside there are all the usual museum staples - prehistory through to present day - but most notably there is a wealth of New Zealand history on display in here. From full sized canoes and weaponry and diaramas depicting Maori life from thousands of years ago to modern history, right through to detailed accounts of the first European settlers and how that society has grown through the generations to become what it is today.

There are many faces to the museum. There's a mock 19th century street that you can walk through and interact with. You walk into a store and the shopkeeper mannequin behind the counter speaks to you about the kind of stuff they would have talked about back in the day. It's really quite well done and serves as a useful break from the traditional exhibits.

When you head upstairs, there's a wealth of Oriental exhibits to occupy you. These are absolutely fascinating - it's amazing looking through things dating back from 200AD and further and seeing that ancient China was founding advanced university studies when many western societies were still in the dark ages. Well worth a look.

There's even a future exhibit and a children's museum, so they truly do cover all the bases for you. If you have a few hours, this is a worthy investment of your time.

From journal New Zealand's Garden City

Editor Pick

Canterbury Museum Christchurch

  • November 14, 2008
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Red Mezz from Inverness, Scotland
I hate to admit it, but I have a tendency to avoid museums when I first visit a new city. Unless there is an exhibit on that I really want to see, I tend to find them a rather tedious thing to do when there is so much to experience in the city just by walking around and seeing what it has to offer.

There are exceptions of course, like the Picasso Museum in Barcelona (which unfortunately was a huge disappointment) or the Louve in Paris – which is intrinsically a part of the city and it’s cultural heritage. But a museum, for the sake of seeing a museum never makes it very high on my list of things to do in a new city if I only plan to be there for a few days.

Which is why I didn’t make it into the Canterbury Museum on my first visit. There was so much to see, do, and taste in the city that I never found myself with an afternoon I felt was free to explore them.

On my second visit, however – with rather less money than I originally arrived with, and no longer thinking in UK pounds (which makes everything in the city seem a little bit more expensive than it did at first) I found my way past bookshops and the market area of town on a cold and cloudy day right into the museum.

And as I admit is usually the case, I was very very glad that I did.
Situated perfectly adjacent to the wonderful Botanic Gardens, its actually very nicely situated for a relaxing afternoon of wandering about the gardens and then the museum (or visa versa) And even better if you are there on the weekends, as you will make your way through the wonderful weekend markets to get to the area, perfect for a bit of refreshment along the way.

The museum itself is surprisingly large, with lots of exhibits. If you just want to spend an small amount of time there (up to an hour) and don’t want to miss anything, don’t spend too much time on the wonderful collection of Maori works on the first floor.

But it is free (though they ask for a $5 donation) you can return time and time again and slowly take your time to take in all of it.

The selection of Maori art, jewlery and carvings in the first exhibit is very good indeed, and my favourite bit of the museum. Each part was filled with historical information and lots of regional information on what and where and how each of the items were used, and was actually extremely interesting.

There are also some Moa skeletons which are very impressive (a famous but extinct New Zealand bird.)

These are the best bits of the museum, but by no means the last. There is a rather interesting bit called Christchurch Street – which though most entertaining for kids was still fun to walk around as they had reconstructed a fictious street from the pioneering days of the cosmoplotin city you have just been walking around yourself. And it’s actually very well put together.

There are some exhibits of cars, bikes and boats from different eras in New Zealand, and upstairs a kind of mish-mash of exhibits from meteors and astrological things to Egyptian artefacts.

There is a large interactive kids section, which is one of the best for kids I’ve ever seen. Great for a day out for the family if you are looking for something cheap and good to do.


And one of the most oddly impressive parts was the Chinese section of the museum which had some amazing ancient Chinese artefacts, art, and cloths – really worth going up to see.

All in all it was a really informative and nice way to spend an afternoon in Christchurch.

From journal So There's More to Christchurch than Just Great Restaurants...

Editor Pick

Canterbury Museum

  • February 16, 2002
  • Rated 3 of 5 by dawn from Chicago, Illinois
Canterbury Museum

You'll begin your journey with the flightless Moa Birds that stood 8-10 ft. tall and were hunted to extinction over 500 years ago. Many of NZ botanicals developed to survive this bird and aren't found elsewhere on the planet. The next rooms are dedicated to the Maori people. The display cases are filled with greenstone items...some weapons looking far too beautiful to be used in such violent means. The Maori are also known for their expert woodcarving, and many examples of Tutekawa ( carved roof support poles) are seen here. It's interesting how they resemble those of the American Pacific Northwest Indian tribes. The poles represent great ancestors who's irridescent shell eyes glow and seem to follow you as you walk around the hall! Notice how the tongues of many carvings are stuckout at you? the Maori still do this as a way of showing their bravery and lack of fear towards their enemies.

There are halls that look at transportation and special exhibits but I made a bee-line to the Antarctic hall. This presentation compliments the Antarctic Centre, since this display offers more in-depth information about the history and discovery of the South Pole. Personal items from Amundsen and Scott are here for you to see. One of Amundsen's sledge's was as long as a bus! How in the world did his dogs pull it and not tip it over???? There are many old photo's and paintings too. By far, the most tearful display contains copies of Scott's last letters...written as he was dying....asking for forgiveness and listing the mistakes he made. So Awful....makes me still want to cry.

Other exhibits in this hall are centered around the animals. There is a neat booth you can enter and hear the underwater sounds of seals and whales. Did you know that Weddell Seals bear babies weighing 66 pounds? Women of the world have no right to complain.

Another fun area is the re-creation of the Christchurch Streets from the last century. Some of the doors open to shops and you can enter to see beautiful antiques and experience a little of what life was like before electric lights.

From journal Best at the Bottom of the World

Canterbury Museum

  • July 2, 2001
  • Rated 3 of 5 by LenR from Townsville, Australia
Canterbury Museum

Opening Times: 7 days; 9am-5.30pm summer; 9am-5pm winter
Charges: Free; Discovery Centre NZ$2

I am not big on museums but I enjoyed this one because of its size and variety of displays. You can see the major exhibits in one hour then spend much longer if you have special interests.

The main exhibitions are on two levels and there is a natural route through them. You start with several Maori galleries then move through to an interesting transport gallery. I was very impressed with the recreated Christchurch Street from the Victorian era. It was a great way of displaying both the architecture and the artifacts from this era. Top marks!

The Antarctic Gallery on the upper floor is also very interesting. You come face to face (literally) with many of the heroes and artifacts of Antarctic discovery and exploration. They were certainly tough characters! Also on this floor is the bird hall with many New Zealand birds on display. If you are planning to visit the albatross or penguin colonies later in your New Zealand tour, this is a ‘must’. Time did not permit us to visit the discovery gallery but a quick peak showed us that kids would just love this.

The museum has a café, up one further flight of steps, that opens for coffee, snacks and lunch. It overlooks the Botanic Gardens and has a nice atmosphere. The ground floor shop has some excellent publications and a range of locally crafted art, jewellery, crafts and gifts.

You can reach the museum by taking the fun trip on the restored Christchurch Tramway. We went by rental car and discovered there was 120-minute free kerb-side parking available close to the museum. What a bonus!

From journal Top Stuff in Christchurch

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