New Zealand Maritime Museum

11/09/2026

🏴‍☠️ YARRR, ME HEARTIES! 🏴‍☠️

Talk Like a Pirate Day is just over a week away, and we’re celebrating with TWO swashbuckling events at the New Zealand Maritime Museum! ⚓️

📚 Pirate Storytelling with Emma Collicott
Saturday 19 September | 10:30am & 12:30pm
FREE | Bookings required
https://www.maritimemuseum.co.nz/events/the-man-whose-mother-was-a-pirate-with-emma-collicott

⛵ Pirate Sailing on Ted Ashby
Saturday 19 September | 11:30am & 1:30pm
From $20pp
https://www.maritimemuseum.co.nz/events/pirate-for-a-day-sailing

10/09/2026

POV: The Collections team let you crank the miniature crane! 🤩

07/09/2026

Celebrating Papua New Guinea Language Week: The Mekeo Calendar

For the Mekeo people of Central Province, Papua New Guinea, time is a circle. The Mekeo Calendar is the largest artwork in Our Ocean of Islands, covering the floor you walk on and guiding the exhibition layout. Its circles within circles represent the cycles of life and the natural world, when to plant, harvest, hunt, build, come together, mourn and celebrate. This knowledge has been passed down through generations and continues to be practised today.

By Mali Gray (née Auki), Julia Mage'au Gray and Salevasa Etoli'una Gray, the calendar carries knowledge inherited from their family and ancestors: Isoaimo Auki, Mage‘au Oini, Isoaimo Opu, Auki Aipaga, Etoli Opuga, Opu Aipuga and Maino Vi‘i. It shows us that language and culture are living knowledge that continues to guide people and communities today.

The 2026 theme for Papua New Guinea Pidgin Language Week is "Lukautim, strongim na kirapim tokples na pasin blo tubuna" - Preserve, revitalise and promote our language and culture.

📍 Walk through the Mekeo Calendar in Our Ocean of Islands | Free exhibition https://ow.ly/afRF50ZJY9y

04/09/2026

Travel across Moana Oceania without leaving Auckland 🌊
24 islands. Countless stories. One ocean connecting them all.

Our Oceans Of Islands - Exhibition Now Open!

03/09/2026

02/09/2026

As part of Our Ocean of Islands, each participating island nation are hosting community days where the knowledge holders of the exhibition share their cultural practices.

Join us this Saturday 5 September as we celebrate Mekeo, Papua New Guinea alongside knowledge holder Julia Mage’au Gray, with an opportunity to learn more about Mekeo culture through performance, conversation and a live skin marking demonstration.

📅Sat 5 September
🕰️10am - 5pm
📍NZ Maritime Museum
🌺FREE | No bookings required

01/09/2026

in 1985…
More than 3,800 metres beneath the surface of the North Atlantic, the wreck of RMS Titanic was finally found.

On 1 September 1985, a team led by oceanographers Dr Robert Ballard and Jean-Louis Michel discovered the wreck of RMS Titanic after days of searching the ocean floor. Years on from the disaster, the discovery of the wreck and, later, one very iconic film about it, the Titanic continues to fascinate us, both through the story of its well-known sinking and the countless stories, objects and images that help us understand the people who travelled aboard her.

📷 The painting pictured here is one of those pieces in our collection, recently photographed and digitised.

And for all you Titanic fans out there, be sure to check out Titanic: The Human Story, now on at Smith & Caughey’s in Auckland, bringing together more than 200 original objects, personal stories and life-size recreations from the ship.

🔗 Find out more about the exhibition via the link in our bio.

31/08/2026

31/08/2026

Merchant Navy Day prep is officially underway! 🚢 Every year, we bring out our collection of maritime flags and get them looking their best. Here's Mina working her magic behind the scenes. ⚓

Merchant Navy Day Service - 11am, Thursday 3 September
📍 Maritime Room, RSVP on our website.

25/08/2026

Step into the icy landscapes of Antarctica this weekend with two immersive virtual reality experiences presented by the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust and UK Antarctic Heritage Trust.

Each VR adventure runs for approximately 30 minutes and is suitable for ages 11+. Bookings are required, and each experience must be booked separately.

📅 Saturday 29 & Sunday 30 August
⏰ 10am–4pm
📍 New Zealand Maritime Museum
🎟️ Free | Bookings required

👉 Book now
Scott’s Discovery Hut: https://tickets.maritimemuseum.co.nz/events/019f6d6c-afc2-e9f2-6039-a43b506507b4
A Frozen Night: https://tickets.maritimemuseum.co.nz/events/019f6d72-6242-78dd-90fe-c2656b511354