Te Unua Museum of Southland

Te Unua Museum of Southland We’re building a brand-new museum for Murihiku - Te Unua Museum of Southland. Follow along as we bring Te Unua to life.

We hosted travel agents in Invercargill this week, showcasing three of our key local experiences: Te Unua Museum of Sout...
28/05/2026

We hosted travel agents in Invercargill this week, showcasing three of our key local experiences: Te Unua Museum of Southland, Queens Park, and Te Moutere - Tuatara Island, as part of the 2026 Great South Murihiku Post TRENZ Famil.

At Te Unua, the group got a behind-the-scenes look at what’s coming as the museum redevelopment takes shape. It gave agents a clear sense of how Murihiku Southland’s stories are being brought to life in a modern, more engaging way - and why this will be a major draw card for future visitors.

The group also explored Queens Park and visited Te Moutere - Tuatara Island (in the Queens Park animal reserve), home to Henry the Tuatara. Together, the experience highlighted the unique mix of nature, wildlife, and accessible green spaces that make Queens Park such an important part of the Invercargill visitor experience.

These experiences show what Invercargill does well: accessible, high-quality visitor experiences that are deeply tied to place and story. For agents, it reinforces the city as a meaningful part of a wider Southland journey, and a must-stop destination in its own right.

Ka pai to our fantastic staff for opening the doors and showcasing these Invercargill assets so strongly - balancing future-focused development with care for our taoka and treasured landmarks.

For hundreds of years, people in Murihiku Southland have gathered in spaces designed to spark curiosity, share knowledge...
17/05/2026

For hundreds of years, people in Murihiku Southland have gathered in spaces designed to spark curiosity, share knowledge and connect generations through stories.

Our museums, libraries, and community spaces have helped people learn more about the world around them, and about each other.

Today is International Museum Day, and we reflect on the role museums play in bringing people together - a role Te Unua will continue for generations to come!

While the physical build of Te Unua is scheduled to be completed later this year, an enormous amount of work is also hap...
15/05/2026

While the physical build of Te Unua is scheduled to be completed later this year, an enormous amount of work is also happening behind the scenes alongside our community to help shape the stories, experiences, and narratives that will live within the museum.

Recently, members of the Marching Southland Hokonui Under-18 marching team joined us at Anderson House to help film part of an experience that will feature within Te Unua.

For many Southlanders, marching represents generations of commitment, teamwork, pride, and community connection - with strong ties to families and communities right across Murihiku.

That connection to Southland’s identity is exactly why we wanted marching reflected within the museum.

The Hokonui team brought incredible energy to the filming, performing their routine time and time again throughout the day with absolute precision and pride.

There’s a huge amount of mahi happening behind the scenes to help bring these experiences to life, and it’s pretty special seeing local groups helping shape how the stories of Murihiku will be shared for future generations.

14/05/2026

Haere mai! Here’s the latest behind the build progress 👀

“I feel very, very lucky that I get to do a job I genuinely love.” Sarah Robinson was nine years old when she watched a ...
12/05/2026

“I feel very, very lucky that I get to do a job I genuinely love.”

Sarah Robinson was nine years old when she watched a documentary on ancient Egyptian mummies - and she was instantly hooked.

Now, she’s Senior Curator at Te Unua Museum of Southland, working on exhibitions that share precious stories from across Murihiku Southland.

A lot of her role involves working with the vast collections you will see on display at Te Unua. This looks like researching objects, people and places, and figuring out how those stories come together in a way that makes sense – and feels meaningful - to visitors.

She’s currently helping develop both long-term and temporary exhibitions for our opening, alongside designers, community members and colleagues across the rohe, while also shaping the collections going forward - from what gets added to how it’s cared for and shared in future exhibitions.

Sarah loves how many different roles come together to make a museum work. Curator is just one part of it; it takes a mix of people and skills to bring everything to life (and some days it feels a bit like you get to play Indiana Jones!).

Outside of work, she’s a self-confessed homebody. Cross stitching on the couch with her cat Koi, drying flowers, working on her family tree, and heading out to explore Southland’s heritage spots with her partner. She also plays a questionable amount of online Scrabble and is an overachiever at online shopping… purely in support of the local post industry, of course.

Kā mihi nui, Sarah. We’re so lucky to have you as part of the team at Te Unua.

📸: 'Oscar' the ventriloquist dummy, 1930s. Collection of Te Kupeka Tiaki Taoka Southern Regional Collections Trust, 83.3223.1.

More than 40 local trades, material and product suppliers have had a hand in building our new regional museum.From brick...
06/05/2026

More than 40 local trades, material and product suppliers have had a hand in building our new regional museum.

From bricklayers and concreting crews to environmental consultants and steel specialists, this project has tapped into a deep pool of Southland expertise at every stage of the build.

Local company H G Morsink is one of many involved, delivering gib-stopping, painting, and specialist fire-protective coatings across the site - including work on the double-hulled waka structure. With more than 60 years working on projects across the region under their tool belt, this one sits close to home.

There’s a real sense of pride across the project. You can see it in the detail, and in the way teams are working together to get it right.

The build is progressing well, with multiple crews working across different stages and finishing trades now coming through.

Southland backing Southland. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful start to the morning 🌈
06/05/2026

Couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful start to the morning 🌈

Today marks 145 years since one of the worst maritime disasters in Aotearoa, where more than 130 people lost their lives...
28/04/2026

Today marks 145 years since one of the worst maritime disasters in Aotearoa, where more than 130 people lost their lives.

On 29 April 1881, the SS Tararua was travelling between Port Chalmers and Melbourne when it struck a reef early morning near Waipapa Point in the Catlins. With only around 20 survivors, the tragedy left a lasting mark on our coastline - and led to significant change.

At the time, this part of the coast was isolated, with limited communication and no coordinated rescue infrastructure. In the aftermath, the need for better navigation aids and faster emergency response became clear.

Waipapa Point Lighthouse was built soon after and first lit on 1 January 1884. The 13.4 metre tower cost close to £6000, and its powerful Fresnel lens helped guide ships safely through a place that had proven so unforgiving.

But the impact went further.

The disaster accelerated improvements in maritime safety across Aotearoa. From expanded lighthouse networks and better coastal signalling, to more organised shipwreck response efforts. It also reinforced the importance of accurate charting and safer shipping routes along hazardous coastlines.

That same lens is now part of our collection, having been acquired shortly after the lighthouse was automated in 1975 when the keepers were withdrawn.

The lighthouse has been solar powered since 2008, and the light still shines today, continuing its purpose in a different way.

As we mark 145 years since the Tararua disaster, we take a moment to reflect - on those who were lost, and the legacy that continues to guide others safely past this coast.

Long before modern facilities at Kew, Dee Street was the heart of healthcare in Murihiku Southland 🚑 One of New Zealand’...
28/04/2026

Long before modern facilities at Kew, Dee Street was the heart of healthcare in Murihiku Southland 🚑

One of New Zealand’s oldest hospital buildings, it became a place of immense heritage significance both nationally and locally. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Southlander without a memory of it.

The site developed over many decades, growing alongside the community it served. Within it sat the Queen Victoria maternity hospital wing (pictured), established in 1897, where countless Southlanders first entered the world.

For generations, this was the place families turned to in moments that mattered most. Births, recovery, uncertainty, relief - all unfolded within its walls.

The surviving buildings - the South Wing, Central Block, and Porter’s Lodge - are listed as a Category 1 Historic Place with Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.

Together, it forms the only extant collection of 19th century hospital buildings in Aotearoa New Zealand, recognising their national historical and architectural importance.

Over time, regional healthcare expanded and evolved, eventually shifting all facilities to Southland Hospital on Kew Road.

Even after its closure, its presence is still felt in the memories of those who passed through it - and in the generations connected by the care it once provided.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.At the going down...
24/04/2026

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

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Invercargill
9810

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03 211 1777

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