14/09/2026
Collection Highlight – A Wooden Shipping Crate
At first glance, this weathered wooden crate might seem an ordinary object. Yet the stencilled lettering on its lid connects it to a pivotal moment in the history of Tauranga Moana.
The crate travelled from London aboard the clipper ship Portland, arriving in Auckland on 31 August 1864. From there, it was transferred south to Tauranga by coastal vessel, following the same route taken by military personnel and supplies during a period of profound change for the region.
The timing is significant. The crate arrived only weeks after the battles of Gate Pā and Te Ranga. In the months that followed, members of the 1st Waikato Regiment were settled in Tauranga as part of the colonial government’s military settlement programme. Many received confiscated Māori land and played a central role in establishing the township that would grow into modern Tauranga.
Objects such as this crate remind us that history is carried not only in letters, photographs and official documents, but also in the everyday items that accompanied people on their journeys. What was once a practical shipping container now serves as a tangible link to the movement of people, goods and ideas during a defining chapter in our city’s past.
More than 160 years later, this humble crate invites us to reflect on the events, decisions and relationships that helped shape Tauranga Moana and continue to influence our community today.
Photo by Amanda Aitken Photography.
