Martinborough Museum

Martinborough Museum Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Martinborough Museum, Museum, No. 7 Memorial Square, Martinborough, Wellington.

In 1916 Reg Feist, from the well-known Martinborough family, won a school prize for “Bun Eating Swmg”. Can you suggest...
14/05/2026

In 1916 Reg Feist, from the well-known Martinborough family, won a school prize for “Bun Eating Swmg”. Can you suggest what this event might have been?

Did he have to gobble the bun and swim at the same time – that sounds technically impossible. Maybe “Swmg” is actually “swing” and he had to chew the bun off the end of a rope. Whatever it meant, it sounds a lot more fun than regular lessons, which were serious and stern events back then.

The book Reg won was called In Times of Peril , an action-packed historical novel set during the 1857 Indian Mutiny. The main characters are two young English brothers who have lots of adventures helping the British Empire prevail over the rebellious natives. The author, G.A.Henty, was a very prolific and popular writer at the time.

Red glass has traditionally been very precious. That's because the process needed gold to create the beautiful colour....
07/05/2026

Red glass has traditionally been very precious. That's because the process needed gold to create the beautiful colour.

It was also valued because the light coming through red glass can be easily seen, even in dark and stormy conditions. We still use red glass as a warning colour today, for example in traffic lights and lighthouses.

This glass chimney in our collection would have once been used in a railway lantern used to signal to train drivers.

Modern glassmaking uses cheaper materials like selenium but gold still has a place in some specialist applications, such UV protective window coatings.

To mark ANZAC Day the museum is displaying some of its WWI collection. There were few families in the area who were not...
25/04/2026

To mark ANZAC Day the museum is displaying some of its WWI collection. There were few families in the area who were not personally affected by the war and especially those who lost relatives.
Local connections on display include the letters sent home by Frank Moore and the "Dead Man's Penny" given to the family of George Luis.
The photo shows a farewell to soldiers from the Martinborough area, before they left for Europe in 1916. It was taken in the Town Hall.

The museum is open 10.30-2.30 on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays. Admission is free but a donation/koha is much appreciated.

What age do you think you have to be to remember this product and how it was was used?
14/03/2026

What age do you think you have to be to remember this product and how it was was used?

We've just been gifted an interesting piece of heritage furniture, thanks to Melissa da Souza and Burton Silver. We are...
27/02/2026

We've just been gifted an interesting piece of heritage furniture, thanks to Melissa da Souza and Burton Silver. We are very grateful they thought of the museum as they downsized; a win-win for both of us.
This couch once lived in the billiard room at Waioura, a former Martin family homestead on Martin’s Road.

The 1st of February was George Pain's birthday. He would have been 180 years old but of course he is not with us to ce...
05/02/2026

The 1st of February was George Pain's birthday. He would have been 180 years old but of course he is not with us to celebrate. However he is "alive" and well at the museum, where we have an exhibition dedicated to his story.

No, there are not 180 candles on his cake!

The museum is open every day this weekend, 10.30-2.30. Admission free but donation/koha much appreciated as this is our major source of funding.

From the 6th onwards we return to our normal weekend opening hours. Saturday and Sunday (and public holidays) 10.30-2.30.

Continuing the museum's summer theme....it wouldn't be warm weather without flies, would it? Here's a very dramatic old...
25/01/2026

Continuing the museum's summer theme....it wouldn't be warm weather without flies, would it? Here's a very dramatic old story/advertisement from our collection, published in 1949, written from the fly's point of view.
Mortein is still going strong today.... and so are the flies

Feel the summer vibe at the museum with these old fashioned favourites, the picnic basket and the thermette.The thermett...
12/01/2026

Feel the summer vibe at the museum with these old fashioned favourites, the picnic basket and the thermette.
The thermette was invented in New Zealand and allows you to very quickly boil the billy for a cuppa using only a few twigs. During WWII they were nicknamed Benghazi Boilers by the Kiwi troops stationed in the North African desert.
The museum is open every day until 6 February. Opening hours 10.30-2.30. Admission is free but a donation/koha is much appreciated as it is our main source of funding.

It's summer hours at the museum. We are open every day from 10.30-2.30pm until February 6.We have taken down the Christm...
05/01/2026

It's summer hours at the museum. We are open every day from 10.30-2.30pm until February 6.

We have taken down the Christmas decorations and replaced them with some summer-themed items from our collection. This photo says 1950 but what is your guess? Those plastic loungers look more like 1960s.

The George Pain exhibition continues, bringing to life (via AI) this important person in early Martinborough history.

The Martinborough Museum summer hours start on Boxing Day. From then until 6 February, the museum will be open every d...
24/12/2025

The Martinborough Museum summer hours start on Boxing Day. From then until 6 February, the museum will be open every day, from 10.30-2.30.

A wet day? Come in out of the rain.
A fine day? Escape the UV.
A windy day? Enjoy the calm inside.

Admission is free but a donation/koha is much appreciated, as it is our main source of funding.

Our festive front door, courtesy of the Martinborough Business Association.Come in and see what's inside. We are open S...
19/12/2025

Our festive front door, courtesy of the Martinborough Business Association.
Come in and see what's inside. We are open Saturdays and Sundays 10.30 am -2.30pm.

Right now we have a special exhibition telling the story of George Pain, who's name lives on in Pain & Kershaw's Store. Thanks to AI, you can see George talking to you about his life even though he died nearly over 80 years ago.

Address

No. 7 Memorial Square, Martinborough
Wellington
5711

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