South Island Museums

Much of my touristing in New Zealand has been nature or outdoorsy things. Lots of hikes, waterfalls, some botanical gardens, rock climbing, etc. But now and then it is good to mix things up a bit. So a bit of our South Island adventure was spent in museums. 

The first was called the WOW: World of WearableArt and Classic Cars. When we read the description we were all thinking what an odd combination. But once we got there, it proved itself to be an excellent combination. World of WearableArt is an international design competition. According to the WOW website, it is “a world where theatre, fashion and art collide.” Designers create items to be exhibited in the annual show. The museums’ collection showcased pieces from designers around the world. My favorite was called “Minuet and Trio,” but each article showed an impressive display of creativity and expression.

Once through the art gallery, we found our way to the impressive car collection. The museum site is the former Honda factory of Nelson, which closed in the 1990’s due to a change in import tariffs on vehicles. Two large warehouse-type buildings were chock full (or chock-a-block as they say here!) of a wide range of vehicles. The oldest was an early 1900’s crank-motor vehicle, with the most modern being a Smart car from the 2000’s.

The other museum which really caught our interest was the Air Force Museum in Christchurch. We spent an entire afternoon there, and still did not see it all as the brain eventually announced it was on information overload. The museum detailed the entire history of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, with special emphasis on world wars involvement. I especially enjoyed the growing photography gallery of New Zealand veterans, with an explanation of their service record and honors awarded.

The feature exhibit also caught my eye. The walkthrough explained a day in the life of a WWII POW in Europe, complete with escape attempts and end of war liberation. Of particular interest was a Kiwi soldiers’ involvement which is included in the 1963 film The Great Escape.

This museum also housed an impressive collection of aircraft from early 1900’s through to modern helicopters. It was hard to pick a favorite, but was a fun way to learn a bit about aircraft.