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Dargaville Museum

The elements have provided well for the Dargaville Museum. The wet and wild Kaipara Bar has wrecked ships, and the soil has nurtured giant kauri and hidden golden gum within its depths. The history of the land and those who shaped and worked on it can be found within this hilltop museum. Items of note include a 16m kauri waka hull unearthed on the Poutō Peninsula and a

1914 Blackstone & Co engine used to drive a kauri-gum washing plant. There is also a collection of accordions from the renowned New York-based musician and teacher,

Kevin Friedrich, who was born in Dargaville. The masts that stand guard outside the building — on a hill overlooking Dargaville and northern Wairoa — are from the illfated Rainbow Warrior, sunk by terrorists in Auckland in 1985.

The museum has several large rooms, with one central section dedicated to the weirdly specific collections of locals. It's a love letter to the oddities that capture imaginations, from model trains to eggs, glass bottles, thimbles and shells. 32 Mount Wesley Coast Road, Dargaville. (09) 439 7555, dargavillemuseum.com

NORTH ISLAND

en-nz

2021-11-12T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-12T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://thisnzlife.pressreader.com/article/282218013628054

NZ Lifestyle Magazine Group