ROOTS RUN DEEP – THE KAURI MUSEUM
Few museums can claim to have grown from the ground up quite like The Kauri Museum in Matakohe – built by the hands, hearts, and determination of the pioneering families who first called this corner of Northland home.
Over 63 years ago, a small group of farming families came together with a shared vision: to preserve the remarkable story of the kauri industry that had shaped their region. Through countless working bees, shared duties, and volunteer efforts, they built not just a museum, but a strong, connected community. Now one of Northland's oldest museums, the carefully gathered and professionally curated collections have grown to hold international, national, and local significance.
At the heart of the museum's storytelling is the mighty kauri tree itself. Once stretching in vast forests from Cape Reinga to the Coromandel Peninsula, kauri defined this landscape and the lives of those who settled it. The museum traces that story back to the early 1800s, when kauri gum was a booming export and the Kaipara Harbour thrived as a major hub for the timber trade. Further north, Tāne Mahuta – the forest giant estimated to be around 2,500 years old – stands as a powerful reminder of what endured long before European settlement, and what the museum's story is ultimately in service of.
As the kauri industries declined, the district adapted, with dairy, sheep, and beef farming gradually reshaping the Kaipara region into a pastoral economy. Interactive exhibits bring this transition to life, including working demonstrations of early milking machinery and a sawmill in action, offering visitors a tangible connection to the lives of those who came before.
The museum complex is remarkable in its breadth. A historic boarding house relocated from Ruawai offers an intimate window into early community life – its rooms dressed as a photographer's and dressmaker's studio and a dentist's room. The Sterling Wing presents a faithful recreation of a quality 1880s–1920s kauri home, while the Smith Wing houses authentic timber- milling equipment alongside a blacksmith's workshop and lifelike bush scenes. Beyond the main building, the original Pioneer Church, School, and Post Office – each built from local kauri – complete the picture.
Matakohe sits at the heart of what was once one of the greatest kauri forests in the world, and that sense of place permeates the museum's park-like grounds and scenic surrounds. Visitors can round out their visit at The Gum Diggers Café, which serves delicious food alongside the signature Kauri Blend coffee, while the museum shop offers a range of hand-crafted kauri gum jewellery, kauri bowls, and polished timber pieces – with artisans often on site, polishing gum and creating bespoke jewellery in full view.
Now a charitable organisation, The Kauri Museum supports schools, community groups, and tertiary institutions, playing a vital role in education and making the case that museums are more relevant today than ever – teaching lessons from the past and bringing communities together across generations.
Open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm (closed Christmas Day), the museum offers a fully undercover, year-round experience for visitors of all ages – and leaves almost everyone who walks through its doors with the same single word in mind: inspirational.
www.kaurimuseum.com | 09 431 7417