The Mangawhai Museum in Mangawhai Heads, Kaipara District, New Zealand | Museum

The Mangawhai Museum, Mangawhai Heads, New Zealand, captures the the history of the Mangawhai community which is closely bound to its harbour. Arrival by sea, shipwrecks, attempts to enter the harbour, shipbuilding, the building of a wharf, efforts to make the harbour safer for boats and shipping, began in 1860 and continue today Mangawhai Harbour and its surrounding catchment area is a unique and magical place. This is an area with a rich Maori and early European settlement history and, more recently, a story of a struggle to maintain and restore a harbour.
The Mangawhai Museum, is a typical early settler Museum containing items from pioneer families, with an emphasis on shipping and gum digging. There is a photograph collection on display. The Historical Society has been very active over the years with regular meetings; the collection of oral histories, development and digitizing of a photo collection, organising bus trips and reunions, attending Te Papa-funded training courses and fundraising for the new Museum.
The Mangawhai Museum, Mangawhai Heads, New Zealand, is run by the Mangawhai Historical Society Inc. which also owns the old Te Arai Library and the old Mangawhai Post Office buildings.