Sports Museums
Sport plays a major part in Kiwi life and for sports lovers the following museums will be of interest:
National Rugby Union Museum (Palmerston North)
The national game of New Zealand, the history of rugby in New Zealand and its overseas tours is well-documented at the museum in Palmerston North. Memorabilia and artefacts from the Maori game to the All Blacks are on display including some of the world's rarest rugby artefacts.
Sports Hall of Fame (Dunedin)
The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is located inside Dunedin's famous railway station. Established in 1990 to mark 150 years of settlement in New Zealand, the Hall of Fame documents the achievements of legends from over 40 sports including Sir Edmund Hillary (mountaineering) and Colin meads (Rugby Union). Sports stars are inducted into the Hall of Fame every two years by a special committee and anyone is free to make a nomination.
National Cricket Museum (Wellington)
The National Cricket Museum is located in the Old Grandstand of the Basin Reserve cricket ground in Wellington. It contains cricket treasures and memorabilia charting the history of the game in New Zealand including the Black Caps, the national team. It also houses a research and lending library of cricket books. Visitors are free to browse and guided tours are available.
Rugby League Museum (Auckland)
Opened in December 2007 the Rugby League Museum is in Auckland. It contains photos, match programmes, trophies, caps and other memorabilia from 1927 to the present day.
Robinson Museum of Sports Memorabilia (Hamilton)
Created by sports fan Mark Robinson this large private museum of sports memorabilia is housed in a dozen buildings. Sports fans will be able to lose a couple of hours wandering around this fascinating collection.
See Also: Interview with Mark Robinson founder of sports memorabilia museum