Tairāwhiti Museum is a 5-minute walk from the CBD, across Peel Street Bridge and through Kelvin Park. There is free parking on Stout Street.
Opening Hours
- Monday – Saturday 10am – 4pm
- Sunday and Public Holidays 1:30pm – 4:00pm
- Closed – Easter Friday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day
Admission
- Adults $5 (12 years and under and Friends of the Museum free entry)
- Free entry every day for local residents!
Exhibit Cafe
- Monday – Friday 8.30am to 2.00pm, Saturday 9.30am – 12.30pm, closed Sundays.
What’s Happening at the Museum
Exhibitions
Fruits of a Splendid Isolation
Opening: 22/03/19 5:30 pm
In an eddy, a side-pool off the mainstream, a light shone on a quartet of friends who drew, painted and created, individually and as a group, over a period of fifty years. They grew with an East Coast flavour, untethered to any school or style, that leaned towards the dynamic, figurative and expressive, revelling in... Read more »
Retrospective – Phyllis Underdown
Opening: 15/02/19 5:30 pm
In 2009 Phyllis Underdown was recognised as a Life Member of the Tairāwhiti Museum for her significant contribution to the arts in Gisborne as an artist, teacher and advocate. Artist statement: I have enjoyed drawing and painting since my childhood in Wellington, but this exhibition is of works that I have completed since my arrival... Read more »
Out of the Bedroom into the Lounge
Opening: 30/11/18 5:30 pm
New Zealand artist Jan Nigro (b. 1920, d. 2012) was born in Gisborne and attended Manutūkē School before moving to Napier 1930. This significant retrospective exhibition has been distilled from her life’s work held by the Jan Nigro Trust. The works illustrate a strong female contribution to the trajectory of contemporary New Zealand art history... Read more »
Posing, Not Posing
Opening: 26/11/18 10:00 am
Long before smartphones, selfie sticks and one-swipe filters, having your ‘perfect’ picture taken took practice, preparation and plenty of posing. Early cameras and photographic materials required the sitter to be still for many seconds. While this is often given as the reason for a lack of smiles, a more likely reason is that early portrait... Read more »
Ambitious Gisborne Women
Opening: 09/11/18 5:30 pm
Public talk by Jean Johnston: 19/09/18 5:30 pm
On 19 September 1893 New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world in which women had the right to vote in parliamentary elections.This exhibition tells the local story – demonstrating how well Gisborne women mobilised to go to the polls for the first time on 28 November 1893. The sheets of names of... Read more »
Wyllie Cottage
Wyllie Cottage
Wyllie Cottage is the oldest European house still standing in the Gisborne area and also a popular tourist attraction. It was restored and refurbished in 2016. You can find out more about this project on our blog. The cottage was built in the early days of the township of Gisborne for Keita (Kate) and James... Read more »
Events
April School holiday programme
Art programmes inspired by museum exhibitions 2 hour programmes, $5 per child per session, ages 4-12. Pre-booking and pre–payment (at the museum) essential. All children must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the workshop (adult free of charge) Monday 15 April 10am—12pm, 1pm—3pm Turning Trash into Treasure Tuesday 16 April... Read more »
April School holiday programme
Art programmes inspired by museum exhibitions 2 hour programmes, $5 per child per session, ages 4-12. Pre-booking and pre–payment (at the museum) essential. All children must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the workshop (adult free of charge) Monday 15 April 10am—12pm, 1pm—3pm Turning Trash into Treasure Tuesday 16 April... Read more »
April School holiday programme
Art programmes inspired by museum exhibitions 2 hour programmes, $5 per child per session, ages 4-12. Pre-booking and pre–payment (at the museum) essential. All children must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the workshop (adult free of charge) Monday 15 April 10am—12pm, 1pm—3pm Turning Trash into Treasure Tuesday 16 April... Read more »
April School holiday programme
Art programmes inspired by museum exhibitions 2 hour programmes, $5 per child per session, ages 4-12. Pre-booking and pre–payment (at the museum) essential. All children must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the workshop (adult free of charge) Monday 15 April 10am—12pm, 1pm—3pm Turning Trash into Treasure Tuesday 16 April... Read more »
April School holiday programme
Art programmes inspired by museum exhibitions 2 hour programmes, $5 per child per session, ages 4-12. Pre-booking and pre–payment (at the museum) essential. All children must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the workshop (adult free of charge) Monday 15 April 10am—12pm, 1pm—3pm Turning Trash into Treasure Tuesday 16 April... Read more »
April School holiday programme
Art programmes inspired by museum exhibitions 2 hour programmes, $5 per child per session, ages 4-12. Pre-booking and pre–payment (at the museum) essential. All children must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the workshop (adult free of charge) Monday 15 April 10am—12pm, 1pm—3pm Turning Trash into Treasure Tuesday 16 April... Read more »
April School holiday programme
Art programmes inspired by museum exhibitions 2 hour programmes, $5 per child per session, ages 4-12. Pre-booking and pre–payment (at the museum) essential. All children must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the workshop (adult free of charge) Monday 15 April 10am—12pm, 1pm—3pm Turning Trash into Treasure Tuesday 16 April... Read more »
Charlotte Museum Trust pop-up exhibition, films and play
Charlotte Museum Trust comes to Gisborne Displays, a quilt, cartoons, herstory, badges. Two short films—Our Stories, & Lesbian Music Made Community, a performance: “I AM” and songs This exhibition will be in the Winifred Lysnar Education Discovery Centre at Tairāwhiti Museum, 10 Stout Street All welcome, free entry www.charlottemuseum.lesbian.net.nz
‘The Road to Tūranga: Leo Fowler’s Gisborne Years’ book launch
Gerald Barnett’s new book about legendary broadcaster Leo Fowler brings Gisborne’s 20th Century cultural history to life. Nau mai, haere mai Join us at Tairāwhiti Museum for the launch of ‘The Road to Tūranga: Leo Fowler’s Gisborne Years’ by Gerald Barnett. We are particularly proud to publish Leo’s story because he was the museum’s... Read more »
Exhibition opening: Phyllis Underdown retrospective
Join us at the museum for the opening of a new solo exhibition by Gisborne artist Phyllis Underdown
