Hokitika Museum's vision and future

Our Vision at Hokitika Museum is 'Hei whakahaumako te tangata - Enriching today and tomorrow's people'.

The Hokitika Museum mission is to tell the stories of Westland, the wider West Coast and its people. 

Our collection reflects the life of our communities in the extreme and inspiring place that is Te Tai Poutini-West Coast, New Zealand.  

The Museum's history

Hokitika’s first Museum was established in 1869 in two rooms on the upper floor of the Town Hall on Revell Street. It held scientific specimens such as stuffed birds, rocks and plants, and a collection of Victorian curiosities.

In 1908, the Museum was transferred to a room in the newly built Carnegie Library Building and was opened intermittently by library staff.

The Museum was closed in 1947 when the room was needed for Council offices. Some of the collection was put into storage but much of it was dispersed to other Museums.  In 1960, the ‘Hokitika Pioneer Museum’ officially reopened in the same room with new displays. By now, the Carnegie Library Building was in a poor state of repair and not really suitable to house a museum. Fortunately, Bob Drummond had established a museum committee in 1952 with the aim of raising funds for a purpose-built museum facility. 

In December 1973 the museum moved into new premises behind the Carnegie Building which had been funded by public subscriptions, service club fund-raising and a grant from the Department of Internal Affairs. 

The renamed ‘West Coast Historical Museum’ employed its first director and was run by a committee which included representatives from Westland Borough Council and Westland County Council. When the two councils amalgamated in 1989, the Museum became part of the new Westland District Council. 

In the decades that followed, the museum continued to grow its collection and public programmes. However, by the mid-2010s the Carnegie Building required significant seismic strengthening and modernisation. The museum closed to the public in 2019 to allow this work to be undertaken. After an extensive redevelopment project, the earthquake strengthening completed in 2024 gave Hokitika Museum a fresh, contemporary look within the historic Carnegie Building.

The Museum today

Hokitika Museum reopened on 27 June 2025. The Hon Paul Goldsmith, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, opened the building alongside Mayor Helen Lash, Museum Director Laureen Sadlier, and iwi representatives from Ngāti Māhaki ki Makaawhio and Ngāti Waewae, marking a moment of continuity and renewal. The occasion was especially meaningful after an extended closure and with the debut of the new Mana Whenua Gallery, developed in partnership with mana whenua and featuring their tīpuna and significant taonga.

Today, the Museum continues its original purpose with contemporary practice: preserving collections to archival standards, researching provenance and context, and sharing stories through exhibitions, publications, and Te Tai – Research Centre, where whānau and researchers can trace local histories and discover how the past shapes the West Coast of today.