THE LAND OF THE LONG WHITE CLOUD of Castrol R
NEW ZEALAND IS ALMOST spooky. Its museums hold so many treasures from all over the world that it is quite eerie. What do I mean? Well, for instance, parts of Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine, the world’s first computer, designed and built in England in the 1820s, were found under a shepherd’s hut in Southland in New Zealand and are now in New Zealand’s major museum Te Papa. Nobody seems to know how they got there. To Southland, not to Te Papa.
Let’s just look at some of the museums in the Land of the Long White Cloud and see what’s there – particularly in relation to motorcycles, but also aviation which fascinates me like no other technology. Should you not be interested, all I can say is that you’re missing out.
In the listings below, I have generally avoided noting opening hours because nobody knows how the plague is going to work out. The telephone numbers are listed, so you can call. The list is roughly north to south, with the jump from Te Ika a Maui (the North Island) to Te Wai Pounamu (the South Island) after Te Papa and before Omaka.
With a bit of luck, you will be able to check out some of these places by the time this issue reaches the printer; I’m looking forward to seeing the couple of places I haven’t visited.
Packard Motor Museum
Old Dairy Factory, 1146 State Highway 14, Maungatapere,Whangarei p 09 434 8214 e info@packardmuseum.co.nz w https://www.packardmuseum.co.nz/
Adults $20, children $10 (5-15yrs), family $ 50 (2 adults plus children) Call for opening days / hours.
As well as one of the largest Packard collections anywhere, this place has a collection of heavy machinery, an ‘English Shed’ with a wide assortment of British cars (plus a Trekka,
