Christchurch’s Okains Bay Museum came about as a result of the passion, tireless energy and generosity of its founder, the late Murray Thacker Q.S.M. A long term resident and descendant of some of the earliest Pākehā settlers in Okains Bay, Murray gifted his private collection to create the Museum in 1977. With over 20,000 items on display, it vividly conveys the stories of early Māori and Pākehā life.

The Museum has become a significant cultural and educational attraction. Sitting within the heritage precinct of Okains Bay, it includes a range of purpose built, replica and relocated heritage buildings. These include colonial cottages, tōtara slab cottages and the former Akaroa Recreation Pavillion. And a traditional Māori whare whakairo (carved house) and pātaka (raised food storehouse), carved by master carver John Rua, are focal points at the heart of the Museum complex.

Covering over half a hectare of land of the former Okains Bay Cheese factory, 18 heritage and collection-specific buildings house Okains Bay Museum’s collections. A working Blacksmith’s Shop, Print Shop, vintage vehicles and other working exhibits are in action on open days, notably during the Museum’s famous Waitangi Day celebrations, which attract thousands of visitors.

The impressive collections include items from Banks Peninsula associated with whaling, farming and colonial rural life. And the collection of taonga Māori is nationally significant, rivalling larger metropolitan museums’ collection. A magnificent collection of waka (Māori canoes) and small European boats impress a sense of the historical importance of watercraft in New Zealand.