The Mercury Bay Museum, a popular year-round attraction, has waterfront views. A must-do on a rainy day and/or for cultural heritage lovers. And for family and friends with companions who would like to go fishing, the marina is located across from the museum.
Tip
Next door is a local favorite for its delicious ice cream cones; perfect for recharging your holiday energy.
Highlights
- Captain James Cook (18th-century explorer) has a full-size replica of the great cabin on HMS Endeavour, complete with a model in Captain Cook’s dress uniform. Joseph Banks (botanist) nearby and an unnamed young man;
- In the lobby is a statue of Coupé, his wife, and his tohunga (learned priest), who recognize the role of East Polynesian voyagers to Aotearoa New Zealand. Coupe named the area along Taputapuatea Beach in honor of his mara in Tahiti;
- Linger in the family room, where photographs show the expansion of the dairy industry in the 19th century;
- Fishing exhibits and logging operations are carefully documented;
- Find the butter churn that continues to stand in its place in the former daily factory.
With exhibits on the Polynesian explorer Coupe, Maori artifacts, the Indewar and James Cook, HMS Buffalo (sunk in 1840), kauri wood and gum, the old dairy that houses the museum, early settler records, natural history, fishing displays and a superb collection of photographs.
There is an exhibition of the sunken ship HMS Buffalo (1840) and an exhibition of the coastal port. There is a school room from 1953, a blacksmith shop and the very popular Kauri Room. The natural bird exhibit of the area is a bit dusty with stuffed birds that are forever frozen in flight.
The museum is located in the premises of the former Mercury Bay Dairy. The Kauri Timber Company Mill existed on this site. The site used to be an urupa (cemetery); two crew members who died on HMS Buffalo are buried there. HMS Buffalo relics are carefully removed from the water grave.
There is an entrance fee to support museum activities. The museum is run primarily by volunteers. This museum is part of the Coromandel Peninsula Cultural Heritage Trail.