Explore some of the treasured objects, archives, and photographs that were generously donated to and acquired by the Ashburton Museum and Historical Society in 2023. This annual exhibition will return each year, showcasing some of our most special and fascinating acquisitions of the previous year and exploring why they are significant to Hakatere Ashburton. Join…

Sixteen years ago the descendants of the men who founded the Ng King Bros. Chinese Market Garden expressed their desire to share their land and the legacy of their buildings and stories with the community. Our new exhibition A New Era: Ng King Bros. Chinese Market Garden Settlement celebrates the restoration and February 2024 re-opening…

Which moments in time did the Ashburton Guardian photographers capture around Hakatere Ashburton throughout 1974? A selection of photographs from our large collection of negatives will take visitors on a journey across various aspects of life in our district 50 years ago. Although some of these images were published in the daily paper, most weren't and won't have been seen before. Many of the photographs…

Signs impact our lives every day; they direct, inform, influence and advise us. Ideally, the words, symbols and graphics combine to convey a message in the form of a visually pleasing and easy to read sign. Styles, methods and products used to create signage have changed dramatically over the past seventy years. A hand painted…

Arriving in August 1874, the Great Southern Railway opened Ashburton to the world. The station became the arrival and departure platform for thousands of people coming and going over the next 128 years until all passenger services ceased in 2002. It was, in its heyday, the central hub for our community. A railway trip was a day out…

Each year new treasures are collected by museums all around the world and ours is no different. In the past year, a variety of items have been donated to the Ashburton Museum and Historical Society’s collection, which is housed and cared for by the Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum. The treasured objects, archives and photographs…

From traditional monuments to functional buildings, and even living trees, public memorials take many shapes and forms. In Whakatere Ashburton many commemorate wartime sacrifice, while others acknowledge colonial settlement and industry, or the original site of the famed mātai tree, Hinepaaka. This exhibition tells the stories behind local memorials, who created them and why, using…

The diverse and beautiful Mid & South Canterbury regions are home to 223 entries on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Over the summer, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga's photo competition encouraged photographers to capture these amazing listed locations across Waitaha Canterbury. The resulting exhibition showcases an impressive selection of images submitted by photographers ranging…