Waiheke Island Historical Society

165 Onetangi Road, RD1, Waiheke Island 1971, New Zealand

About us

Monthly Heritage Events

The Historical Society is planning regular events celebrating Waiheke’s and New Zealand’s heritage and crafts. These will normally occur on the first Sunday of every month starting at 12 noon. Here are the next few:

• 9 Feb 2025 (1:30PM): Folk song picnic with The Wellermen
• 2 March 2025 (11AM – 2PM): Flax weaving workshop
• 4 May 2025 (at AGM; 3PM): History of beer in NZ
• 6 July 2025: Butter making workshop
• 3 Aug 2025: Player Piano demo
• 14 Sept 2025: Home brewing
• More TBA...

Ideas for future Heritage Events are welcome. Got something you’d like to show off? Talk to us!

Solar panels

The Historical Society has received a generous grant from the Waiheke Local Board for the installation of solar panels on the roof of Day Cottage. Local sparkies installed the panels 16–18 June 2025. This will help us immensely with electricity costs.
Thank you Local Board!

Republication of Waiheke Pioneers

Dixie Day’s book Waiheke Pioneers, the standard reference for early European settlement on Waiheke, had been out of print for five years, but we have published a second, revised edition complete with full name index. You can purchase the book at the Museum or at retail stores around the island, or order it online.

We’re featured on the Sealink Roadtrip

Our Museum is featured on Sealink’s Art & Culture Roadtrip. Have a look!

Members’ section

Annual General Meeting
was held on Sunday, 4 May 2025, at 2PM at the Museum. Alan Knight spoke on beer brewing in New Zealand.
(Read the minutes.)

New members are always welcome!
 

Newsletters & Minutes

History of the Society

Constitution

Officers

How to join

For history buffs
and researchers

Waiheke Vintage & Historic Photos
Peter Young’s Facebook page on Waiheke history

Early History of Waiheke Island

A missionary on Waiheke Island in 1849

A visit to Waiheke Island in 1858

A Belgian city in Rocky Bay?

Surfdale memories from the 1940s

The Waiheke Fun-Map (1948)

The 1922 subdivision of the Matiatia-Oneroa Estate

Cemetery transcriptions

1881 electoral roll

1893 women’s electoral roll

Under construction...
The following are coming soon:

Waiheke genealogy

Waiheke land owners in 1914

Directory of Waiheke residents in 1948

Links
 

The Museum of Waiheke

and Historic Village

Experience a slice of Old Waiheke at the Waiheke Museum and Historic Village.

• A reconstructed woolshed housing the Museum’s main exhibits
• A 1930s-style island cottage (Day Cottage) that can be used as a meeting room
• Three small bach-style houses (Champion, Keane, and Goodwin cottages) with period rooms and photo exhibits
• A working, manually-operated telephone exchange
• The original Waiheke jail
• Being developed: The Taonga Heritage Gardens
• Maori artifacts, a wool press, a whale-oil cauldron, a player piano, and even a fine old long-drop toilet! (No, not in actual use; we have modern ones for visitors.)

The Museum is located at 165 Onetangi Straight, Waiheke Island, and is open from 11 AM to 3 PM on Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holiday Mondays, all year round (except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day). Entry is by donation; we suggest $3 per person.

How to find us

Take a tour of the Museum buildings

The aerial view below is courtesy of Google Maps. Click on any building for more information.

Refurbishment of Champion Cottage

Thanks to a generous grant from Foundation North, we have been able to undertake some pressing repair work on Champion Cottage, including replacement of rotting weatherboards. Construction work by Iain Halse and painting by Ben France have made the cottage look very much like it did in about 1930 when it was built. Come have a look!