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:

• 3 Sept 2023: Rug making, with Kate Bryant
• 1 Oct 2023: New Zealand folk songs with The Wellermen (Alan Knight and Tom French)
• 8 Oct 2023 from 2 to 4:30PM (special): Tanya Batt, stories and film
• 5 Nov 2023: Spinning and weaving, with Cheryl Lyall
• 10 Dec 2023: Christmas wreath making
• 7 Jan 2024: Using old tools (workshop)
• 4 Feb 2024: BYO picnic with live music
• 3 March 2024: (none)
• 7 April 2024 (10AM to 3PM): Food Festival with Tanya Batt
• 17 Nov 2024 (12 to 1PM): Iris folded Christmas cards
• 8 Dec 2024 (12 noon): Christmas wreath making
• 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
• More TBA...

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

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.

Re-gravelling of pathways

The Museum has re-gravelled the footpaths linking our buildings, which had become weed-choked and slippery during our long spell of wet weather. Thanks are due to Auckland Council’s office of Parks and Community Facilities, who supplied and spread the gravel.

We’re featured on the Sealink Roadtrip

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

The History Quiz

That’s right — a trivia quiz with no science, no rugby, no Hollywood! We plan on making it a regular event for the Historical Society. Members and non-members welcome.

Members’ section

Annual General Meeting
will be held on Sunday, 4 May 2025, at 2PM at the Museum. Alan Knight will speak on beer brewing in New Zealand.
(Read last year’s 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!