Museum Collection
& Gallery

Hamilton Jets need no introduction to most Kiwis. One of just seven Hamilton Jets with Quinnat water jet engines ever produced, this is a very special piece in our collection. Christened ‘Waithara’, this is number 5 - and has been known to get up to 17mph! She is complete but no longer operational, although we believe there are still two examples in use. 

Find it in Hangar 2.

This is the only known surviving example of a Sunbeam Rover ambulance in the world, although 1600 were produced and used in a number of wars. This ambulance was one of a number made available to various New Zealand hospitals by the New Zealand Defence Force after the war. It was used on the West Coast as a mortuary van and ambulance. In 1925, it was bought by Stan Booth and converted into a motorised caravan complete with sink and wardrobe. It was later fully restored by Bryan Jackson and finally sold to Gerald in 1973. 

Find it in the main building.

This Renault fire engine is possibly the only one of this model left in the world and is the only Renault fire appliance ever used in New Zealand. The Queenstown Volunteer Fire Brigade obtained it in 1929 as its first motorised fire appliance and it remained in service until 1948. The appliance was later used as a pump for a goldmine in Skippers Canyon, eventually purchased and restored by the Museum in the late 1990s.  

Find it in the Fire Station.

This Model T is very special to us - our first acquisition, bought by Museum-founder Gerald Rhodes when he was just 17-years-old. It was his first vehicle after leaving high school and beginning his working career, purchased from Eric Sides of Timaru who had previously owned it for about 30 years and it was used as a butcher’s delivery van. Gerald used it as a run about for a while before placing it in storage and then completely restoring it in the early 1990’s.

Find it in the Main Building.

These Dutch-made planes could carry 44 passengers and were used extensively by Air New Zealand on internal routes from 1960-1990. Named ‘Koropia’, this aircraft has not flown since 1982 and was transported to the Museum by road from Christchurch Airport in 2012. It was reassembled by retired Air New Zealand Engineers.

This is a unique piece of our collection because visitors are able to climb the stairs and step inside the aircraft for a peek at what domestic flights looked like in the not-so-distant past.

Find it in Hangar 2.

The S-55 was built by the world-famous Sikorsky organisation. A prototype first flew in October 1949 and when the Korean War broke out, the US ordered large quantities of these helicopters for transports, ambulances and anti-submarine warfare. The commercial version, developed in 1952, was the first helicopter widely used for airline commuter flights.

Find it in Hangar 2.

This vehicle was hand built by the McLaughlin Automobile Co. of Canada - one of just four ever made. It is built on a 128” (3.25m) commercial Buick chassis and equipped with the first Buick six cylinder motor to have a one-piece detachable overhead valve cylinder head. It is also equipped with one of the first types of four-wheel external disc brake systems.

There were only four examples of this model ever built and as far as the Museum has been able to ascertain, this is now the only one in existence in the World. This particular car is an ex-Christchurch mayoralty vehicle.

Find it in the main building.