Marlborough Museums

We aim to inspire the generations of our communities through careful preservation, and passionate celebration of our heritage.

The museums collect, preserve, research, interpret, present, and provide historical research material relating to the natural and human heritage of Marlborough.

Marlborough Museum is situated in Blenheim's unique Brayshaw Heritage Park. Renwick Museum is in central Renwick. Flaxbourne Museum is at Ward.

If you are visiting Marlborough we would love to see you, and don't forget to call into Picton Museum. If you are heading over to Nelson, Havelock Museum is well worth a visit.

If you cannot come to see us in person, we would love to bring Marlborough's Heritage to you through these web pages.

These on-line exhibits feature WWI ANZACS, Marlborough 1920's Aviation, The Gardiner/Couper Collection of glass negatives from the Pelorus district, the Awatere Bridge exhibit, the Marlborough Museum Textiles and Hats Collections, the Flaxbourne Settlers Association Collection of Objects and Photographs, the Renwick Museum Collections of School Books, Early Irons, Early Settlers Books and Dr Thomas Renwick memorabilia, and the Marlborough Vintage Farm Machinery Society Collection of Tractors, Crawlers and Stationary Engines.

What's New?

We have a number of new items in the Flaxbourne Collection - Farmaid Sheep Tranquillizer, men's white cotton gloves and large barrel scales from the Ward Shop, while a Computing Scale adds a touch of technology to a fascinating collection of items from country life.

In the Renwick Museum and Watson Memorial Library, the Early Settlers Collection includes a number of books that would have formed an important part of the libraries of those settling in a 'new land'. You can enjoy a hands-on experience with these books by visiting the Museum in High Street, Renwick during visiting hours on Mondays each week. We also have the currently-catalogued Photographic Collection on-line, over 800 photographs from the early 1900's. High quality reproductions are available from the Museum on Monday of each week. This month we also introduce a new exhibit featuring Dr Thomas Renwick, from where the name originates.

In the Vintage Farm Machinery Collection we have added a number of new items and recreated the exhibits as you can see to the left. There are a number of additional tractors and crawlers, some early Garden Tractors (also called yard machines and including ride-on mowers, rotary hoes and very small tractors), Trucks, Fuel Containers, Registration Plates and some miscellaneous items including two Headers, also known as Harvesters. Most of these items are fully restored and all are available for personal viewing at the venue.

From Marlborough Museum, in addition to the other exhibits to the left, we have the Awatere Bridge exhibit, a collection of photographs and maps documenting the beginning and the end of this iconic structure.

Also new is the Marlborough Engine which can be found at Marlborough Vintage Car Club, part of the Brayshaw Park complex. This engine powered the first Marlborough car. Both the car and the engine were manufactured locally by William Birch in 1912. William Birch also manufactured a stationary engine once used by J.A. Crump of Ocean Bay, this engine can be seen at Marlborough Vintage Farm Machinary. You can see pictures of the engines and the car, and an extended biography of William Birch, by clicking the link to the left.

Click on one of the links above or to the left to begin a virtual tour.