Museum visit a rewarding alternative

Waimarino Bulletin, Issue 3, 5 August 1988, Page 23

Museum visit a rewarding alternative

The Queen Elizabeth II War Memorial Museum in Waiouru is one of the major all-year-round attractions of the Waimarino.

With 80,000 visitors per year the Museum attracts interest from all over New Zealand as well as.from overseas and is popular with all sorts of people, young and old, family groups, guided tours and anyone seeking a better understanding of New Zealand's history and development as a free and independent nation. The displays in the Museum cover a period of more than 100 years

of New Zealand's military history from the Land Wars in the 1860's to the Yietnam War in the 1970's. During this period New Zealand sent troops to the Boer War (1900), the Great War (1914-18), World War n (1939-45), and to the United Nations policing operation in Korea in the 1950's. New Zealand soldiers, sailors and later airmen (as well as the womens'

services) have seen action in South Africa, France, Belgium, Sinai, Palestine, Egypt, Gallipoli, Greece, Italy, Crete, North Africa, Samoa, the South Pacific, Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam. All these campaigns and policing operations

are comprehensively recorded in a series of excellently presented displays. The exhibits include the artefacts and accoutrements of the New Zealand forces as well as the colourful uniforms and insignia of former days.

These are presented and described in a variety of ways including showcase displays of weapons and memorabilia, film-size 3-di-mensional dioramas (action tableaux depicting real-life battle conditions), audio visual slides and cine-film.

With its well-stocked shop and tearooms/cafeteria the Museum is an ideal stop-over for travellers through the North Island but it is equally attractive to longerstay visitors particularly when the weather is wet and cold and

outdoor activities are limited. The Museum is open every day of the year from 9am to 4.30pm (except Christmas) and admission charges are: Adults ($6), Children ($3), Groups ($15) and organised tours ($5).