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The Papakura Museum is proudly supported by the Papakura Local Board
Artefacts are at the heart of the stories we tell at Papakura Museum. Whether featured in our permanent galleries or temporary exhibitions, objects help bring history to life, providing a tangible connection to the people, places, and events that have shaped Papakura and the wider South Auckland region.
We are always interested in hearing from people who have items with a connection to Papakura, its communities, businesses, organisations, or surrounding areas. These may include photographs, documents, clothing, household items, tools, military memorabilia, sporting artefacts, or other objects that help tell the story of our district.
If you have items that you no longer wish to keep, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss them with you. Even if you are unsure whether an object has a local connection, please get in touch. The item may fill a gap in our collection, represent an aspect of everyday life that is currently underrepresented, or have historical significance that is not immediately obvious.
Every potential donation is carefully assessed against the museum's collection policies and its relevance to our mission of preserving and sharing the history and heritage of Papakura. By donating an artefact, you can help ensure that local stories are preserved and shared with future generations.
If you would like to discuss a possible donation, please contact the museum and a member of our team will be happy to assist.
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Do you have old photographs tucked away in albums, boxes, or drawers? Papakura Museum can help preserve your treasured images for future generations.
Our digitisation service converts photographs, documents, and other paper-based memories into high-quality digital files, helping protect them from fading, damage, and loss. Whether it's family portraits, community events, local history, or special occasions, digitising your collection makes it easier to share, store, and enjoy.
Our staff handle your items with care and can provide digital copies suitable for viewing, sharing with family, or preserving as part of your personal archive.
Why digitise?
For more information about costs, formats, and booking a digitisation appointment, please contact Papakura Museum.
In order to maintain a high standard of care for our objects, and stay relevant to our community, we have clear boundaries around what we can and cannot accept as new acquisitions.
All new acquisitions must have a clear association to Papakura and surrounding districts, or the people who populate, or have once populated this area. As we aim to have a collection that covers the breadth and depth of the region, objects that are not relevant to the area need to be declined, as do objects that are already well represented in the collection. These parameters are to sustain the integrity of the collection and allow the Museum to best utilise resources.
Objects must be in reasonable condition, unless very rare and relevant to the collection. Similarly, photographs, manuscripts, and other paper-based artifacts must be originals (i.e. not photocopies), unless no other example of that work is held, or the condition of the existing work has been compromised.
In order to donate an object, the donor must have legal ownership of it, or permission from the legal owner. Once donated, Papakura Museum can dispose of or on-offer any objects that are no longer relevant to the collection; however the object will be offered back to the original donor in the first instance. If we cannot accept an object, we will endeavour to offer suggestions for who may be interested in the donation.
If you would like to donate an artifact, or if you have questions about donating, contact our Curator, Alan Knowles at [email protected]
Our Research Room is available during Museum opening hours and is open to the public for those researching their genealogy throughout Papakura and neighbouring Districts.
Our archives include transcribed records, original sources, photographs, maps, published local histories, family histories, and memoirs relating to many well-known early settler families, as well as lesser known families and Māori families that appear in the historical record.
If we do not have the information you are seeking on hand, we will record your query and get back to you or refer you to another source. For very specific requests, or if you are visiting from further afield, we recommend you contact us prior to your visit.
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Visit Us
Contact Us
The Papakura Museum is proudly supported by the Papakura Local Board
