The Museum first occupied rooms in the former Borough Council and Fire Station building (on the site of the present Kaiapoi Service Centre), but since 1982 had been housed in the old Courthouse and lock-up in Williams Street.
As well as an interesting collection of objects from Kaiapoi’s past, it held an extensive collection of early photographs, local school photographs, cemetery records, family histories, and the ‘Kaiapoi Record’ newspaper from 1909-1915 on microfilm.
The Kaiapoi Courthouse (latterly the Kaiapoi Museum) was deemed structurally unsound after the September 4 earthquake and was demolished over several days from 10 September 2010.
The Kaiapoi Museum collection was put into storage for a few years after the demolition of the courthouse building. On 5 September 2015 the Kaiapoi Museum reopened in the Ruataniwha Kaiapoi Civic Centre. View a video of the Kaiapoi Museum opening.
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Ruataniwha Kaiapoi Civic Centre 176 Williams Street Kaiapoi
Monday-Wednesday and Friday: 9 am to 5 pm Thursday: 9 am to 7 pm Saturday: 10 am to 2 pm Sunday: 1 pm to 4 pm
The museum is open for viewing at these times, but museum volunteers aren't always available.
Postal Address: Kaiapoi District Historical Society PO Box 341 Kaiapoi 7644
Email: kaiapoimuseum@gmail.com
Phone: 03 311 8919 (leave a message if not answered)
View photos from the Kaiapoi Museum collection.
