Highlights

The tramway has been part of MOTAT since 1964 when Auckland tram no. 253 was selected for preservation by the Old Time Transport Preservation League. This highlight shows MOTAT’s collection of tramcars and the development of the tramway, which started off inside the museum grounds with a 300 metre track that now extends to MOTAT Motions Road, measuring a total of 1.67 kilometres. This highlight has been made in honour of MOTAT hosting the 2023 conference for the Council of Tramway Museums of Australasia.

We're nearly a quarter of the way through this century - the first century of the new millennium. Here's a glimpse of some innovations and technology manufactured during the 21st century which are in the MOTAT collections.

Needing to keep cool in this hot weather? Check out these fans and fan-inspired items from MOTAT's collections.

Luggage tags are a “must-have” in this busy season of travel so bags and suitcases can be easily identified. Here’s a selection from MOTAT’s collection to get you inspired!

On the 17th of November 1921, Robert Jack made the first radio broadcast in New Zealand from the University of Otago. Commercial radio broadcasting began in February 1922 from a Wellington station, with stations hot on their heels in Dunedin, Christchurch, Nelson, Whanganui, Gisborne and Auckland. This highlight explores radios and radio paraphernalia from MOTAT’s collection; from 1920s crystal sets used to listen to those early broadcasts, to early valve radios powered by large batteries before the advent of electricity in homes, Bakelite mantle radios, portable radios following the invention of transistors, and car radios to bring the music to your road trip.

What makes things work? MOTAT’s collection includes a number of cutaway and dismantled objects and drawings which allow us to see the inner workings of familiar items.

From horse-drawn buses to motorised public transport, destination blinds have guided people to places for nearly 200 years. This selection is from MOTAT's Road Transport collection. Automated LED lights are used today on buses and trains, however these examples were manually operated. Which destination would you like to visit?

These items and audio recordings are a part of our Covid 19 collection which aims to document this time via the innovations created in New Zealand since March 2020.

Advertising posters designed by the New Zealand Railways Department’s publicity studio encouraged Kiwis to choose rail for their holiday transportation.

Featuring vivacious figures and picturesque landscapes, these sometimes quirky posters offer a chance to reflect on how New Zealanders of the past holidayed and explored their own ‘backyard’.

This highlight showcases the full collection of rail posters from the Richard Croker Collection. Twelve of these posters feature in Best Reached by Rail at the Walsh Memorial Library from 3 August 2020 - 20 July 2021

Discover the MOTAT collection by searching by colour, found on the Collections Online homepage! We've got you started by selecting a few objects tagged with green - everything from 'khaki' to 'sea green'.