Manawatu Museum Society (1967–2000)

Te Manawa Museum Society is one of three founding bodies of Te Manawa Museum. The Manawatu Museum Society was formed by City Archivist Ian Matheson in 1967. It operated the Manawatu Museum from 1970 until 1994, when it merged with The Science Centre and later the Manawatu Art Gallery. The combined entity has been known as Te Manawa Museum since 2002.

Mina McKenzie (1930–1997)

We celebrate the work of Mina McKenzie, the director of the Manawatu Museum, through an annual public lecture held during Palmerston North’s Local History Week.

For further information on Mina McKenzie’s contribute to the museum profession in Aotearoa New Zealand, see articles by Margaret Tennant in Manawatū Journal of History, no. 18, 2022, and Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand: https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/6m17/mckenzie-mina-louise.

Te Manawa Museum Society (2008–present)

Recognising a need for greater advocacy, a group of local historians formed a new body to support the history, heritage and mātauranga Māori strands of Te Manawa in 2008.

Te Manawa Museum Society organises events, including public lectures, workshops and symposia, to encourage historical research and writing with a focus on museum collections.

Our beautiful logo was designed by John Bevan Ford (1930–2005).