New Plymouth Attractions
Under the north side of the Taranaki or Mount Egmont volcano (Taranaki, Egmont National Park) is the port of New Plymouth (pop. 50,000), an industrial town and commercial center of a farming region.
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Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
This gallery presents contemporary New Zealand art. The collection includes works by Len Lye (sculpture, pictures).
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
40 Queen Street, Private Bag 2025
New Plymouth, Taranaki
New Zealand
40 Queen Street, Private Bag 2025
New Plymouth, Taranaki
New Zealand
Hours
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 10:30 | 10:30 | 10:30 | 10:30 | 10:30 | 10:30 | 10:30 |
| Close | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 |
Always closed on:
Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Marsland Hill
Marsland Hill (wide views) can be climbed either from Robe Street or from St Mary's Church. The summit, which was gradually leveled over the centuries, was once occupied by a Maori pa. During the land wars British troops were stationed on the hill.
Pukara Park
Pukara Park is laid out in Victorian style, with a fountain that is illuminated after dark and a waterfall.
Richmond Cottage
Beside the Taranaki Museum is Richmond Cottage, built on another site in 1853 as a schoolhouse and moved to its present position in 1962. It is furnished in period style and illustrates life in a well-to-do 19th C household.
Hours
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed | 11:00 | 11:00 |
| Close | 15:30 | 15:30 |
St Mary's Church
On Marsland Hill, in the center of the town, is one of the oldest stone churches in New Zealand (built for Bishop Selwyn in 1842), with a fine interior. During the land wars it served as a military post and ammunition depot. In the churchyard are the graves of early settlers.
Taranaki Museum
The Taranaki Museum has a large collection of Maori objects from the region, including a stone used as an anchor, a stone axe from an ancestral canoe, a chief's cloak, old sculpture and woodcarving. There is also material on the early days of the settlers.
The Gables
Nearby is The Gables, a wooden house built in 1848. It was originally a hospital but later was used as military quarters and an old people's home. It was moved to its present site in the early 20th C. It is now used for art exhibitions and cultural events.
New Plymouth Surroundings
Hurworth, New Zealand
A few kilometers south of New Plymouth is the old immigrant settlement of Hurworth, which still preserves a small homestead built in 1855 by Harry Atkinson (1831-92), an opponent of Governor Gray who played a prominent part in the Taranaki land war and later became a highly respected politician (three times premier of New Zealand).
Kori Pa
South of the little town of Oakura, a short distance inland, is Kori Pa, a fortified Maori settlement. Standing high above the river, it seems almost impregnable. However, it was abandoned in 1820 when the local Taranaki tribes fled before the Waikato tribes, who were armed with guns.
Manukorihi Pa
The fortified Maori village of Manukorihi Pa has a meeting house with magnificent carving. It was built in 1936 in honor of the influential Maori politician Maui Wiremu Pomare.
Oaonui, New Zealand
50km southwest of New Plymouth is Oaonui, the supply base for the two offshore production platforms in the Maui natural gas field. The visitor center provides information about the extraction of natural gas from the continental shelf.
Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust
In the nearby expanse of rain forest between mounts Patuha (683m) and Pouakai (1400m) is the Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust, a large nature reserve that is brilliant with blossom in spring.
Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust Inc
2290 Carrington Road
New Plymouth, Taranaki
New Zealand
2290 Carrington Road
New Plymouth, Taranaki
New Zealand
Hours
April 1 to August 31
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 |
| Close | 15:00 | 15:00 | 15:00 | 15:00 | 15:00 | 15:00 | 15:00 |
September 1 to March 31
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 |
| Close | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 |
Always closed on:
Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Facilities
Gift shop
Restaurant or food service
Restaurant or food service
Pukerangiora Pa
8km northeast of Inglewood, in a densely forested area, is the fortified Maori village of Pukerangiora Pa.
Pungarehu, New Zealand
At Pungarehu, 40km southwest of New Plymouth, a road goes off to Cape Egmont, with a lighthouse built in 1881. On the cape are numerous striking conical lava formations.
Puniho, New Zealand
At Puniho, 30km southwest of New Plymouth, is a rock that, according to the Maori legend, was brought here by the volcano Taranaki in his flight from the central plateau. To the Maoris the rock was sacred, and on certain ceremonies was draped in a chief's cloak. To touch the rock could be fatal: it is said that 70 enemy warriors who had carried it off all died that day, whereupon the rock returned by itself to its original position. The stone's magical powers declined at the coming of the European settlers, and it can now be touched without evil consequences.
Parihaka
(Near New Plymouth)
3km higher up (starting from Pungarehu) is the village of Parihaka, established by the Maori leaders Te Whiti and Tohu. In 1866 the villagers began a campaign of passive resistance and civil disobedience against the government; in 1881 the two leaders were arrested and kept in prison, without trial, for almost 2 years, and their village was destroyed. The conflict between the Maoris and the whites was not settled until 1926, when the government agreed to pay compensation. The village is now a center of the Maori revival. Here too is Te Whiti's grave. Visitors to the village should respect the feelings of the Maoris.
Urenui, New Zealand
15km further east is Urenui, birthplace of the famous Maori scholar and politician Peter Buck, who is buried under a stone canoe prow near the old Maori fortified settlement of Okoki Pa.
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