My Waikato Museum

We’re all collectors. Trawling through retro fairs, preserving our grandparents’ letters in the backs of cupboards, holding on to family recipes and teaching them to our kids, or picking up the stones and shells from beaches that trace the journey of our lives. We keep hold of the things that help us tell the stories of who we are, and where we’ve come from.

When COVID-19 meant Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato had to close its doors as the country went into lockdown, we began to think about the collections you have in your own homes. We asked you to share the objects you would include in a ‘museum of you’, using the hashtag #mywaikatomuseum on Facebook and Instagram. The items and stories in this exhibition spring from the #mywaikatomuseum campaign, and feature some of the best of your personal collections.

From your whare taonga to ours, in #mywaikatomuseum we showcase the objects and stories that mean the most to you.

Image: Corey Sayer, Brooch collection, c. 1914-18.