collections
about our Collections
The Collections have a Wellington history focus, including its civic, social, cultural, maritime and economic development. They have been established through the transferral of material from the Wellington Maritime Museum Trust, the Colonial Cottage Trust and the Cable Car Museum. READ MORE about our Collections
Plimmer's Ark
Beneath what is now a central city building, the remains of a sailing ship were uncovered in 1997. The remains were the hull sections of the 1848 sailing ship Inconstant which became a warehouse known as Plimmer's Ark. At two conservation sites the Plimmer’s Ark Project tells the story of the Inconstant - of Plimmer’s Ark and its owner John Plimmer - and shows the conservation of the timber remains of the Ark. READ MORE Plimmer's Ark
cataloguing
This is a systematic documentation of the museum’s vast Collections, recording the physical details and location of each object and then searching museum records to collate all relevant information. The Museum uses Vernon Systems (a computer-based object cataloguing system) to catalogue its objects, with the majority of work completed by our wonderful Museum volunteers. Find out about our current cataloguing projects. READ MORE cataloguing
research
Items in the Collections are available to other institutions for research purposes or for general public viewing. READ MORE research
resources
Find out more information on Wellington history with our fact sheets or view the entire exhibition archive. READ MORE resources
Stereoscope (on display at Colonial Cottage Museum)
One of the world’s most popular forms of entertainment in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the stereoscope tradition continues today as the popular children’s toy the Viewfinder. Though not inexpensive, at least one of these entertainment devices was to be found in nearly every middle and upper class parlour of the time.
The Colonial Cottage was built by William Wallace in 1858 after he and his wife Catherine emigrated from England in 1857. Prior to his arrival William, a talented carpenter, found work with Sir Joseph Paxton who employed a large band of men to erect the famous Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London. It was here at the Great Exhibition of 1851 that Queen Victoria took a fancy to the stereoscope with stereo viewing soon becoming all the rage in Britain until the 1930s.
Effectively the first 3-D technology, it uses a technique for enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth. In a time before television and air travel, it allowed people to tour the world and experience the great events of their day from the comfort of an armchair.