Auckland War Memorial Museum

The Dawn service at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, 25 April 1986 (Anzac Day). The Dawn Service was introduced to New Zealand in 1939 by Australian veterans who had attended a similar service in Sydney the previous year.

Building a new museum

Information from Manukau City Council.

9 October 1928 - the Auckland War Memorial Museum Maintenance Act 1928 comes into force. This requires local bodies within the Auckland region to contribute to the maintenance and support of the Museum. This includes Otahuhu Borough, Manukau County, and Howick, Papatoetoe and Papakura town districts. The museum is opened on 28 November 1929.

The Roll of Honour, unveiled on 24 April 1932, commemorates servicemen born in or from Auckland Province who gave their lives during the First World War.

The Auckland Museum was first established in October 1852 and moved into a purpose-built building in Princes Street in 1876. This became notably short of space, and in 1918 the Auckland Museum Council proposed to build a new museum on a new site to the east of the city combined with a memorial to those Aucklanders who had died during the Great War.

The Auckland City Council was an early and generous contributor. Nonetheless, the funds the Museum Council could raise fell far short of what was needed. The Auckland Museum Empowering Act 1924 (Local and Personal Acts No. 1) empowered Auckland City Council to levy a rate to subsidise the museum.

The Auckland Museum Council sought assistance from other local bodies in the region. Some gave willingly, others were at first reluctant to help: 'War Memorial Museum: Contributions to Upkeep: Opposition by Papakura', NZ Herald, 29/5/28, p. 10; cf. "The Papatoetoe Town Board met last evening ... Messrs. H.E. Vaile and G. Archey, representing the Auckland Museum Council attended to give details of the financial call on local bodies, for the maintenance of the museum. The board expressed its sympathy with the council's objectives and promised to render all assistance posible ...", Papatoetoe News, NZ Herald, 27/6/28, p. 14; 'Otahuhu Borough: Contribution to Museum: Council Gives Approval', NZ Herald, 29/6/28, p. 16; 'Papakura Town Board: Auckland Museum Bill: Decision to Give Support', NZ Herald, 26/9/28, p. 16.

It wasn't enough. Subsequently the Auckland War Memorial Museum Maintenance Act 1928 (Local and Personal Acts, No. 19) made it compulsory for other local bodies within the region to contribute to the museum's upkeep. The museum was opened on 28 November 1929. The Maintenance Act was amended in 1931, 1945, 1953 and 1963.

The museum's otherwise informative official history has surprisingly little to say about its funding (Richard Wolfe, A Noble Prospect: 75 Years of the Auckland War Memorial Museum Building, Auckland, 2004.