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Southward Car Museum
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Southward Car Museum
The Southward Car Museum is an automobile museum and event centre in Otaihanga, New Zealand. It was established by Len Southward in the 1970s to house his collection of over 450 vehicles and several aircraft and is now run by a charitable trust.
The purpose-built building includes a 6,000 square metre exhibition hall, engineering workshop, gift shop and small coffee/snack bar, all set in park-like grounds. The building also incorporates the 474-seat Southward Theatre, which features the 1929 Wurlitzer Unit Orchestra theatre organ that was originally installed in the Civic Theatre in Auckland.
The core car collection was the personal work of Len Southward and his wife Vera. The couple began collecting cars in 1956 with a Ford Model T.
Having established the largest private car collection in Australasia, in 1976 Southward purchased a 6-hectare (15-acre) site on which to establish a museum open to the public. Ground was broken on the museum site in 1971, but construction wasn't given council consent until 1977. The museum officially opened on 22 December 1979.
In 2020 a new exhibit in the museum was opened, detailing Len and Vera's lives and achievements, including new digital and material installations.
The museum has about 450 vehicles, which include:
Media related to Southward Car Museum at Wikimedia Commons
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Southward Car Museum
The Southward Car Museum is an automobile museum and event centre in Otaihanga, New Zealand. It was established by Len Southward in the 1970s to house his collection of over 450 vehicles and several aircraft and is now run by a charitable trust.
The purpose-built building includes a 6,000 square metre exhibition hall, engineering workshop, gift shop and small coffee/snack bar, all set in park-like grounds. The building also incorporates the 474-seat Southward Theatre, which features the 1929 Wurlitzer Unit Orchestra theatre organ that was originally installed in the Civic Theatre in Auckland.
The core car collection was the personal work of Len Southward and his wife Vera. The couple began collecting cars in 1956 with a Ford Model T.
Having established the largest private car collection in Australasia, in 1976 Southward purchased a 6-hectare (15-acre) site on which to establish a museum open to the public. Ground was broken on the museum site in 1971, but construction wasn't given council consent until 1977. The museum officially opened on 22 December 1979.
In 2020 a new exhibit in the museum was opened, detailing Len and Vera's lives and achievements, including new digital and material installations.
The museum has about 450 vehicles, which include:
Media related to Southward Car Museum at Wikimedia Commons
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