Waipu Museum

The Waipu Museum was established in 1953. Originally referred to as The House of Memories it is now the Waipu Museum. It tells the story of the Nova Scotian migrations from Scotland to Nova Scotia in 1819, then to Australia and New Zealand from 1853 under the leadership of the Rev Norman McLeod. Waipu was the main settlement area for the pioneers, but branches of the families also settled in Leigh, Kauri and Whangarei Heads and Auckland. The building also houses the Waipu Information Centre. The museum houses the history, artefacts, photographs, genealogical information and shipping documents from the migration and early settlement period plus some documents and photographs from later periods in the community’s history.

The Nova Scotians were good shipbuilders, having built their own vessels to take their people from Nova Scotia to Australia and New Zealand. Many shipboard diaries, other shipping documents, ship building tools and navigational equipment are held in the Museum.

Waipu has a twinning relationship with Assynt in Scotland and Cape Breton/St Anns in Nova Scotia. Information dealing with this is held in the Museum.