Museum of Te Wairoa

The Buried Village, Te Wairoa, destroyed by the eruption of Mt Tarawera in 1886, is today a living museum where visitors can wander through site excavations and displays. Experiencing a first hand insight into the devastation, chaos and mayhem that transpired on the night Mt Tarawera erupted.

Visitors can take an emotional journey through the museum which tells the fascinating story of Te Wairoa village, the voyages to the Pink and White Terraces and the eruption of Mount Tarawera.

The museum is dynamic and interactive, informing and entertaining, an educational resourse where you discover the history of Mäori and European settlement, the fusion of two cultures and the birthplace tourism in New Zealand. This journey ends with the devastating and emotional story of Mount Tarawera's eruption, the most recent in New Zealand history. Also included in the museum are displays on archaeology and vulcanology, and a children's discovery room.