Packard Motor Museum
Cars, cars, cars and yes say the word motor-cycle sixty-five times and that’s what you’ll find in our collection at the Packard Motor Museum. Four large buildings set on five acres – you can display a lot of vehicles in such a place.
That’s what the late Graeme Craw, founder of the Packard Motor Museum did. Graeme started the collection on his farm at Anawhata, West Auckland and as it grew he shifted it to the Old Montana Winery. Changing circumstances meant another shift and the perfect place became available, part of the Old Northern Co-op Dairy Factory at Maungatapere.
The titles Graeme purchased contained a large storage shed, approximately the size of a football field. Graeme’s wife Moira stood in the empty shed and said ‘It will take him years to fill this,’ but six months later, you guessed it, the shed was full.
Graeme was keen on the history of the Industrial Revolution and how the machinery from this time changed the world. The mission of the museum is to exhibit the changes from this period and over the 20th century. The Packard cars are displayed in such a way to show developments, from the wooden spoked wheels of the early cars, through to the V-eight motors and aero wings of the 1950s vehicles.
Today the collection consists of 60 Packards, as well as other American and English cars, motor-cycles, trucks and military vehicles, steam engines and earthmoving machinery. Visitors are taken through the museum with a tour guide. That way we can tell you our stories and you can share yours.
However, we don’t forget the ladies. Our collections include sewing machines, typewriters (remember those things), a great collection of telephones and some early medical equipment, including a cure-your-head-ache with a self-administered electric shock machine.
From time-to-time (most often on a Saturday) we host ‘start up days’. Fenton Craw, the founder’s son, gets a lot of pleasure out of starting the vehicles up and it’s a great opportunity to hear the different engines and ask those interesting questions.
