Packards galore & so much more!
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Cars from 1919 to 1939 sit downstairs, just inside the door from our main reception.
Walk through to the second bay of Shed 1 where you’ll find four Fire engines from the 1920s – 1950s on display:
Two Dennis Fire Trucks
A Karrier Fire Truck
1924 Chevrolet Fire Pump
These sit alongside traction engines and trucks.
From time to time, other items are kept this area - like the sleek Peugeot Dragster.
And head upstairs to view the Motorcycle collection, typewriters, sewing machines, cameras and the world famous (in Maungatapere, at least) collection of potato mashers!
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The museum’ founder, Graham Craw, was quick to fill this shed after the collection was relocated to its current site.
Walk into this shed and be amazed. In here you will discover an extensive collection of Allis Chalmers bulldozers (the largest being the massive HD19 and the HD21) as well as a number of Caterpillar machines. A very interesting bulldozer is the Vickers VR180 with its tank tracks. In amongst all the big machines you might discover the tiny Ransomes crawler tractor used for cultivating.
It’s not all bulldozers. You will find a collection of International trucks ranging from the 1920s through to the 1970s. We also have a collection of army vehicles including a very rare Le Tourneau motor-scraper used at the end of WW2. This machine was dropped by parachute and used to reinstate airfields in Pacific that had been bombed, allowing planes to land again. Road-rollers, graders, farm tractors, horse-drawn wagons; this shed contains a treasure trove of the interesting and unusual.
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The ‘Lean To’ holds an assortment of vehicles – some of which don’t sit logically within the other collections – but many of which probably need little introduction and sure to spark fond memories for some.
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The ‘Mostly English’ shed includes the Land Rover the Queen used during her New Zealand tour in 1953, a Morris, Hilman Hunter, Austin – and some not so British vehicles such as the Nash, a Hudson, a Studebaker, VW and New Zealand’s own Trekka.
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Think big! A room full of Packards and a limousine that was rumoured to have been used by Eisenhour.
Picking up where Shed 1 leaves off (in 1939), Shed 5 holds Packard cars up to 1958.
Add to this, there are currently four Studebakers.
The Packard Collection
One of the largest collections in the world, The Packard Motor Museum is home to a collection of around 60 vehicles – with cars ranging from 1919 to 1958 – and the chassis of two Packard trucks, circa 1915.
The Packard Collection is stored in two of the five sheds on site.
Shed 1 - The Old Packard Room showing the early Packard’s starting with our 1919 Opera Coupe and encompassing a line-up of 1920s and early 1930s cars.
Shed 5 - The New Packard Shed – houses the more modern Packards, from 1938 through to the 1958 Packard Hawk, one of the last cars off the production line.
Graham Craw’s first Packard was a 1924 maroon & cream single eight. Rumour has it that on a trip back from Te Puke, he once removed the back seats to transport sheep he had purchased on the way. As a Kiwi farmer, Graham was nothing if not practical!
Alongside one another coupes, sedans, hearse and limousines give a detailed timeline and account of the history of the Packard vehicles. See for yourself the sheer luxury that these vehicles embodied.
Increase your appreciation of the capability of some of the touring models when you get up close to a Merlin super-charged V-12 engine, just inside the door of Shed 1.
The Packard Collection
For a detailed list of vehicles currently held by the museum
Classic motorbikes
With over 63 classic and vintage motorcycles, this part of the collection will make the motorcycle-enthusiast drool. Most of the bikes are British but there are a few American Indians and an early Harley Davidson. The collection includes some famous makes such as Norton, Rudge, Brough Superior, Triumph, Ariel, BSA, Royal Enfield, Vincent and 12 Velocettes. The collection also includes some unusual makes like the Coventry Eagle, Panther and the New Zealand-built Mountain Goat.
Our oldest bike is a 1904 Peugeot; a great example of how the first motorbikes were really a bicycle with a motor and a strengthened frame. This bike has a V-twin engine but no starter motor, brakes or clutch.
The ‘Mostly British’ Shed
Walk into this shed and maybe you’ll find the car you learnt to drive in or the car Granddad owned when you were little. Our collection which includes Morris, Austin, Triumph, Rover, Armstrong-Sidley and the unforgettable Ford Prefect will bring back memories for many visitors.
One of the most interesting cars in this shed is the 1922 Jewett, an American car with a boat-tail rear end.
We also have the Royal Blue, Series 1 Landrover used by the Queen during her visit to New Zealand in 1953. For a bit of fun, we let our visitors stand on the back where the Queen stood, and have their photo taken .
The cars in this shed range from the 1920s to the 1980s and to add interest we also have mannequins clothed in period clothing, starting from 1920 and going though to 1980.
Military
We have a selection of WW2 military weapons including antique firearms, ceremonial and combat uniforms from 1850 – 1945, Army trucks, Daimler Ferret Scout Car, Jeeps, motorbikes and a Flying Tournapull that was parachuted into Pacific islands for airfield reconstruction work. We also have Bofors anti-aircraft gun and a gun turret off the WW2 Cruiser HMNZS Achilles.
On display are engines used for both marine and aeronautical use, including a rare Packard/Merlin Mustang engine, the 12-cylinder Napier Lion engine (“W” configuration) a 1932 Lycoming radial engine and the Gypsy Moth engine used in the Tiger Moth.
The ordnance includes a WWI 4.5″ Howitzer, black powder cannons used for signalling, and a naval gun turret from the HMNZS Achilles.
What else will we see?
Ground Level sheds
On ground level there are five sheds to view.
And although known for our incredible Packard collection, there is so much more to see.
The museum has grown over the years to include machinery that emerged during the Industrial Revolution. These take up the largest of the sheds on site, aptly named, ‘The Big Shed 2’. Here you will find many of the vehicles that cleared the land and which helped build the infrastructure we rely on now.
In our collection there are four Traction Engines :
Garrett
Burrell
McLaren
John Fowler.
We also have a restored Dubs 0-4-0 Steam Engine built in 1873, a restored engineers railway jigger from 1895, a motorised jigger, several large steam engine headlights and platform furniture, including 3 baggage trolleys.
Walk through and take in:
The Packard car collection
The ‘Mostly English’ car collection
Traction engines
Fire engines
Trucks
Military vehicles
Graders
Tractors
Bulldozers
Lawn mowers
Tools
Pumps
Motors
Gramophones
Irons
Upstairs
The collection of motorcycles, typewriters, telephones, sewing machines, cameras and more are kept upstairs.
Motor cycles
Typewriters
Sewing machines
Telephones
Cameras
And the possibly now famous (in Maungatapere, at least) ‘potato masher’ collection
No matter what your interest we are bound to have something for you here. Graeme collected anything that resulted from the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Many domestic items that had changed the way people lived caught his eye.
The collection includes:
Saws and early chain-saws, telephones, early vacuum cleaners, toy cars from the 1920’s, vintage radio collection, early sewing machines, money box collection, NZ uniforms from 1850 – 1945, goat and dog carts, lantern projector (1890) + early French slide viewer, rifles, flintlock pistols, machine guns, bayonets and swords, cast iron stoves, early carpenters’ tools early saddlers’ and leather tools steam models (static).