What can I say? We cruise up a long drive and immediately see a beautiful old locomotive waiting to be restored to its former glory. We park, and make our way to a large shed whose door is enticingly ajar. We peep in, and immediately two gentlemen welcome and inform us about this wonderful museum. Housed in an old Dairy Factory, the numerous sheds are a treasure trove of military and agricultural equipment, including stationary engines, locomotives, domestic apparatus, telephone exchanges and even an electron microscope! And then there are the fields of machinery, trucks and cars which are just begging to be restored - and then there is another door, to another shed, housing the most mind-boggling collection of "stuff" we have ever seen. Fascinating to say the least.... the passionate people who can be found amongst the dust and devices, are so willing to inform and help you understand the machines and equipment of yester-year. A must see museum... I would love to be a part of it, especially in restoring that lovely steam locomotive.... just as well there are a few of us who get excited about such things!
What a great place for the kids to run off some energy! It's the nearest thing Gisborne has to a theme park!! Huge sheds full of olde worlde stuff that Grandparents can remember and the kids can handle, run around and climb on. There is very little you are asked not to touch, so the kids love it. It is so reasonable at only $5 per adult and $1 a child, you could spend hours there. The volunteer staff are friendly and helpful. They could make more money if they sold ice cream, lollies and drinks, but one gets the feeling that its not about money, more a love for old things. They will,be seeing more of our family!
There is an awful lot to see here, with six sheds full of mechanical things saved from being lost. A lot of it is not well displayed and seems to be I storage until one of the volunteers can restore it. Having said that though it is fascinating to look at the old cars, and petrol pumps, and a shed full of fire engines, and farm machines.I enjoyed the display area that had been more professionally out together, which had domestic equipment if the ages lined up. Ovens, vacuum cleaners, some highly decorated sewing machines.Worth the five dollar entry fee to ensure more of the items can be preserved.Note children are asked not to climb all over the machines, despite what other reviewers imply.
A real taste of the past. they display all sorts of older stuff, from an electron microscope to an airport fire engine, bren gun carriers to NZ made "jeeps"from the 70s
Like every farmers shed of useful stuff but on a huge scale. Fire engines, cars, bikes, household appliances, farm equipment, petrol pumps, oil cans, butter churns, switchboards etc Messy than MOTAT but way more stuff to look at - the boys loved it.
The ship was very interesting Very well laid out nuseum
Having visited this Museum 20 years ago as a teenager, I was keen to come back and see what it was like now. It is still awesome as ever, and would recommend to all. The price is inexpensive at only $5 per adult, and has something of interest for everyone. The caretakers are informative and very welcoming, and are real characters! You can tell the LOVE what they do. So much has changed and expanded over 20 years. The different sheds/ rooms are organised by different sorts of technology, and takes you back through the ages, which was a real blast from the past. We really enjoyed it. It is a Gisborne MUST DO. Will be back and will definately recommend. I am so glad this treasure is still around.
Kids would be fascinated by the antique fire engines and all sorts of appliances from this museum. Not just a boy's thing, my girls enjoyed it too!
ECMoT has an amasing collection of bizarre and unusual items. Run by an enthusiastic bunch of volunteers, the museum has been working continuously to improve it's facilities and displays, and has made massive changes in the last 2 years. Collections include fire engine, stationary motors, railway equipment, model railway, military vehicles, tractors and agricultural equipment and much much more. Recent additions include a display of vintage radios and gramophones, and early computers.The museum also holds live days where they bring out equipment and start it up so the public can see it running. And can take children for rides in fire engines vintage buses and army vehicles. Dates of the live days can be seen on the museum website: www.ecmot.org.nz
A great place with lots of old commercial trucks that need attention to save from the elements for the next generations. The guys do good work but it looks like they need help to keep things on track, may be some funding from somewhere? for more sheds.I called in for a quick look and stayed for hours so much interesting things to see. Reminded me of everyday goods that simply have vanished from stores and simple times of an early NZ life.A must see in my opinion keep up the good work team :)