TAIRAWHITI MUSEUM

The Tairawhiti Museum boasts a collection of Taonga Māori ("Taonga" translates as "treasure" and consists of any object or intangible thing of great cultural significance), a photo collection and an art gallery displaying works by local artists. Attached to the museum, on the banks of the Taruheru River, you can explore a piece of the SS Star of Canada, a 12,000-ton steam freighter that was wrecked on Kaiti Beach in 1912. You can also visit Wyllie Cottage, the first European house built in the region in 1872.