Museum Building · Wellington, New Zealand
Te Papa Museum
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Built 1992–1998. It drew 808,706 visitors in 2021.
Photo: Ulrich Lange, Bochum, Germany via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped and resized for display.
Landmark facts
| Location | Wellington, New Zealand |
|---|---|
| Type | Museum Building |
| Built | 1992–1998 |
| Architect | Jasmax |
| Annual visitors (2021) | 808,706 |
| Coordinates | 41.2906° S, 174.7819° E |
Every fact above is taken from the sources listed below; anything no source states is left blank rather than guessed.
What Te Papa Museum is known for
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington.
About Te Papa Museum
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa (Māori for 'the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand and the National Art Gallery. An average of more than 1.1 million people visit every year, making it the 58th-most-visited art gallery in the world in 2023.
History
The first predecessor to Te Papa was the Colonial Museum, founded in 1865 with Sir James Hector as founding director. The museum was built on Museum Street, roughly in the location of the present day Defence House office building. The museum prioritised scientific collections but also acquired a range of other items, often by donation, including prints and paintings, ethnographic curiosities, and items of antiquity.
Planning a visit? Visit the official Te Papa Museum website — the official site has the current visiting information.
How to get there
| Nearest town | Wellington |
|---|---|
| Nearest airport | Wellington International Airport (WLG) |
| Distance from the airport | 3.1 miles (straight line) |
Nearest major airport by straight-line distance from the landmark’s coordinates; road distance will be longer.
Airports near this landmark
The airports a visitor would actually fly into, nearest first — each link opens its profile on our sister site AirportProfiles.
- Wellington International Airport (WLG) · Wellington, New Zealand · 2.8 miles away
Landmarks nearby
The closest landmarks in this library, by straight-line distance.
More landmarks in New Zealand
More museum buildings
Frequently asked questions
What is Te Papa Museum?
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington.
Where is Te Papa Museum located?
Te Papa Museum is in Wellington, New Zealand. Its coordinates are 41.2906° S, 174.7819° E.
How do I get to Te Papa Museum?
The nearest town is Wellington, and the nearest airport is Wellington International Airport (WLG), about 3.1 miles away (straight line).
When was Te Papa Museum built?
Te Papa Museum was built 1992–1998.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Te_Papa — Wikipedia article — overview, history and core facts (CC BY-SA).
- https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q915603 — Wikidata — built year, architect, height/size, visitors, official website (CC0).
- https://www.tepapa.govt.nz — Official website of the landmark / managing body.
- https://github.com/jbrooksuk/JSON-Airports — Nearest major airport computed from landmark and airport coordinates (haversine); airport list: jbrooksuk/JSON-Airports.
Page last updated 13 November 2026.