Southward Car Museum

The Southward Car Museum is an automobile museum and event centre established by Len Southward in the 1970s to house his collection. The museum has a collection of over 400 vehicles, as well as three aircraft. It is in Otaihanga, just north of Paraparaumu on the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand's North Island. The museum is run by a charitable trust.[1]

Southward Car Museum
Established1979 (1979)
TypeCar museum
FounderLen Southward
Websitehttps://www.southwardcarmuseum.co.nz/
The entrance to Southward Car Museum from Otaihanga Road.
Exterior of Southward Car Museum, Otaihanga, New Zealand

The museum is about one hour's drive from Wellington and is situated between the North Island Main Trunk railway to the west and State Highway 1 to the east. It is a purpose-built building, featuring a 6000 square metre exhibition hall, engineering workshop, gift shop, and small cafe, all set in park-like grounds.

The building includes a 474-seat theatre the Southward Theatre which features a 1929 Wurtlitzer theatre organ, which was originally installed in the Civic Theatre in Auckland.

History

The core-car collection was the personal work of Sir Len Southward and his wife Vera. A pioneering marine engineering and speed enthusiast, on 22 February 1953 he powered his boat "Redhead" across Wellington harbour to become the first man in Australasia to travel at over 100 mph on water. He established Southward Engineering, which developed from marine engineers into a large steel fabrication business, supplying automotive exhausts, racking, light-walled carbon steel and stainless steel tubing (it is owned today by Melbourne-based Atlas Group). The couple began collecting cars in 1956 with a Ford Model T. Knighted in the 1986 New Year Honours, for services to the community,[2] having established the largest private car collection in Australasia, in 1976 he purchased a 6 hectare site on which to establish a museum open to the public.

Ground was broken on the museum site in 1971, but construction wasn't given council consent until 1977. The museum officially opened on 22 December 1979.[1]

Collection

The museum has about 450 vehicles,[1] which include:

  • 1895 Benz Velo
  • 1934 Cadillac V16 Town Cabriolet previously owned by actress Marlene Dietrich
  • 1938 Bugatti Type 57c
  • 1939 Mercedes Benz 770K

References
  1. Haxton, David (11 December 2020). "Southward Car Museum adds legacy room in honour of Sir Len Southward". New Zealand Media and Entertainment. Kapiti News.
  2. "No. 50362". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 31 December 1985. p. 29.

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