Delve a little deeper and the playful peninsula will reward you with an abundance of unexpected delights. Breathe in the ocean air from a seaside café and admire the town’s history and architecture as you explore the township’s vibrant gardens and boutiques.
OUR HISTORY
Open hearts
and open minds.
Akaroa is one of New Zealand’s first
European settlements with a rich Māori
and French history.
AA treasure
and an icon.
Well before Captain Cook set his sights on Akaroa Harbour in the 1770s, Ngāi Tahu Māori had already established a vibrant and thriving way of life amongst the beauty of two extinct volcanoes.
BIn 1840, Akaroa became New Zealand’s only township to be established by French settlers becoming the region’s first substantial European settlement. The area became well known as a safe haven for early whalers and sealers braving the southern oceans beyond its headlands.
CPhoto Credits: Akaroa Museum Collection.
A) Regatta Day, J.L. Buckland, 1931. B) Akaroa Post Office, J.L. Buckland, c.1930. C) T.E. Taylor Merchant Premises, T.E. Taylor Studio, c.1900.
What's on
Akaroa Farmers Market
The Orion Powerhouse Gallery
Comte de Paris 180, an exhibition at Akaroa Museum
From April to June, Akaroa Museum remembers the French and German settlers who arrived in Akaroa on the Comte de Paris in 1840.
A new exhibition...
Akaroa Community Arts Council: Life is Art exhibition
Life Drawings will be on show in a new art space in Akaroa –...
The High Tea Lady
An added bonus for the Easter date is that there is an Easter Church service at the gorgeous Pigeon Bay...
Akaroa Community Arts Council: Cement Garden Art with John Harding, ex WETA Workshop art director
Akaroa Community Arts Council: Easel-ly Arty 2021 – tutored kids drawing workshop
Encouraged by the tremendous success and enthusiastic support of parents and kids from Easel-ly Arty 2019, on we go with our children’s drawing programme. Tutored by local super-experienced artists and kids’...
Akaroa Community Arts Council: Easel-ly Arty 2021 – tutored kids drawing workshop
Encouraged by the tremendous success and enthusiastic support of parents and kids from Easel-ly Arty 2019, on we go with our children’s drawing programme. Tutored by local super-experienced artists and kids’...
Pigeon Bay Settlers' Hall 100 Year Celebration
Bring a picnic lunch and take a Self-Guided Tour to explore. Pigeon Bay's hidden historic sites, houses and gardens.
Maps available from the Hall.
For more information &...