What's on at Air Force Museum of New Zealand
Latest from the museum
Birthday Parties
Mission: Best birthday ever
Zip up a flight suit, grab your dog tags, and dive into a fully hosted birthday “mission”. From air & sea adventures for preschoolers to rescue and cadet challenges for older children. Our Programmes team runs the activities, the children get awesome photo moments (and party bags), and you can add catering through our café.
Book a birthday party
Latest Exhibition
Victory!
It is 80 years since the end of the Second World War.
Our Victory exhibition, upstairs in the atrium, marks this significant milestone in world history, and the story of the RNZAF.
Victory includes images and memories of Victory in Europe (VE) Day and Victory over Japan (VJ) Day which have been sourced from photographs, letters, postcards and personal histories in our collection.
Victory includes insights into how Kiwis celebrated, and how they felt.
Many found it difficult to rejoice after so much loss and suffering.
You’re welcome to come along and learn all about the end of World War Two with us.
Exhibition
The Mighty Hercules
The Mighty Hercules exhibition is on in the Cochrane Gallery upstairs in our atrium. Come and visit and learn all about this extraordinary aircraft.
Learn More
Update
Overseas visitor charge
A $15 entry charge was introduced for all international visitors to the Air Force Museum of New Zealand from 31 March 2025. Tickets available online or from our Welcome Desk on arrival.
The charge is required to cover rising costs and to contribute to our new $20 million extension to house the newest members of our collection – our historic Hercules and Orion aircraft.
Learn More
Our Aircraft
Explore AircraftMore to explore
FREE EVENT SUNDAY! Do you have space-mad kids? Or wonder how, as a student, you can get involved with aerospace, astronomy, or aviation?
We are delighted to be hosting the Christchurch Rocketeers' Rockets & Runways - Astronautical Expo2026 this Sunday 19 April.
Exhibits include:
- Watch a Hobby rocket launch and static rockets on display from the Christchurch Rocketeers, find out how you can get involved with rocketry in NZ!
- Explore the stars in the planetarium from Spaceward Bound!
- Find out how you can become an Aeronautical Engineer with Air New Zealand’s Training Academy!
- Explore the fundamentals of flight with the Royal Aeronautical Society!
- Learn about history’s famous rockets with the scale rocket display from It’s Not Rocket Science
- Learn about how you can get involved in Astronomy with Canterbury Astronomical Society
- See the awesome projects UC Aerospace is working on and some of their past competition winning rockets, and learn how Uni students can be involved in the aerospace industry!
- Talk Space and space companies with the experts, touch a piece of rocket that’s returned from space, and see the awesome collection of space memorabilia with the Christchurch Rocketeers!
- Take a photo with our huge inflatable Moon and post to social media for your chance to win a prize pack of aerospace goodies!
Sunday April 19th (last day of the school holidays) from 10am to 4pm at our place.
The Air Force Museum of New Zealand, 45 Harvard Avenue, Wigram.
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We’re excited to see everyone tomorrow and share our passion for Aerospace, Aviation, and Astronomy!
Mikayla Blackmore
HALLELUJAH! Lyall Matchett - who looks after our museum facilities for us - has been learning the trumpet in his spare time.
For the past four months he's also been managing the much-anticipated refurbishment of our roof which has a new skin after 40 years of enduring Canterbury weather.
We'd like to thank all our visitors for their patience, our staff and cafe team for putting up with the disruption, and our contractors for all the hard work.
Most of all we'd like to thank Lyall - who wanted to celebrate in style!
Thanks Lyall and please, come and see our new roof in time for the most important day in our calendar - Anzac Day.
Our Anzac Service will be held at 12pm o#newroofi#CanterburyWeathernterburyweather ... See MoreSee Less
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Lyall is a star, in so many ways. 😎
Great job Lyall :-)
Awesome 👌 👏 👍
CHAMPION RETURNS: How cool is this?
Kiwi motorsport legend Craig Baird came home to our place and took time to talk us through how the Wigram Airfield track worked, and what he used to look out for.
It is a short 33 years since Craig last raced around Wigram, and he could remember every bit of the track layout from the hangers to Bomb Bay!
Craig won the Lady Wigram trophy at what was the Wigram Airfield Circuit in its motorsport heyday.
The best of the best competed for the trophy on our 3.5 km circuit between 1951 and 1994, and previous winners include Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart.
As well as a Lady Wigram winner, Craig is also a multiple New Zealand Grand Prix champion and has a trophy cabinet that qualifies him as one of the finest drivers to come out of New Zealand motorsport.
These days Craig is the Drivers’ Standards observer for Supercars and is in town for the racing at Ruapuna this weekend.
Welcome home Craig.
#v8supercars
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This is an AWESOME POST......STILL.....A FABULOUS LOCATION.....and, 'YES'......A LARGE C130H HERCULES AIRCRAFT, DID LAND HERE, in 2025....Awaiting a NEW HANGAR, AT BASE WIGRAM, CHCH, to House IT, n it's fellow Retired RNZAF ORION.....So, PLEASE FOLKS.....IF YOU ARE ABLE....PLEASE HELP IN THERE FUND RAISING....THEY REQUIRE $18M......The City n People of CHCH, HAVE KINDLY DONATED $9M.....THIS IS A CITY THAT IS STILL WORKING VERY HARD TO RECOVER FROM ITS DEVASTATING N TRAGIC 2011 EARTHQUAKE.....So, come on Fellow KIWIs....ONLY....IF U R ABLE TOO....MANY MANY THANKS....N DO KEEP VERY WELL N SAFE OUT THERE.....Oh, n the Lady WIGRAM RACES.....ABSOLUTE STUNNING, 4 NZ, AT THAT TIME, WITH THE ACTUAL N REAL F1 WORLD CHAMPIONS, OF THAT TIME, ...JIM CLARK, JACKIE STEWART, GRAHAM HILL N JACK BRABHAM, just to name a few, RACING HERE, IN NZ, WITH OUR VERY OWN NZ F1 WORLD CLASS DRIVERS...Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme n Chris Amon, also Competing....A GREAT RACING TRACK, A WONDERFUL MEMORY....AGAIN....MANY THANKS FOR POSTING....
Allan Moffat & Jim Richards Drifting Through Bombay Curves, Wigram Airbase Track, Almost Side By Side. Kudo's To Terry Mashall For The Photo.
Craig has won the most races in the world for Porche and his last Bathurst was with Peter Brock in Armorall Commodore
Go grab a car and do a few laps of whats there Bairdo!
I used to go there often when I was a child… my uncle worked at Wigram… and both my late parents trained there in the military
I joined the RNZAF as an adult recruit January 1970. I asked and was given permission to race my 250cc Suzuki motorcycle in the support races for the Lady Wigram. I recall it was very bumpy past 1 and 2 hangars. 120 mph down the main taxiway (runway).
A great track with good history. Before Wigram it was a horse track plumton park.last event for motorcycles was 1923. The horse guys never liked the bike guys being there. 1923 bike guys were allowed back before closure and construction of wigram airbase. Rode the circuit 3 times BM100 ,Duke900 MHR,HD XR1000 BLACK ADDER. hold a good line across the drain. One classic event for bikes & cars we saw the historic Alfa P3 racecar. Wigram should have been saved and treated like hagley park. What an asset it could have been to our city.
It was fantastic high speed circuit. When I first started going there , racers like Graham Hill,Jochen Rindt, Piers Courage ,Chris Amon and many other F1 drivers and cars raced there, and supported by the top saloon drivers from NZ and Aussie. Such exciting racing 😎
My uncle raced for the Lady Wigram trophy a few times back in the early 60s. Great history to the race & some pretty impressive names that have participated over the years.
Some great memories of watching the likes of Kenny Smith, Davey Jones, Paul Radisich & of course Craig Baird doing battle at Wigram. It always produced great racing from Mini 7s to OSCAs
I remember when Base Wigram closed there was discussion on keeping the track Having Polytechnic in the hangers for automotive trades etc
The air force motorcycle club used to have a meet once a month back in the 80s. Raced my bike a few times there.
Managed to make the 1994 one after I joined... after listening to dad talk about the Lady Wigram Trophy Race my entire life when I was growing up. I do have a kodak picture at mum's place of a Ferrari 308 (or 328) beside an Aermacchi MB339CB.... Just wish we could find an Aermacchi motorcycle to put in the picture too.
what a positive post; great to listen to -get it on tv coverage of Supercars event over this weekend; aim to get more people to visit museum as an option.
Great memories of Wigram you have.As a young person my Father used to take me there. You knew Ray Perry (RIP) in Australia.I new him here in Christchurch,we were both in the same Hot_ Rod Club.
I was a grid marshal at that final event. Was a good one!
Was an awesome place to work on Formula Pacific cars in the day
It was a great day out at wigram forsure
Craig Looking Good Mate.
I lived across from that area, used to sit on our roof to watch it as well.👍😃
A terrible loss to the people of Christchurch..
I am 70 and as a child lived on the base . A house just behind the hanger near the jail . Great memories of going to these races. Have a book with all the guys signatures . Hay bails in those days . Also the formula cars
Good old days 👍
Donald McClure
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