I must confess, I wasn't impressed with the site during my first 10 minutes at the place.  After just having visited the Railroad Museum for the second time in Sacramento last May and then the National Automobile Museum in Reno last June, I was not so impressed with the MOTAT's exhibit of early automobiles as well as the very first plane invented by an New Zealander.  As we spent more time in the place however, I did appreciate it more and more and concluded that it is indeed a good place to spend time and learn about New Zealand history.

MOTAT was initially established for the purpose of convserving Auckland's original Pumphouse.  In its day, the Pumphouse was considered one of the most advanced public water supply systems in the world.  The Pumphouse was built after the newly created Auckland City Council financed the construction of a permanent water supply from Western Springs.  The council engaged the services of famed engineer, William Errington, to design and construct the Pumphouse and Boiler House.  The mighty beam engines pumped the water up the hills to reservoirs at the top of Ponsonby, Khyber Pass and Mt. Eden Roads from where it was distributed.  The Pumphouse was re-opened to its former glory in September 2008.

One of the exhibits I saw in MOTAT was the aircraft built by KIWI Richard Pearse last 1903.  One museum guide stated that the Wright Brothers of the USA beat Mr. Pearse by just a few days in creating the world's first flying engine.  Here is the replica of the airplane created by the KIWI inventor.

This is the side view of the plane.

The Road Transport, Galaxy of Cars from the 1860s to the modern times

I went to the National Automobile Museum in Reno just a month prior to my visit to Auckland and I must say the collection here at the MOTAT is just a fraction of what one will see in the Reno's famed museum.  What makes MOTAT special though is that all the cars on display here are either made in New Zealand or were transported form England.

The 1962 Standard Vanguard 6