Preview  Design preview (v2) for the Sumner-Redcliffs Historical Society — not the live website yet.
Sumner-Redcliffs Historical Society seal Sumner Museum Sumner-Redcliffs Historical Society
Collections

Our collections

We hold photographs, documents, maps, artefacts and other items that reflect the people, places and events of Sumner, Redcliffs, Mount Pleasant, Moncks Bay, Clifton, Scarborough and the surrounding coastal communities — and we continue to evolve ways of sharing these and the personal stories behind them.

We are currently working on ways to increasingly share our collections online, so treat this page as a work in progress — there is exciting work ahead for our volunteers, and you will see more here as it happens.

In the museum now

A glimpse of the displays

Display case of Victorian and Edwardian dresses on mannequins, with shoes and accessories below
A century of costume — dresses and finery worn in the bays.
Display of historical toys including a rocking horse, dolls and a toy car
Childhood in the bays — toys and games from local families.
A large handmade dolls' house, open to show its furnished rooms
A much-loved dolls’ house, made and donated by a Sumner family.
Adzes and stone tools laid out with donor labels, including pounamu pieces
Adzes found at Redcliffs and beyond — taonga reflecting early Māori occupation of the bays, donated by local families.
Black and white photograph of the Sumner lifeboat crew in Life Boat jerseys, seated on a bench
The Sumner lifeboat crew — from the museum’s photograph collection.
Framed Weekly Press page: Beautiful Christchurch — some typical houses in Sumner
“The seaside resort, famous for the mildness of its winter climate” — the Weekly Press on Sumner’s houses.
Framed 1913 sale plan of The Sumner Estate, auctioned in Christchurch
Sale plan of The Sumner Estate, auctioned on 5 March 1913.
Framed photograph board of the Sumner Borough Council jubilee, 1900
Sumner Borough Council at the 1900 jubilee — part of our local government collection.
An 1842 French nautical chart of Banks Peninsula from the ship Le Rhin
A French chart of Banks Peninsula from the ship Le Rhin, 1842.
The collection, online

We are digitising our records and photographs

Our volunteers are steadily digitising the museum’s photographs, documents and objects so they can be explored from anywhere. As the work progresses, our records will be shared through Canterbury Stories, Christchurch City Libraries’ digital heritage collection, where the region’s community archives can be explored by anyone.

The online collection is not live yet — watch our Facebook page for news. If you would like to help with the digitisation, we would love to hear from you.

Help us digitise
Research

Resources for researchers

Family history

The museum has a range of resources that are useful for family history research. We hold files on some local families, with copies of documents, photographs, family diaries and other records. Family histories are collected by the museum and become part of the reference library (access by appointment).

Local government collections

Within the museum’s archives are minute books, letter books, statements of accounts and lists of ratepayers related to the council.

Photographs and pictures

A variety of historic plans and photographs are held by the museum. The photograph collection contains a large number of identified individual and group portraits, as well as photographs of particular buildings, locations and occasions. We are in the process of digitising many of our records and photographs.

Reference library

Published and unpublished books, articles, theses and family histories related to Banks Peninsula.

Collections by subject

The museum has collections relating to many individuals, families, organisations and industries in our local area.

Schools

We offer assistance with the development of programmes for school visits.

Wall of framed portraits and certificates, including Mary Ann Rule of the Cave Rock Hotel, 1875
Portraits and records of the families who shaped the bays.
Research visits and school bookings are essential.
Email sumnermuseum@gmail.com and our volunteers will arrange a time.
Every object has a keeper

Help us bring the collection online

Cataloguing, scanning, uploading, identifying faces and places — this is work many hands make light. Join as a member for $5 a year, or volunteer some time with a friendly crew.

Join or volunteer