Toitῡ Otago Settlers Museum’s core collecting criterion is whether an object has significance to the history of Otago and its people. Collecting began in 1898, during celebrations of the Otago province’s 50th jubilee, and focussed on the 19th-century pioneering era. Since the 1980s, however, the museum’s role has broadened to encompass all later periods of Otago history, and so have the collections.

Our collections now include computers and information technology as well as the diverse range of object types previously collected: costume and textiles, artworks, furniture, toys, transport, domestic and technical items, and substantial archival and photographic holdings.

We are currently upgrading our online collections portal. This project has a planned launch date of 2024 and will deliver improved online access to collections and collections research at Toitū.