Collections
Rokowhiria cares for and maintains three collections ranging across art and heritage. These collections belong to the Ashburton Art Gallery Inc., the Ashburton Museum & Historical Society, and the Ashburton District Council.
Ashburton Art Gallery Inc. collection
The Ashburton Art Gallery Inc. collection consists of over 1000 works, plus over 2000 works held on long-term loan. At the centre of the collection is award-winning children’s book author and illustrator David Elliot, whose works make up over half of the permanent collection, and a large majority of the works on loan. The collection also includes pieces by local and significant artists such as Philip Trusttum, Jenna Packer, Rudolf Gopas, Kath Von Tunzelmann, Michael Armstrong, and Austen Deans.
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The Ashburton Museum & Historical Society collection
The Ashburton Museum & Historical Society collection was formally founded in 1976, but contains material collected by the Society from as early as 1958. Consisting of over 10,000 objects, 12,000 archival records, and 220,000 photographic prints, negatives, and digital images, the majority of this collection has been donated to the AM&HS by the general public. As a rich record of the people, places, and stories of the Ashburton district, noteworthy aspects of the collection include negative collections from significant photographers such as Gordon Binstead and Charles Tindall.
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The Civic Art Collection
The Civic Art Collection, owned by Ashburton District Council, consists of 220 works. The collection includes several large-scale artworks commissioned for the opening of Te Whare Whakatere in 2024, including Te Kākano by Hannah Kidd. Other highlights include several significant works by Olivia Spencil Bower, Austen Deans, Llew Summers and John Badcock. Rokowhiria also cares for the Ashburton District Council’s heritage collection of operational records and social history objects, including records of former local government boards and councils.
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Image Captions
Philip Clairmont, The Chair, 1978, oil on hessian, AAG/2026/01. Collection of the Ashburton Art Gallery Incorporated. Gift from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Repatriation Project of 2001).
Electric Chinese lantern, made of carved wood and painted glass panes depicting motifs of dragons, birds, flowers, plants, and butterflies, 1950-1980. AM&HS Collection. Ref: 07.2024.0066.1a-h
Kath Von Tunzelmann, A Canterbury Garden, 1989, watercolour on paper, ADC/2017/05. Collection of The Ashburton District Council | Civic Art Collection, purchased 1989.