An hour’s drive from Wellington in New Zealand, on the beautiful Kapiti Coast is the Southward Vintage Car Museum, world renowned for its private owned collection of vintage and veteran cars. Constructed, designed and assembled by the late Sir Len Southward, this remains the largest private collection in the whole Southern Hemisphere. The building comprises of a theatre, conference facilities as well as a café and is set in a six hectare beautifully manicured garden. It is home to over 400 automobiles. Other exhibits include aircraft, bicycles, vintage tools and even a vintage fire engine is on display.
In terms of the automobile collection it comprises of some of the most famous makes and models in the history of classic and vintage cars. Many a car fanatic makes the drive to glimpse the popular vehicles such as Marlene Dietrich’s 1934 Cadillac Town Cabriolet, a gull-winged Mercedes-Benz, a 1915 Stutz Indianapolis race car and an 1895 Benz Velo imported to New Zealand in 1900. Another prized possession on display at the Southward Vintage Car Museum is the 1950 Cadillac “Gangster Special” that had belonged to gangster Mickey Cohen.
A mere glimpse at the immaculately clean and beautifully preserved array of cars portrays how much effort has been injected to lovingly restore old cars found in sheds and garages across New Zealand to mint condition. Incorporated in 1972 by the late Sir Len Southward and his wife Lady Vera Southward who together began collecting cars in 1956, today the Southward Vintage Car Museum is run by a charitable trust. A visit to this site is a true delight guaranteed to transport you back in time when the wheels were first set in motion.
For those in the vicinity of Wellington, regardless of whether you are a car enthusiast or otherwise, this is one sight not to let miss. Its collection is unique and to see some of the most beautiful makes of the cars at Southward Vintage Car Museum is a rare treat to the eye. If you are the outsider travelling the distance then accommodation needs to be booked in advance. Amongst the New Zealand hotels offering New Zealand hotel packages one can find the ideal retreat opportunity from those offered by Millennium & Copthorne Hotels NZ.
