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After a decades-long restoration project, thousands of skilled volunteer hours, specialist craftsmanship and generous donor support, Wanganui Tram Trailer No. 21 is finally ready to return to service. The now stunning and meticulously restored convertible trailer will launch on Sunday 22 March, under tow from MOTAT’s iconic Steam Tram No. 100, and carrying passengers for the first time in more than 75 years.

It took Kiwi ingenuity to propel personal jet power to new heights. Where others had failed, the Martin Jetpack came closest in the world to realising the space-age dream of being able to blast off anywhere, anytime. On display in MOTAT's Aviation Hall from 20 December 2025, see it in the new exhibition Ngā hau a Tāwhirirangi – Forces of Flight.

The Shand Mason Extension Ladder is on permanent display in MOTAT's Fire House exhibition. Learn how its four-wheel carriage was part of the 1902 Fire Brigade revamp led by Superintendent Charles Wooley and was a welcomed modernisation of fire equipment throughout the city.

The Western Springs Pumping Station at the heart of MOTAT's Great North Road site was once the centre of Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland's public fresh water supply. Drawing on the natural fresh water source at Te Wai Ōrea / Western Springs, it significantly contributed to the growth and development of the city.

Learn how the beam engine housed in the Western Springs Pumping Station once pumped water from Te Wai Ōrea Western Springs to supply fresh water to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. In regular service from 1877 until the 1920s, the engine is now a focal point of MOTAT’s Great North Road site. It has been restored to an operational state and is run on special occasions.