The museum is curated by Jason and Debbie Rhodes. They have kept the museum as an informal pandoras box of surprises. Visitors (both local and international) return year after year to discover more of the delights of the collection and most cannot believe the extent of the collection. Some visitors have said they believe the collection is the largest in the world of it's type.
This intriguing collection of over 50,000 items is the result of one man's dream and 50 years of dedication.
Owner Gerald Rhodes was employed by International harvester before going into his own car and truck wrecking business. Naturally enough he found himself in the right places to pick up bargains.
But it also required many years at auctions, flea markets and garage sales, as well as responding to newspaper adverts and word-of-mouth tip-offs to bring together a fascinating range of items.
While Mr Rhodes lives in Christchurch, Wanaka's dry climate and beautiful location made it an ideal place to house such a collection.
The first building went up in 1994 and the first hangar - built to look like a 1940s aircraft hangar - went up in 1995. Since then they have added a 1440 m2 Fire Station and a second 40m-long, 2,000 m2 hangar to house military vehicles, planes and motorbikes.
Activities
Lake Hawea, Central Queenstown