Taranaki Pioneer Village is on the main road, just south of Stratford, in Central Taranaki, boasts a large collection of historical buildings and artefacts.

Stratford’s only previous museum, of a small number of items, was housed in the municipal buildings.

Donations by locals encourages ‘The Village’ to display a wide range of artefacts & Taranaki stories.

In 1978 a promotional prospectus invited founder donations and debenture funding.  The response confirmed support from both public and society members to assist with the first stage of purchasing the land and homestead.  Stage 1 development also included the car park, band stand, boat shed and renovation of the existing 1910’s villa.

The Pioneer Village was officially open to the public in 1990 with feature buildings of the authentic:  Stratford Courthouse, Pembroke School, Tariki Railway Station, Okato Cottage and Mangatoki Union Church.  Since then, the village has continued to evolve including the Stratford Hospital Museum, which was developed after the closure of the Stratford Hospital.

This on-going project is a reminder of the dedication of those who are determined in preserving this asset and ‘Recreating yesterday, today, for tomorrow’.