Museum

Edwin Fox Maritime Museum

An 1853 teak sailing ship in dry dock on the waterfront — one of the oldest surviving merchant hulls anywhere.

Photo: Paora / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0

The museum is built around the hull of the Edwin Fox, which carried Crimean War troops, convicts to Western Australia and immigrants to New Zealand. Indoors, at Dunbar Wharf on the foreshore.

Rainy-day option
Good with kids
Near the ferry
No car needed
History

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At a glance

Cost: Admission charged — see the museum's own site for current prices
Getting there: On foot from the ferry terminals and town centre
Address: Dunbar Wharf, 1 Auckland Street, on the Picton foreshore
Indoors: Yes — the ship sits under a protective roof
Hours: Daily 9am–5pm in summer (1 Oct–30 Apr); 9am–3pm in winter (1 May–30 Sep). Closed Christmas Day. Checked 16 Oct 2026.
Owner: Marlborough District Council

Signed main entrance and waterfront museum building under a partly cloudy sky. Paora / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0

About Edwin Fox Maritime Museum

The Edwin Fox was built of teak in 1853 and is recognised by the World Ship Trust as among the oldest surviving merchant ship hulls in the world (a claim not entirely uncontested — a handful of other historic ships make similar ones — but her age and survival are not in doubt). She carried troops in the Crimean War, convicts to Western Australia and immigrants to New Zealand before ending her days in Picton, where she is now dry-docked under cover and owned by the district council.

The ship sits in dry dock under a protective roof, with the museum alongside. You cannot currently go on board: the museum told us in October 2026 that the ship has been closed to boarding for about two years and may stay that way for a few more months. It is a few minutes on foot from the Interislander terminal, which makes it the obvious thing to do with an hour before or after a sailing, in any weather.

Know before you go

Opening hours change with the season (summer and winter hours, see above).
The ship itself is closed to boarding at present. If going aboard matters to you, check edwinfox.nz before you visit.