Family fun, all year long
Looking for fun things to do in Invercargill with your family?
Nothing beats a visit to Bill Richardson Transport World. Our collection is much more than classic trucks.
(Though there are plenty of those!)
Here you’ll find a variety of exhibits that will captivate and delight all ages – and no matter if we’re ensconced in the heart of winter, as we are now, or the height of summer: our all-weather venue is the perfect place to visit no matter the season. For fun things to do in Invercargill, the Bill Richardson Transport World collection offers something for everybody.
With a movie theatre, wearable arts collection, vintage vaults, Cadbury Room featuring authentic chocolatey memorabilia, Invercargill’s first passenger bus (known as ‘Old Smilie’, visitors can even hop aboard), replica paddy-wagon complete with dress-ups, photo opps featuring the Mini from the remake of cult classic movie Goodbye Pork Pie and a grunty truck, not to mention our epic LEGO room, Bill Richardson Transport World is home to plenty of interactive and engaging exhibits miles away from your typical stuffy museum setting.
Better yet, our Local Pass for families gives two adults and up to four children the chance to visit our collection as many times as they’d like, for a whole year, for just $170!
CLICK HERE TO BUY YOUR FAMILY A LOCAL PASS TODAY!
Here, the Transport World team has described some of the family favourites found within our collection. Bring your whanau in for a visit today – there’s plenty for the whole family to discover.
Luisa Kuresa, sales manager:
"My five-year-old nephew Ezrah told me he loves the big red truck, Tex, because it's the same colour as his dad's truck. My niece Milan, who's seven, likes all the different colours in the sheds and she loves getting dressed up and driving the Ford paddy wagon."
Deirdre Cochrane, executive assistant:
"My big sister Becca and her Kiwi husband Simon, and my nieces Saskia (16) and Eve (12) – haven’t visited Bill Richardson Transport World yet. Because they live in Hobart, they’re not likely to get here anytime soon. Hopefully when a trans-Tasman bubble is announced they’ll get to come over for a visit. I think they’d really like to see the Cadbury Room, wearable art and the cricket collection.
Mum and Dad have visited a few times from Brisbane. Dad loves coming to look at the trucks – he used to sell trucks from the late 1970s until he retired in 2000. I really enjoy going around with him and hearing his stories of ‘that truck was the exact same model I first drove across town in Brisbane when I got my truck licence’, or ‘I sold that model of truck to so-and-so’, or ‘my father used to sell those’. My grandfather used to have a dealership for Volkswagen and Landrover in Dalby in the mid-1950s.
I think for people from that older generation, visiting Bill Richardson Transport World is a bit like taking a walk down memory lane. For locals, some of the vehicles are the exact ones they remember from their younger years. For visitors, like my parents, the vehicles spark memories of their own. That’s a really powerful thing. It gives people a human connection to the vehicles.
Dad would dearly love to get into the Transport World library – where we keep all of our archives – but it’s not open to the public. I don’t think he’d ever leave. But that’s a whole other story!”
Sue Hill, property manager:
"My grandchildren, especially three-year-old Cooper, love the Mini in the Pork Pie area. He just runs straight to it every time he visits the Bill Richardson Transport World collection – his favourite colour is yellow.”
Alana Dixon-Calder, marketing and communications coordinator:
"My daughter Imogen (almost two) absolutely loves curling up with a book on the beanbags in the LEGO room. Meanwhile, for Lucy (three), the chance to see Tex – our bright-red, 1940 Dodge Airflow – in the flesh is always a big draw. I think something about the sheer size of our Texaco tanker just makes her jaw drop.”
Amber Bragg, administrator:
"My mum and dad are in their sixties – they came to visit both Bill Richardson Transport World and Classic Motorcycle Mecca a few weeks ago and really loved it. Dad loved looking at the vehicles and got talking to one of the team on the floor – I think the friendliness and knowledge of the volunteers always adds to the experience for visitors. Mum thought the themed toilets were great and she really enjoyed the wearable arts and jukebox collection too. The whole collection is so nostalgic. I think people really enjoy that.”