The Museum of Sound and Radio

The Museum of Sound and Radio at Ferrymead Heritage Park houses this country’s largest collection of classic and antique sound recording equipment. The collection, regarded as one of the best of its kind in the world, contains antique and classic musical equipment of a historical range. It gathers together 19th century “music boxes” and “organettes”, along with early 20th century “gramophones”. The core of this display has become known as the “Dini Collection”, named for William S. “Bill” Dini.


Born in 1908, Bill Dini developed a fascination with gramophones through his showman father, who toured New Zealand in the 1890’s with an early Edison phonograph player, a crowd-pleasing exhibit in its day. Bill may be remembered as the operator of the Antigua Boatsheds on the Avon River, part of the recreational scene in Christchurch from 1946 to 1978.

In the 60’s, beginning with his father’s original instruments, Bill Dini began collecting and restoring old sound equipments and, at his untimely death in 1980, had built the largest collection in New Zealand and perhaps one of the best of its kind in the world. His legacy offers a comprehensive visual history of the development of recorded sound.
Edison’s cylinder-based Phonograph

Completing the display in the Museum of Sound and Radio, are early to mid-20th century radios, tape recorders, television sets, organs and various sound recording systems. A small workshop has been set up with a good range of test equipment for servicing the equipments and a full technical and magazine library and a spare parts room are on view. For more on radios and recording, click here

The Museum is in a large corrugated iron building located in the NE corner of the Heritage Park. It is about 500 metres from the main Ferrymead Heritage Park but visitors, if not walking, can easily take a tram or train ride to the Museum.


Above: Sign at entrance to Museum and Radio Studio

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