Cable Car Museum — Attraction in North Island

Extremely Rude Staff & Disappointing Experience at Closing Time

I visited the Cable Car Museum on April 19, 2025, arriving at the store at 4:55 PM, just before closing time at 5 PM. A woman with long hair (unfortunately I didn’t catch her name) was working at the counter and initially told us we could browse and make purchases. However, when I politely asked her—twice—if I could use the souvenir coin press machine, she denied my request, claiming it takes a longer time 5-10 minutes and there wasn't enough time.

What made this worse was that another visitor used the same machine right in front of me, and the entire process took no more than 10–15 seconds. I pointed this out and again respectfully asked if I could just quickly print one coin. But she refused, repeating the same excuse, and told me I'd have to leave.

I had travelled a long way to visit this museum, and the coin meant something to me as a takeaway memory. The staff member’s attitude was cold, dismissive, and completely unhelpful, especially considering the machine clearly didn’t take as long as she claimed. That brings me to a question.. Would she have considered letting me do it if I would have brought another souvenir (a little pricey one like the other visitor brought at the counter) as compared to a $3 fridge magnet which I got?

This encounter left a very negative impression and spoiled what was otherwise a nice museum visit. I hope the management seriously looks into how guests are treated—especially by staff who seem unwilling to show basic courtesy or...

The cable car museum is worth a visit when you reach the top. There is an old original cable car there to explore and use as a photo opportunity. If you've been wandering the streets of Welly for a while I recommend taking a seat in the area showing short films. These are actually quite interesting. You can learn about the history of the cable car/ electrified tram throughout New Zealnd. It's well worth waiting to view the film showing some of the 400 private cable car systems running around Welly. The ingenious ways some inhabitants have solved the problem of transporting themselves, the pets, their shopping and even building materials to homes stuck on the sides of tops of many of Wellington's straight cliffs are fascinating. After watching the film you might like to stroll around Oriental Parade where you can spy some of them.The lower floor has some interesting displays and gives you an understanding of how the system works. Small but surprisingly...

A quaint piece of history of Wellington's only funicular car. The old cable car was much loved by the locals and especially students from Victoria University who tended to live in areas close to the uni such as Kelburn, and the "Terraces". The cable car was the only quick and convenient means to commute between those suburbs and Lambton Quay especially when hauling groceries or heavy books (in the era before the Internet.}

The old car had stepped side-seats outside the driver's carriage and commuters would ride this way after work without a second thought, while the driver "drove" the car from his cubicle within the carriage. The old CC was decommissioned in 1974. You can also access the CCM from the ground floor entrance, if you're coming from the Botanical Gardens....