Ngaio Marsh House and Heritage Trust

27/09/2026

🔎 Fishing, golf, daisies, lots of cats and a village of eccentric characters. Detective Inspector investigates a brutal murder in a community full of secrets. You could even say something is fishy in Scales of Justice. Once again Ngaio Marsh has created a whodunnit which keeps you guessing till the final chapter.

25/09/2026

🎟️ Just like Electric Avenue...

Our 18 October Her City tour is officially SOLD OUT! 🎉

But you still have ONE more chance to join us…

🏛️ HER CITY: Three Women Who Shaped Ōtautahi Christchurch

Step inside the historic homes of Kate Sheppard, Jane Deans and Dame Ngaio Marsh for a unique day exploring the lives and legacies of three remarkable Christchurch women.

✨ Three extraordinary women
🏡 Three historic homes
🎤 Three expert-led tours
👥 Just 10 guests per tour

📅 Sunday 25 October 2026
🕤 9.30am–2.30pm
🎟️ $59.90 per person

Your journey takes you through Te Whare Waiutuutu Kate Sheppard House, Riccarton House and Ngaio Marsh House, discovering the stories of the women who lived there and the impact they left on Ōtautahi and beyond.

🔥 18 October — SOLD OUT
🎟️ 25 October — LIMITED PLACES LEFT

With the first tour already gone, don’t leave this one too late.

👉 Book your place now and experience Her City - https://Hercitytour_womenwhoshapedOtautahiChristchurch.eventbrite.co.nz

Ngaio Marsh House in Christchurch is where Dame Ngaio Marsh wrote her acclaimed crime novels. We welcome tours to this heritage property, book online.

24/09/2026

📚 Got a Ngaio Marsh novel gathering dust on your bookshelf?

We’d love to give it a new chapter!

The Ngaio Marsh House & Heritage Trust is looking for donations of Ngaio Marsh novels that we can sell to help raise funds for the ongoing care and preservation of Ngaio’s historic Cashmere home.

Whether it’s one well-loved paperback or a small stack you’ve collected over the years, we’d be delighted to give your books a new home with another Ngaio reader — while helping support the house where so many of her famous mysteries were written.

🔎 We’re looking for:
• Ngaio Marsh novels in good, readable condition
• Paperback or hardback editions
• Older and newer editions are both welcome

Every donated book can help us raise a little more towards protecting the house, its collection and Ngaio’s remarkable legacy.

If you have books you’d like to donate, send us a message through our page and we can arrange drop-off or pickup.

And if you know someone whose shelves are suspiciously full of murder mysteries… tag them below. 🕵️‍♀️📖

Thank you for supporting the Ngaio Marsh House & Heritage Trust. ❤️

22/09/2026

🔎 WANTED: Someone who knows their way around numbers (and perhaps the occasional spreadsheet).

The Ngaio Marsh House & Heritage Trust is looking for a Volunteer Treasurer to join the team helping preserve the Christchurch home and legacy of Dame Ngaio Marsh.

🧮 Around 3–5 hours per month
📍 Christchurch / Canterbury preferred
💼 Great for finance professionals at any career stage
🏛️ Gain hands-on charity finance and Board experience
🌱 Optional opportunity to explore governance experience in the future

You don’t need decades of senior finance experience, previous governance experience, or an encyclopaedic knowledge of Ngaio Marsh.

You do need to be reliable, organised, comfortable with numbers and willing to ask questions when something doesn’t quite add up.

Whether you’re building your career, looking to broaden your experience, or wanting to put years of expertise to good use, we’d love to hear from you.

Not sure you tick every box? Apply anyway. We’re looking for the right person, not the perfect CV.

For more information, go to https://seekvolunteer.co.nz/volunteering/128201/volunteer-treasurer-

📩 Send your CV and a few sentences about yourself to [email protected]

Know someone who would be brilliant? Tag them or share this post with them!

Volunteer at Volunteer Treasurer - Museums & Heritage with Ngaio Marsh House and Heritage Trust . Enquire now at SEEK Volunteer

19/09/2026

🌿 19 September 1893 — a day that changed New Zealand history.

On this day 133 years ago, the Electoral Act 1893 was signed into law, making Aotearoa New Zealand the first self-governing country in the world where women won the right to vote in parliamentary elections.

It was not a change that happened overnight.

It followed years of organising, campaigning and petitioning by women across the country — among them Kate Sheppard, Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia, Helen Nicol, Ada Wells and Harriet Morison — and tens of thousands of women who added their names to petitions calling for change.

The final petitions presented to Parliament in 1893 carried nearly 32,000 signatures.

Christchurch has a particularly strong connection to this history. Kate Sheppard made the city her home, while fellow campaigner Ada Wells would later become the first woman elected to Christchurch City Council.

At Ngaio Marsh House, we preserve the home and legacy of another remarkable Christchurch woman who would come of age in the society these women helped reshape. Dame Ngaio Marsh was born just two years after that historic vote was won.

Today, on Suffrage Day, we remember the women who organised, spoke up, signed their names and refused to accept that their voices should not count.

Their legacy reaches far beyond the ballot box. 💜

Pictured is the final petition at the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa

10/09/2026

🏛️ **Three remarkable women. Three historic homes. One unforgettable day.**

Step into the worlds of **Kate Sheppard, Jane Deans and Dame Ngaio Marsh** with **Her City – Three Women Who Shaped Ōtautahi Christchurch**.

This special day-long heritage experience takes you inside three of Christchurch’s most significant historic homes:

🏡 ** Te Whare Waiutuutu Kate Sheppard House ** — discover the home at the heart of Aotearoa New Zealand’s women’s suffrage movement.

🌳 ** Riccarton House & Bush ** — explore the life of Jane Deans, pioneering settler, businesswoman and community advocate whose influence helped shape early Christchurch.

📚 ** Ngaio Marsh House** — finish the day in the Cashmere home where Dame Ngaio Marsh lived and worked for more than 70 years, surrounded by her original furniture, artworks and personal belongings.

At each house, an expert guide will bring these women and their stories to life, exploring their achievements, their influence and the very places in which they lived and worked.

And with **just 10 guests per tour**, Her City offers an intimate and immersive way to experience some of Christchurch’s most fascinating heritage.

📅 **Sunday 18 October 2026**
📅 **Sunday 25 October 2026**
🕤 **9.30am–2.30pm**
🎟️ **$59.90 per person**

Your ticket includes entry and expert-led tours at all three historic houses.

📍 The journey begins at Te Whare Waiutuutu Kate Sheppard House.

🚗 Please note that transport between the three sites is not included and guests will need to self-drive. Lunch can be brought along as a picnic or purchased at Quarters Cafe at Riccarton House.

**With only 10 places available on each date, bookings are essential.**

Come and experience the stories of three extraordinary women — told in the places they called home.

Book here - https://ccc.govt.nz/news-and-events/whats-on/event/her-city-three-women-who-shaped-otautahi-christchurch

30/08/2026

False Scent by Ngaio Marsh

When popular actress Mary Bellamy dies during her fiftieth birthday party Inspector Roderick Alleyn is called in when foul play is suspected. How did the insecticide get into her perfume spray? In this intriguing tale, Ngaio Marsh’s uses her first-hand knowledge of the London theatre scene to create fascinating, dramatic characters and a surprising denouement. A recommended read.

Ngaio Marsh House is offering preloved copies of many of Ngaio’s murder mysteries for only $10. https://ngaiomarsh.org

15/07/2026

We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Sir Sam Neill

While the world will remember him as one of New Zealand's finest actors, we remember that he was also one of the many talented young performers whose journey was shaped by Dame Ngaio Marsh.

As a student at the University of Canterbury, Sam performed the role of Theseus in A Midsummer Night's Dream, produced by the University's Drama Society under Dame Ngaio's direction. Like so many of her students, he went on to build an extraordinary career, but his time in Christchurch and under Ngaio's mentorship formed part of the foundation of that remarkable journey.

At Ngaio Marsh House, we often reflect on the incredible legacy Dame Ngaio left—not only through her writing, but through the generations of actors, directors and theatre-makers she inspired. Sam Neill was among those whose talent she nurtured, and we are immensely proud that their stories are forever intertwined.

His wit, warmth, intelligence and unmistakable presence on stage and screen brought joy to millions across the world. His passing is a tremendous loss to New Zealand and to the international arts community.

One of our volunteers grew up with Sam (or Nigel as he was then known) on Hackthorne Road, and left a lovely floral tribute and note for Sam in Ngaio's beloved garden.

Our thoughts are with Sam's family, friends, colleagues, and all those whose lives were enriched by his work.

Haere, haere, haere atu rā, Sam. Thank you for the stories you told, the lives you touched, and for being part of Dame Ngaio Marsh's enduring legacy.

08/07/2026

We have a bunch of good quality second-hand Ngaio books for sale! If you or anyone you know are interested in purchasing, send us a DM or email [email protected]

06/07/2026

We are on the lookout for a table similar to Ngaio's original table in these photos!

We are thinking the dimensions are approx. 1300mm wide, 700mm deep and around 720mm high.

If you or anyone you know is getting rid of a similar table, and may be willing to donate it, or sell for a reasonable price, let us know via messenger!