The first time a meteorite was found in New Zealand was in , in the Wairarapa. Since then, ten other meteorites have been recovered as of August 2026. In 2004 the meteorite known as Auckland crash-landed into a home in Ellerslie, a suburb of the city of Auckland. The Protected Objects Act 1975 disallows the export of meteorites without permission from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

List +Year recoveredNameLocationNotes1862 or 1863WairarapaWairarapaThis meteorite was originally given to or held by the Colonial Museum in Wellington. In 1928 an individual donated two meteorite rocks to the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and they became lost until 1955. When they were found again, it was not known if these rocks were from the Wairarapa meteorite, but a study comparing them to a sample in Wellington confirmed that they were from the Wairarapa meteorite.1879MakarewaSouthland1908MokoiaTaranakiLanded during the day on 26 November. This was the first time a meteorite fall was observed in New Zealand, and was the last until 2004. A sonic boom was heard. Two pieces were found in Mokoia, in a small crater, and were given to the Whanganui museum.1925MorvenCanterburyFound by William Stewart when ploughing his farm in Morven, about from Dunedin. The meteorite is stored in the Tūhura Otago Museum.1953View HillCanterbury1970WaingaromiaGisborne1976DunganvilleWest CoastWeighing , it is New Zealand's heavest known meteorite. It was found in a stream by a prospector.1976KimboltonManawatū-Whanganui2004AucklandAucklandIt crash-landed into a home in the Auckland suburb of Ellerslie. It was bought by the Auckland War Memorial Museum.2024TakapōCanterburyA group of enthusiasts known as Fireballs Aotearoa found it after observing the fireball and calculating the approximate location of the meteorite. It is on display at the Tūhura Otago Museum.2026WairarapaFireball was observed and the approximate location was calculated. After searching for four days in farmland, four fragments were recovered.

See also

List of largest meteorites on Earth List of solar eclipses visible from New Zealand

References