The family of car museum founder the late Sir Len Southward are upset after his original driving licence and other treasures were stolen from the museum on the Kapiti Coast.
Thieves smashed their way through a glass fire door at Southward Car Museum last Thursday night, The Dominion Post reported.
Two of Sir Len's driver's licences, including his 1915 original licence, about 30 overseas commemorative coins and 60 laminated bank notes were stolen.
The collection was moved from Sir Len's home to the museum when he died five years ago.
The theft was disappointing for the family, Sir Len's niece and Southward office manager Sue Beissel told The Dominion Post.
"My uncle and auntie had collected them, I remember dusting them in their china cabinets when I was little. It is not that they were worth a lot of money, it is their sentimental value," she said.
Sir Len set up the museum, which displays more than 350 classic and vintage cars, in 1979.
Last year, the collection was seen by more than 46,000 visitors.
