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20 millionth visitor to Te Papa

25 May 2012 – 1.35pm

Yesterday morning at around 10.45am, Te Papa reached a milestone achievement of 20 million visitors since opening in 1998.

Congratulations to Eliza Jost, the 20,000,000th visitor to Te Papa.

Eliza, originally from Sydney, has been in Wellington for six years and performing as a ballerina with the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

“I’m overwhelmed!” beamed Eliza, “Thank you so much Te Papa”.

Eliza greeted at Te Papa’s entrance by Kahu the Kea. Photograph by Norman Heke. Te Papa

Eliza greeted at Te Papa’s entrance by Kahu the Kea. Photograph by Norman Heke. Te Papa

Eliza was presented with a prize pack, which includes

  • TelstraClear vouchers to the value of $600 (inclusive of GST) that can be applied to any charges billed to a TelstraClear account.
  • HP Photosmart 7510 e-All-in-One Printer
  • Dinner at Monsoon Poon
  • A weekend at Rydges Wellington
  • Visa pressie card
  • Te Papa Fun Pack, including Te Papa Press books, Te Papa Store Vouchers and a Friends of Te Papa Membership
  • OurSpace Rides, free tickets for a year to Platinum Visa Gallery exhibitions and a Back of House Tour of your choice

Says Te Papa’s Chief Executive, Mike Houlihan, “This milestone confirms Te Papa’s status as the top tourist attraction in New Zealand”

Te Papa’s 20,000,000th visitor, Eliza Jost, with Chief Executive, Mike Houlihan and Kaihautū, Michelle Hippolite. Photograph by Norman Heke. Te Papa

Te Papa’s 20,000,000th visitor, Eliza Jost, with Chief Executive, Mike Houlihan and Kaihautū, Michelle Hippolite. Photograph by Norman Heke. Te Papa

Posted in Museums, News | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (2)

Te Papa Curator Visits to Yamashina Institute, champions of Short-tailed Albatross Recovery project

1 May 2012 – 9.15am

The Yamashina Institute of Ornithology in Abiko houses the largest collection of birds in Japan, with over 60,000 specimens, including the newly discovered Okinawan Rail Rallus okinawae, New Zealand Kakapo, and one of the world’s rarest species, the Short-tailed Albatross. The exchange with the Institute in Tokyo is part of a programme of work to develop a major exhibition at Te Papa on Albatross biology and conservation.

Kiyoaki Ozaki of the Yamashina Institute of Ornithology in Tokyo and Susan Waugh, Te Papa Senior Curator of Natural Environment discuss latest work on the Short-tailed Albatross recovery programme being conducted by the Institute. Te Papa

Kiyoaki Ozaki of the Yamashina Institute of Ornithology in Tokyo and Susan Waugh, Te Papa Senior Curator of Natural Environment discuss latest work on the Short-tailed Albatross recovery programme being conducted by the Institute. Te Papa

The visit was hosted by Kiyoaki Ozaki, Chief Researcher of the Division of Avian Conservation and Deputy Director General of the Institute. In addition to collections of birds, the Institute conducts novel and highly effective bird conservation programmes. An example is the project to restore the Short-Tailed Albatross to non-threatened status, currently listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. These birds were once one of the most common albatrosses but over the late 19th and early twentieth centuries many millions of birds were harvested to make feather bedding, with most of the feathers exported fromJapan. This industry supported hundreds of workers, with a village of 300 living on the main breeding site Torishima Island, an active volcano, 500km remote from the Japanese mainland. The species was thought to be extinct in 1949 but was rediscovered breeding in 1951 on Torishima, its sole breeding site.

Since that time, efforts by many researchers have been deployed to safeguard the birds, which numbered only 6 birds in 1951. Methods were developed to attract birds to safer breeding sites, away from landslides and the potential of eruptions. Decoys and sound systems have been deployed, and a second breeding site on a more stable piece of land at Torishima has been established, with the numbers of breeding birds using this area steadily rising over the last few years. Almost all the birds in the breeding population are banded. The Short-tailed Albatrosses experienced rapid population growth at 6-8% per year in recent times, and now there are somewhere near 400 breeding pairs in the population.

Yamashina Institute of Ornithology researchers transfer chicks to Mukojima Island, using specially constructed crates. Photo: Yamashina Institute of Ornithology.

Yamashina Institute of Ornithology researchers transfer chicks to Mukojima Island, using specially constructed crates. Photo: Yamashina Institute of Ornithology.

Further efforts have been made to transfer chicks from Torishima to a new site in the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands at Mukojima Island, some 850 km from mainland Japan. Specialist equipment was developed to transport the chicks, to ensure they were not overheated, and stress was minimal on the birds.

Read about the transfer of the Yamashina Institute of Ornithology’s website

Short-tailed albatross juvenile translocated and photographed at Mukojima Island.

Short-tailed albatross juvenile translocated and photographed at Mukojima Island.
Photo USFWS Endangered Species

Birds were hand-raised at their adoptive site for four months. Researchers Tomohiro Deguchi and others at Yamashina Institute studied how to do this most effectively for Short-tailed Albatrosses. New Zealand researcher Lyndon Perriman, who looks after Royal Albatrosses and sometimes hand-raises chicks at Taiaroa Head, Otago Peninsula was part of the team that undertook this study

Read the research abstract about this project

Previous experiments in the techniques had been trialled on the less-threatened Laysan and Black-footed albatrosses, with chick transfers being successfully conducted by the Yamashina Institute research team. Short-tailed Albatrosses from the transfers are starting to return to their adopted site, with around 50% of the chicks raised by hand, returning to Mukojima Islands. These birds are starting to take part in courtship displays, and it is hoped that they may start to breed in the next year.

What the adults look like – Short tailed albatross adult and chicks. Photo Jlfutari at en.wikipedia

What the adults look like – Short tailed albatross adult and chicks. Photo Jlfutari at en.wikipedia

Posted in Biodiversity, Birds | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Materials and process: Karl Fritsch

30 April 2012 – 9.35am
Karl Fritsch, April 2012. Photo: Justine Olsen, Te Papa.

Karl Fritsch, April 2012. Photo: Justine Olsen, Te Papa.

German jeweller Karl Fritsch, whose jewellery and objects are on display in Collecting Contemporary now lives in Wellington.  The building of this workshop has been a key ingredient in the development of some of his work in the show.

Ring, below, was made in 2010 soon after settling into Wellington and about the time that the construction of his studio occurred. You can see the associations: working from a cast silver shank and building the decoration using nails, screws and bolts.

'Ring', 2010, New Zealand. Fritsch, Karl. Purchased 2011. Te Papa

'Ring', 2010, New Zealand. Fritsch, Karl. Purchased 2011. Te Papa

Through viewing his work in the exhibition, you can see that materials are his starting point in the making process. Silver, gold, bronze and now ceramics are amongst some of those materials that are cleverly worked, achieving delightful and original outcomes. It’s a highly intuitive process that can include casting, reshaping of found objects and manipulation of materials resulting in the questioning of conventional thinking in jewellery.

I wanted to enlarge my understanding of Karl’s practice so last week I visited his studio. When you step through the door, objects and materials reveal many stages of making jewellery and objects. For Karl, casting can be the first stage in the construction: it’s known as the lost wax process. This traditional method allows for highly accurate reproduction from the original wax form. You can see this stage in this photo below. Different coloured waxes allow soft or hard modelling to occur.

Inside Karl Fritsch's workshop, April 2012. Photo: Justine Olsen, Te Papa.

Inside Karl Fritsch's workshop, April 2012. Photo: Justine Olsen, Te Papa.

In this image you can see the way Karl considers his ideas. The blue and yellow wax modelled ring, in the foreground is particularly interesting. Karl shapes the claws in a similar way to the sprus, (used during the casting method to provide a means for the casting molten material to flow away from the model and air to escape). Traditionally, sprus are removed  but Karl has added this highly functional device into a new form of decoration: it’s a way of turning the making process that traditionally is hidden on its head.   You can see this idea used again by Karl in Gingerbronze , below, from the installation Gesamtkunsthandwerk when Karl collaborated with Francis Upritchard and Matino Gamper. The work can be seen in Collecting Contemporary.

'Gingerbronze. From Gesamtkunsthandwerk'. 2011, New Zealand. Gamper, Martino, Upritchard, Francis, Fritsch, Karl. Purchased 2011, Te Papa.

'Gingerbronze. From Gesamtkunsthandwerk'. 2011, New Zealand. Gamper, Martino, Upritchard, Francis, Fritsch, Karl. Purchased 2011, Te Papa.

For more information on the lost wax casting method, visit this website that shows larger sculpture created through this process.

For more visits to jeweller’s workshops, check out Collecting Contemporary and the artists interviews.

Justine Olsen

Curator of Decorative Art (Contemporary)

Posted in Art, Collecting Contemporary, Collections Online, Exhibitions | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Vegetation notes from Mauimua / Lady Alice island, Hen and Chickens group

27 April 2012 – 9.54am

The Hen and Chicken islands are a familiar landmark located some 10 to 19 km off the Whangarei coast. From 28 March to 6 April this year, four of us (Robyn Blyth, Raymond Thorley and Jean-Claude Stahl from Te Papa, Kalin Lewis from Ngati Wai) stayed on Mauimua / Lady Alice island, the largest of the “chickens” or Marotere islands. Although focused on flesh-footed shearwater research, the field trip provided an opportunity to make observations on the vegetation of the island, which is quite exotic looking when coming from Wellington (same applies to the climate!).

The 155 ha island is about 2 km long by 1 km wide, rises to 158 m above sea level, and is mostly surrounded by greywacke cliffs or steep rocky slopes. The only sand beach is at West Bay or Grave Bay, so named because a child that had died on an immigrant ship was buried there in about 1840.

West coast of Lady Alice, looking south towards Taranga / Hen Island (background). Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

Landing in West Bay, the first vegetation belts to be met are sand binding plants on a small consolidated dune (Calystegia sp., Carex pumila, Spinifex hirsutus, Muehlenbeckia complexa), or, on the rocky promotories that delimit the bay, a coastal scrub of  taupata (Coprosma repens), ngaio (Myoporum laetum), flax (Phormium tenax), houpara (Pseudopanax lessonii) and Melicytus novae-zelandiae.

Sand beach with Carex pumila (foreground), spinifex and Muehlenbeckia complexa, West Bay. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl.

Coastal scrub of taupata (left), houpara (centre foreground) and flax, West Bay. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

Melicytus novae-zelandiae (centre left) and taupata at the seaward margin of coastal scrub, West Bay. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

The upper boundary of the coastal scrub is in places marked by magnificent stands of pukanui (Meryta sinclairii, also known as puka), one of the great sights of the island, as the Hen and Chickens and Three Kings islands are the only localities where this familiar ornamental plant grows in the wild. This unusual distribution led to speculation that pukanui was introduced to the Hen and Chickens, presumably from the Three Kings, by their former Maori inhabitants. Pukanui was described from a lonely plant seen at Whangaruru harbour by Colenso around 1840. This specimen had indeed been planted by the local Maori, who informed Colenso that they had brought it from the close-by Poor Knights islands – where there has been no sign of the plant since.

Belt of pukanui at the boundary between coastal scrub and pohutukawa forest, West Bay. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

Pukanui and flax thicket, West Bay. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

Pohutukawa forest extends quite far down in sheltered bays, but often retreats to the upper slopes of the exposed high cliffs of the north coast, above extended belts of halophytes and costal scrub. Also scattered in this clifftop forest are coastal maire (Nestegis apetala), with a rich understorey of flax, coastal astelia (Astelia banksii), haekaro (Pittosporum umbellatum) and Veronica bollonsii, the latter endemic to the Hen and Chickens, Poor Knights and the Tutukaka coast.

Dolphin Bay on the north coast of Lady Alice, looking east towards Whatupuke island (background). Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

Pohutukawa forest on north coast clifftop. Flax and coastal astelia in foreground, Collospermum hastatum epiphytic on pohutukawa. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

Flesh-footed shearwater colony under clifftop forest of coastal maire (left) and pohutukawa, north coast. Glossy green groundcover plant is Peperomia urvilleana. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

Haekaro in fruit, north coast ridgetop. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

Veronica bollonsii, north coast clifftop. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

The lushest vegetation of the island is found in a few remnants of old growth forest in the headwaters of valleys inland from West Bay and South Cove, and in gullies running down the east coast. These stands are dominated by large pohutukawa and puriri (Vitex lucens), with younger kohekohe (Dysoxylum spectabile) and karaka (Corynocarpus laevigatus) as subcanopy, and groves of large puriri and coastal maire growing on the drier stony slopes  around such catchments. Another spectacular tree, the parapara or bird-catcher (Pisonia brunoniana), grows here in damp areas along stream beds. The tree gets its name – and bad reputation – from its sticky fruits that can become death traps for small birds like silvereyes or fantails, although seemingly well designed for long distance dispersal by seabirds.

Old growth puriri, pohutukawa, kohekohe and karaka forest remnant, gully inland from South Cove. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

Parapara (foreground) and ponga under a canopy of puriri and kohekohe, gully on east coast. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

Puriri (left), coastal maire (centre) and karaka on south facing slope inland from West Bay . Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

Coastal maire foliage. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

Extensive tracts of kanuka (Kunzea ericoides) scrub, especially around West Bay, attest to a fair deal of modification of the original forest. Former Maori inhabitants had established three ridgetop pas and plantation terraces, but seemingly deserted the island after 1821, and by 1880 the Austrian naturalist Reischek described the large Marotere islands as mostly forested, except for abandoned Maori plantations covered in flax and scrub.  More recent modifications include repeated fires, with the last extensive one in West Bay in 1902-03, and browsing by cattle up to 1928. Kiore has been removed in 1994, and the island is on an advanced path of recovery,  with extensive regeneration of  kohekohe forest under the  ageing kanuka canopy.

Kanuka scrub, West Bay. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

Ridgetop Kanuka scrub with groundcover of flax, bracken, coastal astelia (left) and Veronica bollonsii (centre). Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

Kanuka (left), kohekohe (main canopy) and pukanui (foreground), slope inland from West Bay. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

By Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa.

Posted in Plants | Tagged | Comments (0)

Fish and birds in Tokyo

24 April 2012 – 9.38am

Work at the fisheries Convention on the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna meeting on bycatch and ecological effects of fishing has progressed in Tokyo in March. The group met to consider ways of reducing seabird, turtle and shark bycatch in fishing for southern bluefin tuna around the southern Ocean.

Albatross and petrel bycatch remains a tricky issue for the management of tuna fisheries, with many birds annually killed in longline fisheries due to their being captured on fishing hooks. Around 3 billion tuna hooks are set annually, and albatrosses captured may number up to 100 thousand annually. Incidental mortality in tuna fisheries affects many seabird species, many of which are threatened with extinction.

See BirdLife Internationals Save-the-Albatross website for source of these statistics

Meeting of specialist on bycatch of seabirds, sharks and turtles at the CCSBT Working Group in Tokyo on 28 - 30 March 2012, at which New Zealand scientists, including Te Papa researchers were participants. Photo: Susan Waugh

Meeting of specialist on bycatch of seabirds, sharks and turtles at the CCSBT Working Group in Tokyo on 28 - 30 March 2012, at which New Zealand scientists, including Te Papa researchers were participants. Photo: Susan Waugh

A report commissioned by the Ministry of Fisheries, and prepared by Te Papa scientists and collaborators was presented. The report discussed how data on seabird distributions, fishing data, and information about bird-catch rates could be used to identify which areas and times of fishing were most problematic for tuna fishing in the Indian and Pacific Ocean areas. The study used data and methods developed over many years with collaborating parties BirdLife International and Sextant Technology, along with inputs from the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), the Ministry of Fisheries, NIWA, Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique in France and a number of seabird researchers nationally and internationally.

A figure from seabird ecological risk assessment analyses indicating the density per square kilometre of species around the Southern Ocean. This shows a high density particularly in the New Zealand area. The study presented by Te Papa researchers and collaborators to the Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna working group examined which areas and species were most at risk of adverse effects of longline fishing for tuna. Image: after Waugh et al. 2012.

A figure from seabird ecological risk assessment analyses indicating the density per square kilometre of species around the Southern Ocean. This shows a high density particularly in the New Zealand area. The study presented by Te Papa researchers and collaborators to the Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna working group examined which areas and species were most at risk of adverse effects of longline fishing for tuna. Image: after Waugh et al. 2012.

The CCSBT working group agreed to continue work on this project, and will seek to refine the analyses using the most recent dataset available about bird distributions and fishing activity, including important datasets held by BirdLife International derived from satellite tracking of seabirds.

Tuna for sale in Tsukiji market in Tokyo, March 2012. Photo: Susan Waugh.

Tuna for sale in Tsukiji market in Tokyo, March 2012. Photo: Susan Waugh.

By Susan Waugh, Senior Curator Natural Environment

Posted in Biodiversity, Fish | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

William McAloon, 1969-2012

11 April 2012 – 3.15pm

It is with great sadness that we share the news that our respected colleague and dear friend William McAloon passed away on Sunday 8 April.

William McAloon with Colin McCahon’s 'Northland panels', 1958.

William McAloon with Colin McCahon’s 'Northland panels', 1958.

William has been Curator Historical New Zealand Art at Te Papa since 2005. A key member of the art team, William was a superb curator, with a fine eye and a piercing intellect.

Over the years, William also worked as a curator at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the Dunedin Public Art Gallery and as a freelance curator, writer and art historian working with artists and institutions throughout New Zealand. He has a formidable and well-deserved reputation as a writer and art historian.

William was responsible for curating one of Te Papa’s best-loved exhibitions, Rita Angus: Life and Vision (with Jill Trevelyan) in 2008, which continues to tour venues around New Zealand. More recently he played an instrumental role in the exhibition Oceania: Early Encounters in 2011 and in developing a new approach to exhibiting the art collection on Level 5.

William’s legacy at Te Papa is marked also by a selection of remarkable New Zealand art works that he acquired for the national art collection. Art at Te Papa, the book that William edited about the history of art at the Museum, is a touchstone resource on Te Papa’s institutional history and New Zealand’s national art collection.

William is sorely missed by his friends and colleagues at Te Papa. Our deepest sympathy goes to William’s wife, Courtney, their families and friends.

Kua hinga tēnei rātā whakamarumaru o ngā taonga toi o te motu. He kanohi hōmiromiro, he ihumanea, he kaitiaki nō tōna pātaka iringa kōrero, kua kore. He toki tārai kōrero mō ngā toi o Aotearoa me ōna hītori, kua riro. Kāti rā, ‘He kokonga whare e kitea, he kokonga ngākau e kore e kitea’.

Moe mai rā, e te hoa.

This rātā tree, a shelter for the treasures of the nation has fallen. A keen eye for detail, intellectually brilliant, a curator without peer, is no more. A carver of words, an art historian has left us. It is said, ‘The corners of a house can be seen, but not so the corners of the heart’.

Sleep well, friend. Rest in peace.

Claudia Orange
Director Collections and Research
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Posted in Art, Uncategorized | Comments (11)

Help Save our Services at Te Papa

5 April 2012 – 3.52pm

Save our Services

The story so far

Wellington City Councillors, while preparing budgets for the city’s long-term council plan, have recommended that they reduce the funding to Te Papa by 55 percent.

Council will be asking for public submissions between 16 April and 18 May 2012 – and will be making their decisions on the submissions Wellington ratepayers make.

What could happen?

A funding cut could mean that Te Papa reduces its services to Wellington ratepayers, for example:

  • Charges to use Discovery Centres
  • Increases in charges for StoryPlace
  • Fewer free exhibitions
  • Fewer new exhibitions

If you would like us to keep everything, let us know.

How you can help

We’re asking our city to help Save our Services by making public submissions:

  • Leave a comment below
  • Come to the museum – We have a display near our information centre and we’re asking people to grab a sticky-note, tell us what you think we need to save!
Save our Services board in the Wellington Foyer

Save our Services board in the Wellington Foyer

Te Papa’s economic impact on Wellington City

  • Te Papa is the most popular activity destination in Wellington City.
  • Te Papa adds $91.3 million every year to Wellington City’s economy
  • Visitors to Te Papa spend $59 million per year in Wellington City
  • 30% of Wellington City Council’s funding to Te Papa comes from ratepayer contributions
  • 70% of Wellington City Council’s funding to Te Papa comes from local business levies
  • 96% of our Wellington City visitors come back more than twice and 60% visit 5 or more times every year.
  • Te Papa sustains employment equivalent to almost 1,500 Wellington city jobs annually

More information

Posted in Museums | Tagged , , , , | Comments (3)

Memorial for Sir Paul Callaghan, 1947–2012

28 March 2012 – 10.16am

Sir Paul Callaghan
1947–2012
GNZM, FRS, FRSNZ

Kua waipuketia te awa o Whanganui. Kua mahue pani te motu i te hinganga o tēnei tōtara haemata e te ringa kaha o aituā. Moe mai rā e te mata punenga. Nāu, nā te ihu atamai, nā te kanohi hōmiromiro te pūtaiao i āta rangahau kia mārama ai tō tatou ao. He toki pāngarau, he mātanga ahupūngao, he rangatira, he tāne, he pāpā e kore e warewaretia. Ko te motu nui tonu e tangi nei.

The waters of the mighty Whanganui River are in flood. A favourite son of the nation has fallen. Through science, you made a difference to the world. A mathematician, a physicist, a leader, a man, a father – you will not be forgotten.

Sir Paul Callaghan was a world-class scientist, an inspirational teacher and leader, and a passionate advocate for a better New Zealand. He will be remembered for his energy and enthusiasm and his commitment to making science accessible to all.

Sir Paul was born and brought up in Whanganui, where he discovered an early passion for science. He excelled in maths and physics at Victoria University, winning a scholarship to study low-temperature physics at Oxford University in England.

Sir Paul returned to New Zealand in 1974 to lecture in the Physics Department at Massey University. He worked there for 27 years, eventually heading the department.

Sir Paul became a world-leading scientist in the fields of nanotechnology and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). One of his most significant scientific contributions was using NMR to measure brine content in Antarctic sea ice, helping scientists better understand the global climate. He subsequently established a company, Magritek Ltd, to commercialise the NMR technology he had developed – one of his proudest achievements.

In 2001, Sir Paul moved to Victoria University to spearhead the establishment of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology. He was the institute’s inaugural director.

A passionate believer in collaborative science, Sir Paul mentored many of New Zealand’s young scientists and provided leadership to the scientific community.

Over the course of his career, Sir Paul was awarded many scientific and civic honours, including the prestigious Rutherford Medal and the Blake Medal for leadership. In 2006, he was made a Principal Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit and, with the restoration of traditional honours, was knighted in 2009.

As New Zealander of the Year in 2011, Sir Paul promoted his vision for the country on a hugely successful speaking tour. He believed that New Zealand could become a better and more prosperous place by connecting science and business.

In the last years of his life, as he battled aggressive cancer, Sir Paul spoke openly about his experiences. He died in Wellington on 24 March. He is survived by his wife, Miang, and a son and daughter.

‘I found it is the most exciting and satisfying professional life one can have, to do the work one loves, to lead teams of highly talented young people, to make discoveries of permanent value, to transcend nation, race, culture, and political perspectives in a truly international endeavour.’
Sir Paul Callaghan

If you wish to be part of his funeral ceremony, you can do so via a webcast. The webcast for the funeral is:  http://www.r2.co.nz/20120328/, and this will be live from 12 or 12.30pm, on Wednesday 28 March.  It will be broadcast in NZ standard time.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Visual trend research from the Picture Library

8 March 2012 – 12.58pm

Part of the job of a Picture Librarian is to do visual trend research. We predict what trends are coming, so we can stay on top of our digitising and identify possible image requests coming our way.

Sugar Glider, Petaurus breviceps, collected no data. Gift of the Wellington City Council, 1929. Te Papa

Sugar Glider, Petaurus breviceps, collected no data. Gift of the Wellington City Council, 1929. Te Papa

An example of visual trends would be the current shift in consumer behaviour. We are completely addicted to technology these days…..you name it and there is a gadget or an app for it.

So what do we digitise then? Well Te Papa holds images of the historical gadgets that might seem simply prehistoric to modern users but we digitise these so that people can view the developments in technology over the years. Think about the changes that have occured to the telephone, the camera, the radio. Thirty years ago who would have thought that all three could be rolled into one device that you could hold in the palm of your hand.

Events happening throughout New Zealand also influence visual trends. The recent election, the rugby world cup and the little blue penguins that had to be rescued from the Rena oil spill. These can all make an impact on visual trends and the requirements of image users. The same goes with world events too.

While we can predict alot of visual trends coming our way, there is one trend that I would never in a million years have seen coming…..LOL animals. Don’t deny you haven’t had the odd giggle at Maru the cat, with his 12,983,838 views or the ultimate dog tease, with his 91,867,644. Once these animals hit the internet and go viral there seems to be a huge audience out there who just love animals and love to have a bit of a laugh as well.

With this in mind we went on a hunt through the collection and pulled together a selection of our favorite LOL animals picture that always give us a giggle when we see them….enjoy!

Koala, Phascolarctos cinereus, collected no data. Te Papa

Koala, Phascolarctos cinereus, collected no data. Te Papa

Billy Silly, 1958, New Zealand. Lee-Johnson, Eric. Purchased 1997 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. © Te Papa.

Billy Silly, 1958, New Zealand. Lee-Johnson, Eric. Purchased 1997 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. © Te Papa.

Red squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris, collected no data. Gift of the Wellington City Council, 1929. Te Papa

Red squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris, collected no data. Gift of the Wellington City Council, 1929. Te Papa

Laughing kitten, 1950s, New Zealand. Lee-Johnson, Eric. Purchased 1997 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. © Te Papa.

Laughing kitten, 1950s, New Zealand. Lee-Johnson, Eric. Purchased 1997 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. © Te Papa.

Emperor Penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri, collected 23 Sep 1957, Cape Crozier, Ross Island, Antarctica. Te Papa

Emperor Penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri, collected 23 Sep 1957, Cape Crozier, Ross Island, Antarctica. Te Papa

By Becky Masters, Picture Library Manager
www.tepapapicturelibrary.co.nz

Posted in Collections Online, Mammals, Photography | Tagged , , , | Comments (2)

Zooming-in on New Zealand Storm-Petrel breeding sites

3 March 2012 – 10.34am

Teamwork during a Te Papa funded charter trip in the Hauraki Gulf got us a step closer in the hunt for the breeding grounds of the recently rediscovered New Zealand Storm-Petrel (Pelaeornis maoriana). The search team included Te Papa researcher Jean-Claude Stahl, Chris Gaskin who is part of the New Zealand storm-petrel research group, and Brett Rathe from Assassin Fishing Charters, all seasoned storm-petrel chasers. Also joining the trip were Dylan Owen from the National Library, and Jacinda Woolly, a trainee ranger with the Auckland Council Parks staff, who was to be dropped off on Burgess Island to participate in petrel studies ashore.

The date of the trip (20 February) was chosen to maximize the chances of success. It was estimated to fall around the provisional hatching time (back calculated from the latest published sightings in the greater Hauraki Gulf), when foraging trips are at their shortest and many non-breeding birds attend colonies.  And it also fell just before new moon, when storm-petrels return ashore just after dark rather than waiting for moonset later at night as they often do during the first quarter. The plan for the day was to zigzag northwards towards Little Barrier, the Mokohinau islands and beyond, before returning to just offshore of one or both island groups for observations at dusk, when birds were expected to concentrate off potential breeding sites. The forecast was for mainly fine weather with a light to moderate NNE to NNW wind, although some heavy showers were announced for the afternoon.

Off to a pleasant day at the office. Left to right: Dylan Owen, Jacinda Woolly, Chris Gaskin, Brett Rathe. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa.

 
 

Skipper Brett Rathe approaching Little Barrier from the south-west. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa

 
 

Jean-Claude Stahl on the lookout. Photo and copyright Dylan Owen.

 
 We left Sandspit near Warkworth in the morning and headed to a known feeding ground of New Zealand storm-petrels north-west of Little Barrier Island. Following now standard procedure fine tuned over the years, the boat engine was mercifully stopped for chumming and drifting. This attracts petrels from downwind, as petrels have a good sense of smell which they use to both forage at sea and locate their nests ashore at night. No New Zealand storm-petrels were seen there, but kingfish made the day for a growing flock of flesh-footed shearwaters, black petrels and white-faced storm-petrels, while Cook’s petrels and Buller’s shearwaters were passing by.

Waiting for the birds - the late kingfish would have probably agreed with the boat's name. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa.

 
 

First off the blocks: flesh-footed shearwater (left) and black petrel ready for brunch. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa.

 
 

White-faced storm-petrel. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa.

 
 Next stop was Simpson’s Rock south of the Mokohinau islands. The station there was more successful, with up to four New Zealand stormies around the boat, as well as black petrels, flesh-footed and fluttering shearwaters, and a fairy prion.
 

First New Zealand storm-petrel of the day. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa

 
 

Fluttering shearwater in moult. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa.

 
 After Simpson’s Rock, we headed towards the Mokohinau islands to drop off Jacinda to Burgess Island and pick up Sarah Wells and Dylan Van Winkel. Both had completed their stint on the island as part of a study of white-faced storm-petrels. We took this opportunity to pass off Fanal island en route to Burgess, with red-billed gulls rather than petrels ruling the roost off the island around midday.  
 
  

Off the Mokohinaus. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa

 
 

Chris Gaskin preparing to row Jacinda Woolly off to Burgess Island. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa.

 
 

Sarah Wells and Dylan van Winkel back to "civilization". Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa.

 
 

Heading west from the Mokohinaus, with the Burgess Island lighthouse in the background. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa.

 
 We passed Groper Rock when heading to a station west of the Mokohinaus, where the most notable visitor was a blue shark circling under the boat. From there we headed to a last offshore station north of the Mokohinaus. There up to four, possibly five New Zealand stormies came to the boat, along with one Black-winged and one White-naped petrel, the latter two hinting that we were nearing the shelf edge north of the Mokohinaus.
 

Passing off Groper Rock when heading west from the Mokohinaus. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa.

 
 

Sleek visitor: blue shark circling underneath the boat. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa.

 
 

New Zealand (lefthand bird) and white-faced storm petrels pattering their feet along the sea surface when feeding. The word petrel derives from this habit of "walking on the water", in reference to St Peter. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa.

 
 

New Zealand storm-petrel, frontal view. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa

  These and many previous observations around the Mokohinaus had given some hope that the species breeds somewhere in this island group. However none were seen when we were back in the vicinity of the Mokohinaus at dusk, slowly cruising from north-east of Fanal island to the stacks south of Burgess Island then to Groper Rock. The total absence of birds there at the optimal time of day and breeding season does not bode well for the chances of a major breeding site being located in this island group.

Although negative results can be crucial pieces of information in science (there are several reputed journals of negative results), they are ususally not the glamorous outcomes sought for by researchers. As a last throw of the dice, the team decided to head to another station off Little Barrier Island later in the evening. There the first New Zealand storm-petrel was circling around the boat in a matter of minutes, and up to six possibly seven were attracted overall, one of which was caught and banded by Sarah Wells and Chris Gaskin, adding to the NZSP research group’s tally for this season. This location was in the same general area where a bird had previously flown on board of a fishing boat anchored for the night off the island. In Jean-Claude’s opinion, the activity there late in the day looked more what was to be expected off a petrel colony, and makes Little Barrier the best prospect so far for breeding sites of one of our most enigmatic birds. This however comes with a catch (as it always does): finding nests of a swallow-sized nocturnal bird in the formidable cliffs and ravines of Little Barrier will not be a picnic.

 

Seawatch off the Mokohinaus at dusk. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa.

  
 

Heading back via Little Barrier. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa.

 

Chris Gaskin ready to release a New Zealand storm-petrel. Photo and copyright Dylan Owen.

 
  

Best haystack to date - who will find the needle? Little Barrier seen from the north. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl, copyright Te Papa.

 
 
 
 
 By Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa; Chris Gaskin, New Zealand storm-petrel project (BICCF-NZSP 2012); Brett Rathe, Assassin Fishing Charters.
Posted in Birds, Field trips | Comments (0)
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