110 years ago the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York visit New Zealand (10-27 June 1901) A royal tour of New Zealand was mooted by arch-imperialist Premier Richard Seddon in 1897, during the Diamond (60th) anniversary of Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne. By 1900, such a visit had assumed greater importance. ByRead more
Te Papa’s curator of terrestrial vertebrates Dr Colin Miskelly tells the second part of the unfolding story of the emperor penguin that went where none had gone before (at least in the age of digital media). Colin accompanied Department of Conservation staff to Peka Peka Beach on the morning ofRead more
All we know about him is a name written on a glass negative: ‘Hart’. Ever since I first saw him I have kept his photograph on my wall. He has been the inspiration for many hours of image research for the World War I film that screens in Te Papa’s C20th history exhibition, Slice of Heaven. Using silent archiveRead more
This week New Zealand in Vogue was installed in the Eyelights gallery on the 4th floor. Its simple 1960s lines replaces the razzle dazzle of Enriching Fashion. As I mentioned in my last post on Wool Week, the exhibition is inspired by Vogue New Zealand, the pages of which haveRead more
Te Papa’s curator of terrestrial vertebrates Dr Colin Miskelly tells the first part of the unfolding story of the emperor penguin that went where none had gone before (at least in the age of digital media).Read more
If you have been following Mel and Katherine’s Poedua treatment blogs you may be surprised to read another’s voice on this one – a voice from the edge as it were. I’m Matthew O’Reilly, Framer of Paintings here at Te Papa. My previous blogs were quite some time ago now. KatherineRead more
Crowd-pulling Exhibition The exhibition Brian Brake: Lens on the World is now touring New Zealand and recently opened at Auckland Art Gallery, where it drew large crowds on its first weekend. This followed phenomenal attendances at its inaugural showing at Te Papa. An estimated 191,000 people visited the exhibition overRead more
This week Faraway Places: 19th century travel photography in Te Papa’s Ilott Gallery has had all its photographs replaced with 22 new ones. This is because nineteenth century photographs are vulnerable to damage by light, so the six-month exhibition has been divided into two halves, each with a different, though similar, selectionRead more
In the paintings conservation lab, we have been working away steadily on the varnish removal of Poedua. Every now-and-then we come across a painting where this stage of the treatment is relatively easy, where a simple organic solvent solution is effective in removing the varnish without any effect to anyRead more
As the freshness of autumn turns into the chill of winter, it is time to dig out the winter woollies and the Ugg boots. Fittingly, this Friday kicks off ‘Wool Week’ (10-17 June). We are thrilled that Mary-Annette Hay, the subject of Te Papa’s 2007 exhibition Queen of Wool and whose elegant all-wool wardrobeRead more
Spirits are high at Te Papa Press as our publication Brian Brake: Lens on the World, was nominated in the illustrated non-fiction category of the 2011 New Zealand Post Book Awards. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at Wellington’s Town Hall on Wednesday 27 July 2011. View theRead more
The Torres Strait Islander Festival which happens once a year in Queensland, Australia, marks a rare opportunity to raise awareness of its important culture. The overall intent of the Festival is to celebrate the contemporary and historical culture of Torres Strait Islanders. The Queensland Museum exhibition Awakening: Stories from theRead more
The advent of GPS in cell-phones and car navigation systems has done a lot to render this technology accessible for a variety of users, devices are now only 10-20 g in weight, and can cost as little as $100 a piece. Satellite telemetry was first used to study flying birdsRead more
