To celebrate le vaiaso o le gagana Sāmoa (Sāmoan language week) the Pacific Cultures curators are highlighting stories related to cultural treasures from Sāmoa. Senior Curator, Pacific Histories and Cultures Sean Mallon talks about the ‘alia. In the 1800s, the most prized and finely crafted sea going vessels were ‘alia.Read more

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To celebrate le vaiaso o le gagana Sāmoa (Sāmoan language week) the Pacific Cultures curators are highlighting stories related to cultural treasures from Sāmoa. Selu la‘au or selu pau as it is commonly known, were ornamental carved wooden combs made from the late 1800s using metal tools. A variety ofRead more

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Coming up on 7 July 2012 is the opening of the first major group exhibition of contemporary Pacific art developed by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. Home AKL is a dynamic exhibition presenting works by Pacific artists, most of whom live in Auckland. The exhibition reveals the increasingly significantRead more

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To celebrate le vaiaso o le gagana Sāmoa (Sāmoan language week) the Pacific Cultures curators are highlighting stories related to cultural treasures from Sāmoa. The third collection item for this week is a nōfoaga seu lupe (pigeon netting stool) that was used in the 1800s for the sport of pigeonRead more

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Malifa handbook; FE010588; Te Papa

To celebrate le vaiaso o le gagana Sāmoa (Sāmoan language week) I have decided to draw attention to a small handbook which was gifted to the museum in 1954. The front cover of this handbook indicates that it was presented to Mr and Mrs D A J Rutherford in 1936.Read more

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Eliza Jost with Michael Houlihan and Michelle Hippolite. Te Papa

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’mRead more

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Leon and Lara in the Te Papa's collections. Photo Carlos Lehnebach.Te Papa

Museums are embracing technologies, such as DNA sequencing, to both enhance understanding of their collections and showcase scientific research to the public.  Many museums around the world now have molecular laboratories.  DNA sequencing has many useful applications for museum research; for example, it can be used to distinguish new species,Read more

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Te Papa staff look at the huru kurī cloak in Te Whare Pora, the collection store. Photograph by Moana Parata, copyright Te Papa.

Every exhibition I work on is different. Each time I learn more and my basket of knowledge (my kete) expands and grows. This time it’s a wonderful exhibition about Māori cloaks, which features many kākahu from Te Papa’s collection, plus a small number of unique taonga which we’re fortunate to borrow from elsewhere. Kahu Ora LivingRead more

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Whakaae-whenua – a recent acquisition Part of our roles as curators is to acquire, or purchase, taonga Māori (Māori treasures) to further strengthen and develop Te Papa’s collection. When considering taonga tūturu (customary taonga) for acquisition, it’s the interesting, the novel, and the extraordinary that we tend to focus onRead more

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I have just started work on my PhD, based at Te Papa Tongarewa and enrolled at Massey University, Palmerston North. I am joining Heidi and Carlos in the Te Papa herbarium, working on our native forget-me-nots (genus Myosotis); you can read about some of the work already ongoing in olderRead more

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47 years ago  Keith Holyoake announced that New Zealand would send a combat unit to Vietnam to support the US-led coalition fighting there (24 May 1965). This is a portrait of the National party Prime Minister Keith Holyoake who, at the end of May 1965, announced that a combat unitRead more

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Descendants of Rāwinia Ngāwaka Tūkeke gather around the kahu kiwi before the blessing inside the wharenui Te Poho o Kahungunu. Rongomaraeroa marae, Porangahau. 6 May 2012.

He kanohi kitea, he hokinga mahara. To see a face is to stir the memory. On Sunday 6 May 2012, a beautiful kahu kiwi cloak from the Te Papa collection, was named by her descendants as part of a special church service held at Rongomaraeroa marae, Porangahau. Te Papa PressRead more

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