A new species of tree fern has recently been named after Te Papa botany curator and fern expert Leon Perrie. The fern, Dicksonia perriei, occurs only in New Caledonia mostly on acidic soils at altitudes above 1000m, in areas of high rainfall. The new species is related to the three otherRead more
Herbert Ian Fetaiai Bartley, Te Papa Audience Engagement Facilitator writes: Working at Te Papa for 5 years, I still get really excited visiting the Pacific Collection Store room. Each time, I always spot something I have never seen before and ask our knowledgeable Pacific Cultures team loads of questions. A lotRead more
It was one of the best days this year for me: walking along the vast, luminous west coast beach with jeweller Alan Preston. He strolled, collecting shells with an eye on the tide and recalled Colin McCahon’s influence on his work, White Foreshore. McCahon’s years at Muriwai are reflected in hisRead more
Rachel Yates (Curator Pacific Cultures) writes: The Pacific Cultures Collection storeroom has been very busy with guests of all ages from all over the world. In the last six months, it has been great to see visitors and the Pacific community connect with objects that have been acquired from Pacific people andRead more
This was one of the key questions that we were trying to answer when four Te Papa scientists – Colin Miskelly, Antony Kusabs, Jean-Claude Stahl and I – set off for the subantarctic Snares Islands in November-December 2013. The Snares are one of the world’s great seabird islands and broad-billedRead more
A Te Papa team recently visited the Snares Islands, 105 km south-southwest of Stewart Island, where they completed a range of seabird research projects. The most time-consuming task was a re-survey of the vast sooty shearwater (titi, or muttonbird) population there. Estimating the population size was based on two mainRead more
Grace Hutton (Collection Manager Pacific Cultures) introduces us to Nguzunguzu, the guardians of war canoes from the Solomon Islands. With Kesoko (a water spirit) putting travelling crew members at risk, Nguzunguzu were secured to the prow of every departing war canoe to ensure their safe passage. In the 1800s, on theRead more
I was recently fortunate to be jetboated up the Whanganui River to collect plants. I hadn’t been in a jetboat before, but more significant than the fun of that novelty, it was a wonderful opportunity to get into an area whose botany has been little studied. The Department of Conservation’sRead more
Te Papa’s curator of terrestrial vertebrates Dr Colin Miskelly is researching the life and work of the Canterbury naturalist Edgar Stead (1881-1949). This includes re-taking Stead’s photos from the same photo-point, taking other images to illustrate his diaries, and describing how the ecology and wildlife of each of 11 islandsRead more
Te Papa’s curator of terrestrial vertebrates Dr Colin Miskelly is researching the life and work of the Canterbury naturalist Edgar Stead (1881-1949). This includes re-taking Stead’s photos from the same photo-point, taking other images to illustrate his diaries, and describing how the ecology and wildlife of each of 11 islandsRead more
Packed full of stunning pictures, detailed information and beautiful bird calls, NZ Birds Online is an online encyclopaedia of birds created in collaboration between Te Papa, DOC and OSNZ. We’re indebted to the photographers who’ve shared their images with us – and now the world! Sonja Ross is the next intrepid birder in our Meet the photographers series.Read more
Lisa Renard- Te Papa intern from the University of Strasbourg, France Lisa is a PhD student and studies at the University of Strasbourg in social and cultural anthropology with Prof Denis Monnerie. She is also a Teaching Assistant and Lecturer. Lisa was interning at Te Papa for two months, fromRead more
Congratulations to Phil Garnock-Jones on being awarded the Nancy Burbidge medal, for his longstanding and significant contribution to Australasian systematic botany. Phil is the first New Zealander to receive the award, which is the highest bestowed by the Australasian Systematic Botany Society. Systematic botany is the study of the relationships, naming, andRead more
What will you find at the beach this summer? Join Te Papa scientists online at 1.30pm today, as they show you some of the amazing animals and plants you can find on your beach holidays. We’ll be talking about glow-in-the-dark invertebrates, how to tell the difference between coastal birds, andRead more
A few weeks ago we posted a couple of images from our Berry & Co photography collection of women dressed in uniform. Thanks to the power of the internet and the media we have been able to positively identify one of the women, and learn a little more about her life, andRead more
