Pat was a stalwart of the museum, beginning in 1977. He was a curator of botany and expert on New Zealand ferns. But he was so much more, including curating Te Papa’s stamp collection, and at various times managing the natural history team and the museum’s acquisitions process. Significantly, he was a role-model, mentor, and friend to many. This blog is a tribute to his wide-ranging contributions to Te Papa and its people.
Botany at Te Papa
Pat was a curator or researcher in botany from 1977 until his retirement in 2021. Among his numerous publications, he co-authored the definitive book on New Zealand ferns, completed the Fern and Lycophyte series for Flora of New Zealand, and described many new species. He won the Allan Mere in 2008 and the Nancy Burbidge Medal in 2017, the highest awards for botanists in New Zealand and Australasia, respectively.
His 11,665 plant collections are the third most in Te Papa, with the 7,841 mosses more than anyone else. Astonishingly, he identified nearly 10% of the whole plant collection.
Mike Bayly, former Botany Researcher: In 1996 Pat, and collaborators at VUW and Industrial Research, raised funding for a FRST-funded postdoctoral fellow. That was my first job out of university and it was the first time botany at Te Papa had supported such a position, stepping it along the path to being the thriving research hub it is today. As an early career botanist, I couldn’t have landed in a better environment than the one Pat created at Te Papa, and I am forever grateful for the opportunities he gave me. He was a wonderful manager, mentor and friend, from whom I learnt so much about botany, being a researcher and managing projects and collaborations. Pat set a strong example of how to be a great botanist, leader and friend and I will miss him terribly.
Wendy Nelson, former Curator Botany: When Pat started at the National Museum, the herbarium was in a very poor state. There were boxes and parcels of specimens crammed into shelves in a room with a single naked lightbulb hanging on a long cord from the ceiling. According to Nancy Adams and Fiona Pitt, in the first year of Pat’s appointment they embarked on a major operation unpacking, rehousing and documenting the collections that had been languishing in backrooms and even in the basement of the old museum. Over the following years, Pat implemented a whole sequence of steps transforming the accessibility of the collection and ensuring their long-term care. When we began the process of databasing of the collections, the scale of the job seemed insurmountable – but Pat understood the importance to holding the vision and then working stepwise to the goal.
Phil Edgar, Head of Natural History (formerly Manager Collection Information Services): Pat was an early believer in the value of databasing the specimens in the collection to make them accessible to researchers worldwide. Though the mid 2000’s Pat was a great support to me as we invested in new collection databases, developed the museum’s collections online facility, and looked to build our digitisation efforts. Pat could see the power of what was to come – the ability to join up the world’s herbaria to form one digital collection accessible to all – but was never daunted by the big task that lay ahead of databasing the “backlog” of 300,000 specimens. Pat professed a “chip away at it” philosophy, ensuring databasing was a part of the Botany team’s work each year. As a result, 95% of the New Zealand collections are now databased and available online.
Alison Kellow, former Botany Researcher: I don’t remember meeting most people, but I do remember first meeting Pat. It was at a party to celebrate the opening of Te Papa – he was so warm and welcoming that I’ve never forgotten. When I later moved to NZ, Pat generously welcomed me to the botany department to write up my PhD, then gave me my first herbarium job. I now run a small university herbarium and teach plant systematics – thanks to his willingness to give me a go. I’ll never forget Pat’s wonderful professional mentorship but mostly his warmth, friendship and support during some difficult personal times.
Leadership at Te Papa
Pat was manager of the natural history team from about 1989 to 1995 and subsequently Senior Curator Natural History through to 2011. In or out of management, he was a steadying influence for staff through internal upheavals. Between about 1994 and 2002, he oversaw the museum’s acquisition of all new collections, taking on the role during a period of low institutional emphasis on research.
Alan Tennyson, Curator Vertebrates: I knew Pat since long before I joined the staff of Te Papa and, according to Te Papa’s database, provided him with a fern specimen as far back as 1991. This may be because my mum, as a biology teacher, had previously taken courses with Pat on how to identify native plants. To me, Pat seemed like a permanent fixture of the museum. Since I’ve been a museum staff member, I’ve had many managers, including Pat. Pat stood out as being extremely supportive and sensible. In his quiet way, he was a fierce advocate for our natural history team and Te Papa’s collections. I never heard a bad word said about Pat – he was a genuinely nice person and we were very lucky to have had him as a colleague.
Wendy Nelson, former Curator Botany: Pat was my manager in my years at Te Papa – by far and away the best manager I have had through my working life. His integrity, humour, insightfulness, wise counsel could always be relied on. He has been a great sounding board, someone whose advice I have valued greatly. Within the herbarium under Pat’s leadership there was a really collegial atmosphere, a communal purpose and a sense of family. Pat was key in establishing the culture of marking birthdays and other celebrations, with shared morning teas and lunches, with great discussions and chat. Pat’s commitment to his own family meant that he understood the place of family in the lives of his colleagues.
Sandy Bartle, former Curator Birds [extract; original in comments]: Dr. Patrick Brownsey provided strong leadership and extensive support [during] a very difficult period for science staff which occurred during the transition [from the National Museum to Te Papa] and two major translocations. Pat deeply understood the three main activities of museum curators: research and publication, development of collections and exhibitions. Not only was he professionally active in all three as Curator of Botany and Honorary Philatelist himself, but he freely gave vast amounts of time and support to all other Natural History curators as well.
For a number of years he managed the entire Natural History Team as the Senior Curator. [Even after this] his straightforward but tempered advice on matters both great and small was usually sought by both senior managers and curators. I think he was relieved to be able to then better concentrate on his own discipline, but he continued to play a lead role in all strategic decisions regarding natural history at Te Papa for over 20 years. His particular skill in this area was quiet diplomacy. He was no rabble-rouser, preferring to help resolve issues by calm discussion. In this respect he was a skilful negotiator and, though deeply loyal to the Te Papa mission, also supported science staff in theirs.
No-one with Pat’s overall scientific expertise, breadth of vision and diplomacy now exists in Te Papa and Pat was a very unique and special person to whom many of us ultimately owe our careers. He will be impossible to replace because his involvement extended right from the government policy bodies right down to the practice of science at Te Papa and he leaves a very great legacy which will never be forgotten. Pat was a humble person, never one to “blow his own trumpet” and I’m honoured to sound it softly in his memory.
Rebecca Rice, Curator Historical New Zealand Art: The first time Pat and I ‘properly’ engaged was over a paper I was working on that explored the work of nineteenth-century women botanical artists titled ‘My dear Hooker: the botanical landscape in colonial New Zealand’. In it I imagined how different these women’s lives and careers may have been if they had been part of early colonial botanical networks – if they had been privileged to communicate with “My dear Hector” (as Hector was addressed by Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker) and to receive letters addressed in turn to, for example, “My dear Hetley” (Georgina Hetley, author and artist of The Native Flowers of New Zealand, 1889). Luckily for us, times have changed. “My dear Brownsey” was always willing to engage, to offer feedback and advice, informed by his vast knowledge that extended across the usual disciplinary boundaries. He was always generous towards these women whose work has, for so long, been forgotten to histories of both science and art. He took them seriously. He took me seriously. Thank you, Pat. “My dear Rice”.
Manuela Angelo, former Library Manager: Patrick had a close affiliation with the museum’s library. He served on the Library Committee, he advocated for the library at senior management level, when the opportunity presented itself, and he advised on the library’s collection development policy and the binding programme. He understood the importance of the library and its resources, within the museum – i.e. the contribution the library made in supporting scholarly research, exhibition programmes / front of house activities (assisting the public gain a better understanding of the museum’s Collections by providing access to its holdings/resources) and the wider community (national and international) through interlibrary loan and the exchange programme. He also had a sense of humour and was very modest. I have great respect for Patrick – I think of him as the museum staff’s “elder statesman”. It was an honour to have known him and worked with him. His wisdom, ideas, and counsel were always worth listening to. His was the voice of reason, and he also had something else, which nowadays is very much lacking to my mind, common sense.
Stephanie Gibson, Curator New Zealand Histories & Cultures: When I arrived at Te Papa in 2000, Pat was one of the most impressive staff members I had the good fortune to work with – he was a botanist one minute, a philatelist the next, and much to my amazement, single-handedly managed collection development across all the curatorial teams (it now involves many people). He was gracious, supportive, and very kind – particularly to a new staff member. I was so lucky to learn from him. One of the highlights of my career was assisting him on Stamped – Celebrating New Zealand’s Postal History, a wonderful exhibition here at Te Papa in 2005. Te Papa was incredibly lucky to have a botanist whose other passion was philately. Pat was a great communicator and champion of history, and it was fascinating to see New Zealand history through his philatelic eyes – it enriched our work immeasurably and we are so grateful he was part of the New Zealand Histories & Pacific Cultures team over the last two years.
Stamps at Te Papa
A personal passion for stamp collecting saw Pat curating Te Papa’s vast collection of stamps and postal memorabilia. He was involved in about 90% of the museum’s philatelic accessions, including the mammoth New Zealand Post Collection, collectively encompassing several hundreds of thousands of objects. This contribution was informal until he took on a one-day-a-week paid contract with Te Papa’s history team from 2021. For his wide-ranging contributions to New Zealand philately, Pat was awarded the New Zealand Medal of Philatelic Excellence in October 2023, the highest award of the Royal Philatelic Society of New Zealand.
Andrea Hearfield, Kaitiaki Taonga Collection Manager Humanities: I’ve worked with Pat since I became the Collection Manager responsible for the Philately collection at Te Papa in 2012. For me, as someone who didn’t know much about stamps, Pat was always happy to answer any questions I had and help me get my head around the technical details of databasing stamps. Pat definitely had a skill at highlighting the kōrero or stories behind the objects in the Philately collection. No matter how small the items seemed he could clearly and entertainingly explain why they were important. This definitely instilled in me an appreciation of the how special the collection is. When he showed visitors the collection you could see his enthusiasm spreading to them too.
Frith Williams, Head of Experience Design and Content: Pat was the Curator of the very first exhibition I worked on when I joined Te Papa in 2005, 3 months pregnant and new to the sector. The museum was a daunting place to come into, and I often felt out of my depth. Pat was welcoming, kind, positive, and reassuring. He wasn’t just skilled and diligent at his own role, he also made everyone in the team feel that their work was valued. He was a safe and calm presence, like a buoy in rough waters (with a quietly cheeky streak). He remained the same in all our encounters – a true gem of a human being. It was clear how much he meant to his natural-history colleagues, and I can see how he’s rubbed off on them too – like magic dust. Thank you, Pat, you made the museum a better place.
Mark Stocker, former Curator of Historical International Art: I first met Pat in 2013, not long before I joined Te Papa. He went the extra mile to help me with my article for Tuhinga on New Zealand’s iconic 1931 Smiling Boy health stamps. Pat went on to become both an intellectual and something of an emotional support for me. When I first started, I couldn’t stand the open plan location with staff split up in an unholy mix of job specialities and there wasn’t even a quiet study room. I had espied the Botany Bubble and knew this was where I could get serious work done. Pat was crucial in making me an honorary member of the Botany team. He was warmly supportive of my blogs on Te Papa’s fabulous stamp collection and we talked about me writing a longer article on the elegant 1919 NZ Victory issue. When I was a casualty of the 2018-19 restructure, he gave me staunch moral support. You never forget these things. Other people can testify to Pat’s botanical prowess but everyone will testify to his humanity – he epitomised old-fashioned virtues of fair-mindedness and decency; a gentleman, at ease with himself and the world. I also admired his imperturbability in the slightly crazy if never boring place that is Te Papa, the sort of person who never needed to raise his voice. Pat, you’re now in the fernery in the sky, when you aren’t having a good chat with King George V about the Royal stamp collection. You’re having a ball, though we’re all missing you down here!
Pat’s contribution to Te Papa has been legendary – he was an advocate for the museum, its collections, and its people. Many have learnt from him, and he will be greatly missed.
Kua hinga te tōtara o Te Waonui a Tāne.
He kapua pouri ki runga i a tātou, kai te ao huaota, kai te taiao.
E te Pāpā, e te Rangatira kua riro koe ki tē pō uriuri ki te pō tangotango, haere haere atu rā!
The above expresses the sadness felt by ourselves and the natural environment realm at the passing of a leader of great importance.
We welcome the sharing of more memories of Pat in the comments.
I owe Patrick a massive thank you – not just from me but also from my late father John Lovis and my late mother Valerie Lovis. How I will miss your steady presence, unwavering support, patience and gentle humour in my life.
My Dad was part of the reason Patrick and Wendy first moved to New Zealand – through a shared love of ferns, especially Aspleniums.
They also shared a deep love and enthusiasm ofor stamps and in my Dad’s later years his catch-ups with Patrick were more about stamps than botany (with red wine as an accompaniment).
During my two periods of working at Te Papa Patrick was always there for me and gave generously of his time and advice- the herbarium and Botany team tea room offering a safe haven of calm in what was at times a stressful work place.
It was while working with Pat on the stamp exhibition that I finally came to understand the allure of philatelic collections.
Memories of Patrick and my father will always be linked together.
Patrick loved his family and to them, especially Wendy, I give my love and thoughts and support. I hope it is some comfort to know how loved and respected Patrick was, how much his contributions are valued, and how deeply he will be missed. Arohanui
For many years Pat was a valued contributor, advisor and kaitiaki for the NZ Post collection. The NZ Post Stamps and Collectables team regularly called on Pat’s expertise in philately and botany. He both helped shape the collection and create new stamps. A recent example was the Sarah Featon stamps that showcased her botanical artworks. Another notable achievement was ‘Stamped – Celebrating New Zealand’s Postal History’. The NZ Post team are also grateful for the many years of support in archiving the philatelic collection, and for the many times he enabled us to view objects when he shared his incredible knowledge of the collection with us. It was always such a treat!
I feel fortunate to have worked with Pat both as a curator at Te Papa, and recently through my role at NZ Post. Pat was always friendly, kind and generous with his knowledge and time, and for that I, and the team at NZ Post are so appreciative.
Lynette Townsend, Programme and Content Manager, NZ Post Collectables.
We join with all the philatelic community in acknowledging with sadness, the passing of Patrick. He was a good friend to us at Mowbray’s.
Our main involvement with Patrick was in his role as recorder for the Expert Committee of the Royal Philatelic Society of New Zealand. The process of obtaining certified items could often be quite long and involved. Patrick was always very helpful in advising of progress. It was always very satisfying to receive back the completed certificates with his familiar confident signature.
Our dealings with Patrick regarding the Te Papa (NZ Post/Post Office) Collections were equally as helpful. His ability to locate material within the extensive & complex Archives was truly amazing. No enquiry was ever too much trouble.
It should not go unrecorded that Patrick was a very knowledgeable philatelist in his own right. His superb philatelic exhibit of ferns brought together his passion and immense knowledge of both philately and ferns.
His loss is felt by us all.
On behalf of John Mowbray and everyone at Mowbray Collectables
Chris Burtt
Philatelic Manager
I would like to thank everyone for their tributes to Pat, and to know that they are much appreciated.
Patrick always used to joke that, despite living in the same city, we seldom saw each other because I was never there. Well, it seems the joke is on me because I will miss his memorial service. I’m due to depart Bluff for the subantarctic on that day.
I was one of the lucky ones who was taught Stage II Botany by Patrick at Auckland University in 1976 – a course called Metaphyte Morphology. He was such a good teacher I didn’t need to swot for the final exam (I needed the time to swot for other papers!) – the information went in and stuck there because it was so clearly explained. Many times over the years since then I have benefitted from Patrick’s ability to clarify complicated information.
Patrick and I worked together sometimes: he was a very valuable member of the NZ Journal of Botany Editorial Board during my five years as Editor; we both served on the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology’s Land Environments Advisory Committee in the late 1990s where I doubt I would have coped without his wise counsel; he allowed the “Lichen Lot” (Barbara Polly, Wendy Nelson and me) to use the WELT herbarium facilities after hours before Te Papa was invented; and most recently he asked me, along with others, to test some fern keys for the eflora.
I still can’t believe that he’s gone, that I won’t just run into him at a meeting somewhere or at Te Papa or that I can’t email him for advice on some botanical issue. Such a wise, pragmatic, gentle and cheeky man. I will miss him. My sincere condolences to his family.
Thank you for giving me my start in botany, Patrick!
Comment from Janet Davidson and Foss Leach who are unable to attend the memorial.
We were very sad to hear of the passing of Patrick. He was a most generous spirited man, always helpful about anything botanical, and the essence of collegiality. We were both very fond of Patrick.
Pat was my manager and mentor when I was a technician intern in the Natural History Department in 1990, and was a kind and gentlemanly figure who introduced me to the work of a herbarium and even arranged for me to write a book review for a journal. Thirty three years later I was working as a Wikipedian with Te Papa, and wrote the Wikipedia article about Pat six months before he died (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Brownsey). It was the least I could do for someone who made such a difference to my career and life.
Pat Brownsey kindly helped me when I researched my book on Mary Sutherland. He worked at the National Museum’s Herbarium, from 1975, where Mary was botanist in the 1930s and 40s, at the then known Dominion Museum. Despite their thirty-plus years’ difference in tenure, the Botanical Department with Herbarium, had not been altered. He described it and gave me an insight into the care of botanical specimens as well as introducing me to Te Papa’s wonderful plant collection database, to which Mary contributed. Thank you, Pat. -Vivien Edwards, author of ‘A Path Through the Trees: Mary Sutherland: Forester, Botanist and Women’s Advocate,’ published by Writes Hill Press; assisted by the NZ Institute of Forestry and the Stout Trust. (Winner of the 2021 ARANZ Ian Wards Prize)
Pat Brownsey – the making of the man.
I met Pat when I was twelve – and so was he. Our birthdays were the same year, same month but he was always about 3 weeks older than me. We got together through the good offices of my mum, his mum (Margaret) and the local butcher’s wife who acted as a kind of go-between. We were at different schools (he was a boarder at his) so our times together were in the holidays. We had many common interests – stamp collecting, cricket (at which he was better than me), the natural world. You can see certain themes here that resonate throughout his life. Many hours were spent on the Somerset Levels in south-west England, bird-watching and looking for evidence of small animal life. We also perfected the art of ditch-jumping (well, nearly perfected as not every ditch was cleared!). Cycle rides through local lanes – those were the days when your parents happily sent you off with a packed lunch and an injunction to ‘be back in time for tea.’ In the Christmas holidays the challenge was to go down onto the flooded moors and slide about on the frozen waters.
We had family time too – Saturday evenings playing board games (Monopoly, Buccaneer, Careers) and watching ‘The Great War’ TV series. Pat was a determined games player. He may have mellowed with his own children, but in Monopoly and Buccaneer he took no prisoners and relished anyone landing on his property or the sight of someone else getting the card ‘Your best treasure is washed overboard to Pirate Island.’ Family holidays happened regularly in the west country and most notably in Wales where we earned money opening and closing the railway level crossing gates near our campsite. The same holiday the Brownseys and I found ourselves marooned on top of Snowdon – nothing daunted, Pat produced paper and pencils and we played ‘battleships’ for about an hour until a train came back up to pick us all up. Cricket matches on the beaches – Andrews (me and Dad) against Brownsey (Pat and his father, Derek).
We shared a sense of humour which manifested itself in various way, not always appreciated by those around us. We thought it was hugely funny to pour a bucket of sea water onto Derek’s sunbathing form – Derek was less amused! Not sure that my mother appreciated the audience in the back of our car when she was learning to do a hill start in the Blackdown Hills. As the car slipped backwards slightly the three of us (Pat, my younger brother Richard and I) became more and more hysterical!
We went to different universities and studied very different subjects (Botany for him, History for me) but we kept in touch and had one more thing in common: we both met our wives at uni! We both married in 1971 but circumstances kept us away from both weddings, which was sad. With Pat in New Zealand and me still in UK we drifted apart – until the autumn of 2011 when I came out for the Rugby World Cup. I stayed with Pat and Wendy for all of Wales’s matches in Wellington – and the years apart just melted away, the mark of real friendship. It was terrific to meet the extended Brownsey family as well. He and Wendy were great hosts and I especially remember my visit to Te Papa – because I went ‘backstage’ and saw much that the general public don’t (Darwin’s diaries!). We met up again in 2018, and things were just like before although he and Wendy did take Sandra (my second wife) and I to a restaurant where he persuaded me to try oysters – a long friendship might have ended there.
The tributes on this blog are testimony to the man I knew for about 60 years – but I treasure the memories of the boy, on his bike, in the lanes of Somerset.
Wonderful account, thanks! Really brought him and everything else to mind.
So sorry to hear about Pat’s passing. Kia kaha
Geoff Hicks
Stamps at Te Papa
A personal passion for stamp collecting saw Pat curating Te Papa’s vast collection of stamps and postal memorabilia. He was involved in about 90% of the museum’s philatelic accessions, including the mammoth New Zealand Post Collection, collectively encompassing several hundreds of thousands of objects. This contribution was informal until he took on a one-day-a-week paid contract with Te Papa’s history team from 2021. For his wide-ranging contributions to New Zealand philately, — Pat won the New Zealand Medal of Philatelic Excellence in October 2023, the highest award by the Royal Philatelic Society of New Zealand.
I have been reading through the blog of Pat’s philatelic achievements – there is an error in the above statement –
Pat was awarded the New Zealand Medal of Philatelic Excellence in October 2023, the highest award of the New Zealand Philatelic Federation.
I would be grateful please if you could correct this error.
Many thanks
Sue Vernall
Acting President Wellington Philatelic Society
Kia ora Sue,
Thank you for letting us know – this has been amended.
Ngā mihi,
Jane
Very sorry to hear of Pat’s death. I first met him at Leeds University in 1970, when Prof. John Lovis invited me over from Leicester University, when I was Phuding, to join a fern cytology course overseen by the remarkable Prof. Irene Manton. The three other tutees were Mary Gibby, Pat Brownsey and Margaret Thomas. During it we were able to find out that Dryopteris caucasica was indeed diploid, and then went on to show it was the missing ancestor of Dryopteris filix-mas, from the cytology of its hybrids.
Patrick went onto study European Asplenium with much success and later both he and John Lovis went over to fern paradise NZ, where Pat did amazing work on the complex NZ Asplenium species, along with Hypolepis and various other groups.
From time to time I would write to him about ferns and he would also ask me pteridological matters. It was easy to see that his knowledge became phenomenal in that subject.
Interesting to hear of his admirable role in the Museum, too, and I realise what a tremendous sad loss it is when a master of that calibre passes on.
Salutations and best wishes to all his friends,
Chris Fraser-Jenkins, Nepal, Portugal and Edinburgh.
Nice tribute Leon.
Full text by Sandy Bartle, Curator of Birds 1976-2009:
Dr. Patrick Brownsey provided strong leadership and extensive support to the entire Natural History Team at Te Papa, especially following the retirement in 1989 of Dr. John Yaldwyn as Director of the ‘superseded’ National Museum by Te Papa. This was accompanied by a very difficult period for science staff which occurred during the transition and two major translocation, first to an offsite facility in Taranaki St and then to others, in Tory St and on the Wellington waterfront.
Pat deeply understood the three main activities of museum curators: research and publication, development of collections and exhibitions. Not only was he professionally active in all three as Curator of Botany and Honorary Philatelist himself, but he freely gave vast amounts of time and support to all other Natural History curators as well. For a number of years he managed the entire Natural History Team as the Senior Curator. Sadly, he was told that his services in that role were ‘no longer required’ by the new managerial class; but his straightforward but tempered advice on matters both great and small was usually sought by both senior managers and curators, nonetheless. I think he was relieved to be able to then better concentrate on his own discipline, but he continued to play a lead role in all strategic decisions regarding natural history at Te Papa for over 20 years. He was ‘Mr Fixit’, the “Go-to Guy” for thousands of management and practical science issues, both great and small. In this way he helped shaped Te Papa as we know it today. Without his input it would be a far less functional institution.
His particular skill in this area was quiet diplomacy. He was no rabble-rouser, preferring to help resolve issues by calm discussion. In this respect he was a skilful negotiator and, though deeply loyal to the Te Papa mission, also supported science staff in theirs.
He volunteered to keep the Te Papa scholarly journal Tuhinga alive during this fraught period, editing many issues and chairing the Editorial Board. Without his efforts the journal would certainly have died. He was a great editor himself, very balanced and practical in his judgements, even in fields far outside his own discipline. I was very grateful for the time and thought he put into editing more than one article of my own.
He similarly volunteered much time to the challenging task of integrating the library of the RSNZ with that of Te Papa, ultimately creating the Hector Library as we know it today. Of course he had a deep knowledge of all the botanical works but the scope required was much wider than that. Without his championship, I doubt that Te Papa would still have a Library today. I also worked with him on this project, over many years.
He managed the external grant funds which newly became available for research at Te Papa from government over this period, again putting vast amounts of time into work outside his botanical expertise as a leader and champion for all science disciplines. Unlike most curators, he was not insular in his support.
He also managed the entire external Science Review for Te Papa, which finally ended with a strong government recommendation to strengthen science resources at Te Papa, rather than weaken them, as managers had intended. This was a great victory for Patrick and also myself (in a lesser way) and involved coherently summarising what science was done and why (for the first and only time since 1865!) and seeking support for these programmes from a global science community. The support received was overwhelmingly very positive and criticisms from Te Papa management circles at last silenced.
No-one with Pat’s overall scientific expertise, breadth of vision and diplomacy now exists in Te Papa and Pat was a very unique and special person to whom many of us ultimately owe our careers. He will be impossible to replace because his involvement extended right from the government policy bodies right down to the practice of science at Te Papa and he leaves a very great legacy which will never be forgotten. Pat was a humble person, never one to “blow his own trumpet” and I’m honoured to sound it softly in his memory.