The star Waitī (Greek: Maia) is associated with all freshwater, and food sources that are sustained by those waters. Curator Mātauranga Māori Matiu Baker talks about a connection to this whetū in our collections.Read more

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The story of the 1832 deed for the purchase of the Wairau valley from Ngāti Toa by Captain John William Dundas Blenkinsop. By Curator Historic Māori Visual Materials Matiu Baker. The 1832 Blenkinsop Indenture is best known for two things. Firstly, as a duplicitous land purchase agreement for the Wairau valley,Read more

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NGĀ TOI ARTS TE PAPA KANOHI KITEA   Ahakoa he iti whetū ki runga ki te rangi nui pōkēkēao ūhia kia ngaro, e kore e ngaro. Even though the stars shining in the nights sky might be obscured by a passing cloud, they will never be obliterated! This whakataukī (proverb)Read more

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One of the core roles of Te Papa is to continue to acquire taonga that enhance and add-value to its existing collections. And with more than 30,000 individual items in the Matauranga Māori collections, Te Papa’s collections are considerable. And even though a considerable number of that total is madeRead more

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Tauru Matioro Te Tupe-o-Tu, circa 1860s, Wellington. Richards, E S. Te Papa

Eruini Te Tupe-o-Tū Studio portrait by Edward Smallwood Richards of Wellington     E. S. Richards’s studio portrait of the Māori chief Eruini Te Tupe presents Eruini posed seated facing front-on to the camera arrested in time, comfortably dressed in European clothing with a kaitaka cloak arranged across his upperRead more

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Wi Tako Ngatata ME023859; Writing Compendium [presented to Wi Tako Ngatata] This writing slope belonged to Wi Tako Ngātata, one of Wellington’s most influential tribal leaders during the early colonial period. It commemorates his appointment to the New Zealand Legislative Council. Wi Tako (with Mokena Kohere, Ngāti Porou) was the first Māori toRead 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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