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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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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Karl Fritsch

German jeweller Karl Fritsch, whose jewellery and objects are on display in Collecting Contemporary now lives in Wellington.  The building of this workshop has been a key ingredient in the development of some of his work in the show. Ring, below, was made in 2010 soon after settling into WellingtonRead more

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Tuna for sale in Tsukiji market in Tokyo, March 2012. Photo: Susan Waugh.

Work at the fisheries Convention on the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna meeting on bycatch and ecological effects of fishing has progressed in Tokyo in March. The group met to consider ways of reducing seabird, turtle and shark bycatch in fishing for southern bluefin tuna around the southern Ocean. AlbatrossRead more

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William McAloon with Colin McCahon’s 'Northland panels', 1958.

It is with great sadness that we share the news that our respected colleague and dear friend William McAloon passed away on Sunday 8 April. William has been Curator Historical New Zealand Art at Te Papa since 2005. A key member of the art team, William was a superb curator,Read more

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Sir Paul Callaghan 1947–2012 GNZM, FRS, FRSNZ Kua waipuketia te awa o Whanganui. Kua mahue pani te motu i te hinganga o tēnei tōtara haemata e te ringa kaha o aituā. Moe mai rā e te mata punenga. Nāu, nā te ihu atamai, nā te kanohi hōmiromiro te pūtaiao iRead more

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Teamwork during a Te Papa funded charter trip in the Hauraki Gulf got us a step closer in the hunt for the breeding grounds of the recently rediscovered New Zealand Storm-Petrel (Pelaeornis maoriana). The search team included Te Papa researcher Jean-Claude Stahl, Chris Gaskin who is part of the New Zealand storm-petrelRead more

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Buller’s mollymawk landing (Snares Islands). Te Papa

It has been a few days since our last update. During this time, we have been island hopping on the way down to the Auckland Islands. After refuelling and restocking the food cupboards, we departed Bluff on a lovely sunny summer’s day, hoping that the good weather will to stayRead more

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Happy New year all!  I hope you all had a good holiday break and had your cameras out snapping away.  Maybe your images will one day be part of the Museum collection……you never know.    I’ve been doing a lot of image research lately around significant events, where an imageRead more

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Red-billed gull oiled at Maketu. Photograph by and reproduced courtesy of Dominique Filippi

Dead oiled wildlife continues to be collected from Bay of Plenty beaches, and the Te Papa Natural Environment team has been assisting with the Wildlife Recovery Centres activities of documenting and recovering species affected by the oil. The species found oiled include the many birds which nest in the BayRead more

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With the recent death of Len Castle, New Zealand has lost one of its greatest potters who developed a long and innovative approach to clay that can be bound up in the search for national identity. Castle began working with clay from 1947 experimenting with commercial clays and Westmere beachRead more

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