The public interest following last month’s blog post was immense and extremely heart-warming. The reaction was helped along by an article in The Dominion Post on the 5 June entitled ‘Positive search via war negatives’ and an interview with Jim Mora on Radio New Zealand National. The emails, phone callsRead more
Perhaps you know where some of the photographs below were taken and what they are of? If you can help, please note the number related to each image with your comment below. 1) What building is this Burton Brothers stereoscopic image taken from and where is it? 2) Is itRead more
Te Papa has a wonderful collection of 172 portraits on glass plate negatives featuring World War One soldiers. These images were taken at the Berry & Co. photography studio in Wellington between about 1914 and 1919. The men in these images were about to enter into a life-changing event. Some wouldRead more
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
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
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
A year ago, we launched the Te Papa Wedding Photo Gallery. We did so in conjunction with the news that the V&A’s sumptuous exhibition of 200 years of wedding fashion was coming to our shores. Both announcements were timed to coincide with the much-anticipated marriage of Prince William to CatherineRead more
The New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt and associated archive has been gifted to Te Papa, and is now housed in the museum for posterity. The Quilt is a profound and significant taonga – representing the many people who died of AIDS in New Zealand during the devastating epidemic in theRead more
Thirty years ago, Wellington is voted nuclear weapons-free by the city council (14 April 1982). In 1981, New Zealand peace groups began campaigning for sites around the country to become nuclear weapons-free. This initiative was supposed to highlight the dangers of nuclear weapons and to change national policies related toRead more
Early last century, New Plymouth man William Gordon assembled a photographic record of people (both Māori and European) who served in the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s. The Dominion Museum (Te Papa’s second predecessor) purchased the photographs in 1916 as part of the Gordon Collection. Recently, I have beenRead more
This week marks the conclusion of Wedding Dress of the Week, as Unveiled: 200 years of Wedding Fashion from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London finishes at Te Papa on Sunday. My final wedding dress pick is one of the most admired dresses not actually in the exhibition – that is exceptRead more
During Unveiled: 200 Years of Wedding Fashion from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London there has been much gasping and musing over the number of teeny tiny waists on display, and those elegant instruments of torture, corsets. I, however, have been captivated by sleeves – dropped, ruched, puffed and frilled.Read more
With the mornings crispy and the evenings increasingly darker, winter is distinctly on it way. This week’s wedding gown from Te Papa’s collection is perfect for the winter bride. This stunning medieval-style gown was designed by Italian high fashion house Carosa, and was worn by New Zealand’s ‘Queen of Wool’, Mary-Annette Burgess, for her marriage to Donald HayRead more
72 years ago, Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage (1872-1940) dies from cancer (27 March 1940) Michael Joseph Savage was New Zealand’s first Labour Prime Minister. He was born in Victoria, Australia, and arrived in New Zealand in 1907. Savage was active as a trade unionist and socialist, and first stood for parliament inRead more
Last Friday evening I found myself sitting at the judges table at the ZM Bride of the Century competition, as 19 gorgeous brides vied for a second honeymoon courtesy of Cook Island Tourism. In keeping with the theme of the competition, I have chosen a 21st century wedding gown this week. It is aRead more
