Te Papa is saddened to hear about the death of London-based New Zealand artist Alexis Hunter on 24 February 2014. Three years after completing her studies at the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland in 1969, Hunter relocated to England and established herself in London. SheRead more

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This summer, we ran a pilot project to transcribe the diaries of George Leslie Adkin, and put them online. Adkin wrote in his diary every day, and his 1913 diaries detail his courtship of Maud Herd, whom he later married. Adkin was also a talented photographer, and took many photographs ofRead more

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Adult morepork with juvenile. Blowhard Bush, Hawkes Bay, January 2013. Photographer: Adam Clarke © Adam Clarke, courtesy NZ Birds Online

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! Joining us for our Meet the photographers series is Adam Clarke, who had the privilegeRead more

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We need readers local knowledge again to help identify the locations in the images. Please comment in the section at the bottom. Thanks! 1) Does the spire in the background give it away? 2) Its summer somewhere… 3) A Northland church with trees and clouds… 4) Building on a hill takenRead more

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The ‘Berry Boys’ began as an internal nickname for the men depicted in Te Papa’s collection of soldier portraits by the Wellington photography studio Berry & Co. Amongst the soldiers, however, are some anomalies.  Flicking through the collection on mass, something about a couple of soldier portraits demanded a closer inspection. The bodyRead more

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A selection of photographs of girls taken in New Zealand during the nineteenth century from Te Papa’s photography collection in honour of International Girl Day. Most of the photographs featured are carte-de-visite cards and are not much bigger than they appear in this blog. All the girls in these photographs wereRead more

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Brian Brake took some intriguing photographs of people in pubs and bars. At the Randwick racecourse bar in Sydney he used Kodachrome to capture the garish colours and dramatic expressions. On another occasion he used black and white 35mm roll film to create a different effect with his images ofRead more

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Do you know where any of the locations in these photographs are? If so, please leave a comment in the section at the bottom of the post along with the image number. 1) Does this mural still exist? 2) Like the one above, this mural might have been painted over or the building knocked down… 3) ARead more

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Sixty years ago, Queen Elizabeth II is crowned (2 June 1953) Only selected officials were invited into Westminster Abbey to witness the formal coronation ceremony, so thousands of people lined the route of the coronation porcession in order to see the Queen. Robert Buhler’s lithograph (above) depicts part of theRead more

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