Welcome to our final blog post for le vaiaso o le gagana Sāmoa (Samoan language week) for 2013. In this blog, we feature a poem composed by Charles Niu, who visited the Pacific Cultures Collection during the back of house tours at Te Papa highlighting Samoa Language Week. We had an overwhelmingRead more
Welcome to the sixth blog of our series celebrating le vaiaso o le gagana Sāmoa (Samoan Language Week) from 26-31 May 2013. This is a tu’i ipu – a rattle used by Samoan fishermen when they are hunting sharks. The Samoan word for shark is malie. The tu’i ipu is made fromRead more
Welcome to the fifth blog of our series celebrating le vaiaso o le gagana Sāmoa (Samoan Language Week) from 26-31 May 2013. When travelling to the Pacific Islands, people often return to New Zealand with a range of gifts and food. Many of these prepared by family and friends. ThisRead more
Fa‘alupega or the naming of chiefly titles is a fundamental part of Sāmoan culture and custom, as it connects individuals and families to land and origins of their past.Read more
I’m just back from the 2013 conference of the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, where I presented a talk about weedy native plants. The programme of talks included updates on the conservation status of New Zealand’s plants, and the new system being implemented by the Department of Conservation to prioritiseRead more
What does a Te Papa curator do? I spent last week following Te Papa’s terrestrial vertebrate curator Alan Tennyson to find out. Here are some of the main highlights: Visitors Monday saw Alan meet with Trish Nugent-Lyne, a collection manager at Whanganui Regional Museum. Te Papa staff are helping TrishRead more
Pacific curator Sean Mallon provides an overview of the origins of mama rings from Sāmoa.Read more
Sixty years ago, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain (29 May 1953) The two men’s mountaineering triumph came just a few days before Queen Elizabeth II was crowned. Their feat boosted the rejoicing that was already takingRead more
To celebrate le vaiaso o le gagana Sāmoa (Sāmoan language week) 26-31 May 2013, the Pacific Cultures curators are highlighting stories related to cultural treasures from Sāmoa. This is a fue, an item of regalia important for a Sāmoan tulafale (orator). They use fue when they deliver lauga (oratorical speeches).Read more
It is with sadness that we farewell the distinguished New Zealand potter Mirek Smisek, who passed away last week. Mirek’s life was dedicated to his craft. He began working with clay in Sydney, after having left his devastated homeland, Czechoslovakia, at the end of World War II. Mirek consolidated his passion forRead more
To celebrate le vaiaso o le gagana Sämoa (Sämoan language week) 26-31 May 2013, the Pacific Cultures curators are highlighting stories related to cultural treasures from Sämoa. We are co-writing these blogs with Galumalemana Alfred Hunkin from Samoan Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. We will publish a blog eachRead more
Melanie Dash, one of our audience engagement team, travelled to the South Island to work with schools on our Wonder Box project. Students get the chance to have their work displayed at Te Papa. Find out what Melanie and the students got up to… 14 May 2013 – You’re the curator! It’s aRead more
Science, Library Services and Managing Risk to our Collections You may have seen the story about Te Papa on Campbell Live on Monday night which questioned our commitment to Science, and the future of our collections. Some of the points made in the story were misleading and inaccurate and this communicationRead more
It is with sadness that the Pacific Cultures team at Te Papa acknowledges the recent passing of Mele Saiatua Lavulo. Saiatua was born in Tatakamotonga, Mu’a in Tonga in 1916. She had many achievements in her lifetime, and became an important figure in the history of the Tongan community inRead more
Steeped in history, Solander Island stands as a reminder of how beautiful it once was in this land which once was the kingdom of the birds. Monday 6 May Our party of 3 comprising Dr Dominique Filippi, Director Sextant Technology Ltd, Jean Claude Stahl (photographer scientist) and myself (Michael Hall)Read more
