It took many hours of sorting, registration, taxonomy review, preparation and coordination, then 12 long sessions in the imaging lab.  Te Papa Science staff have now completed the online access for 2241 black & white engravings of plants collected on Captain Cook’s first voyage. The Te Papa Collection Online narratives about the Banks andRead more

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In regard to Bob Brockie’s recent article in the Dominion Post (24 June 2013, page A8), here is some rationale for viewpoints about plants that some commentators have teasingly called “eco-fascism”. Instead, they are logical expressions about the conservation of New Zealand’s biota and ecosystems, including their genetic integrity. ForRead more

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Cordyline australis on the Munro Trail, Lanai Island, Hawaii. Photo by Forest and Kim Starr (http://www.starrenvironmental.com/)

My previous blog featured New Zealand native plants that are cultivated overseas. However, some of our native plants, including many of the species I recently saw in UK gardens, have gone ‘rogue’ and are considered invasive species in some countries. For example our pohutukawa (New Zealand Christmas tree; Metrosideros excelsa)Read more

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Lately I’ve spent a lot of time researching the soldiers that were part of  WW1’s 1st Māori Contingent. In a letter sent back home, Lieutenant Henare Kohere who was in the 2nd Māori Contingent, spoke about arriving in Egypt and being welcomed by the remainder of the first. When weRead more

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Te Papa Conservator Robert Clendon removes Phar Lap’s skull from the rest of the skeleton, before extracting one of the incisor teeth. Photo Jean-Claude Stahl. © Te Papa.

Earlier this year, Te Papa received a request from scientists in Australia for a tooth sample from legendary race horse Phar Lap. The scientists are hoping to extract DNA from the tooth.  Then they will be able to compare Phar Lap’s DNA with other horses. Press release from the scientistsRead more

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We have recently launched NZ Birds Online, an encyclopaedia of New Zealand birds. I have been involved in this project for 18 months, from the IT side of things, and it’s been an absolute pleasure all along! I’m an identification geek (among other geekily obsessions). If I have taken aRead more

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The paper conservation section of the Conservation and Object Support team at Te Papa was pleased to host Liisi Hakala, from Helsinki’s Metropolia University in Finland, for a three month internship from March to June this year. Liisi is about to enter her final year of a four-year bachelor’s degreeRead more

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Torquay palm (cabbage tree; Cordyline australis) planted along the Torquay waterfront. Photo credit: Lara Shepherd.

New Zealand plants have a long history of cultivation overseas. In the UK one of the most well known New Zealand plants is the ‘Torquay palm’, which we know as the cabbage tree (Cordyline australis). Cabbage trees, which botanically-speaking are not palms, were first grown in the UK in theRead more

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As Te Papa hosts we get to see, interact and work with some amazing things. Since I started 4 years ago I have been immersed in the final 24 hours of Pompeii, spent my days with works by some of the great European masters, been surrounded by the intricate tapaRead more

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Underside of a rustyback frond showing the orange-brown hairs that give this fern its name. Photo credit: Lara Shepherd.

Whilst recently holidaying in Bristol in the UK I was amazed at the abundance and variety of ferns growing on the stone walls around the city. The spleenwort or Asplenium ferns seem to be the most common ferns of this habitat. This genus also occurs in New Zealand and includesRead more

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I don’t actually work here. Well, I am doing work here, but for free. I’m currently half-way through a PGDip in Museum and Heritage Studies and as part of that, I get to do a placement. Just like how teachers do placements at schools, I’m doing one at a museum.Read more

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