This week is the inaugural Tokelau Language Week (29 October – 4 November). The theme is Ke mau ki pale o Tokelau: Hold fast to the treasures of Tokelau. To celebrate, the Pacific Cultures team will post a blog each day highlighting cultural treasures from Tokelau in Te Papa’s collections.Read more

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Wooden box

Since Senior Curator Pacific Cultures Sean Mallon began working with the Te Papa collections in the early 1990s, he has admired the tuluma of Tokelau (fishing boxes). Tuluma is the name given to wooden boxes that are used to carry fishing gear in canoes or as storage containers in theRead more

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77 years ago the distribution of free milk to 5500 primary school children in Auckland begins (14 October 1935)  This world first began as a temporary measure in Auckland for primary school children up to Standard 4 (year 6). The experiment, paid for the Auckland City Council, was closely watchedRead more

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About 35 species of fern are found in both New Caledonia and New Zealand. That’s about 13% and 18% of the total species in each area.  Almost all of these are widespread species that are also found elsewhere in the Pacific (and beyond). Here’s a few of them that IRead more

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Below are photos of some of the botanical/landscape highlights from the recent expedition to New Caledonia that I participated in. But first, a bit of background: New Zealand and New Caledonia both sit on the (largely) submerged continent Zealandia, which separated from Australia and the rest of Gondwana some 60-80Read more

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USA fern taxonomists have created a minor stir after re-classifying a group of central American ferns into a new genus named Gaga, after the singer Lady Gaga. Abstract of the article formally naming the new genus Gaga. Youtube video of the taxonomists discussing their research. The researchers say the namingRead more

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Most curators will be able to pick out an exhibition in their professional history that they are very fond of. And I think the exhibition I’m going to talk about in this blog is one show that will always be a bit close to my heart. On the 27th ofRead more

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I’m just back from three weeks collecting ferns in New Caledonia. For a place so close to New Zealand (shorter flight time than to Australia), I knew very little about New Caledonia. I expect that is true for many New Zealanders, and it presumably reflects our very different cultures, notRead more

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One of the most generous ways museums acquire items for their collections is from individuals donating things they have made for the benefit of others. This is one way that unique material becomes available to the public and especially to researchers. It is in this spirit that David Carson-Parker, whoRead more

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