Brian Brake grew up in Arthur’s Pass and retained a love of New Zealand’s mountains all his life.  He took hundreds of photographs of South Island peaks, lakes and rivers.   If you’re an alpine enthusiast, a keen tramper, or you know the South Island well, please take a look andRead more

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In: History, Photography

Where would you go to find a new species? Perhaps somewhere remote and little-visited, especially if it is ecologically unusual – New Caledonia maybe… Well, instead, how about inside Te Papa’s collections, because that’s where I first discovered a new species of Gleichenia tangle fern. A lot of biodiversity remainsRead more

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 I’ve been asked a lot of questions about why some of the new acquisitions were pursued and why they were put into this show, so hopefully this entry will help answer some of the queries and shed light on the curatorial decisions made for Uniformity. In my last blog Uniformity: WhyRead more

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In: History, Māori

The Spade-toothed whale Mesoplodon traversii, is now known from 5 specimens, three of which are housed at Te Papa. With only one of these specimens a complete skeleton, the species is as rare as they come – even among beaked whales – the most elusive of all the world’s whales. WhalesRead more

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Even in this well-informed age it’s surprising how much we still don’t know about the natural world – especially the oceans!    All whales must come to the surface to breathe, despite this the Spade-tooth whale Mesoplodon traversii (Gray, 1874), an animal over 5m in length, has never been see alive, and untilRead more

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Since the Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, Te Papa has been collecting objects relating to the earthquakes.  We have been particularly interested in objects which demonstrate acts of public support, such as fundraising and spirit-raising initiatives, and creative and entrepreneurial responses to the earthquakes. ’Aftersocks’, 2011, New Zealand. Rural Women New Zealand, New ZealandRead more

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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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