Thirty years ago, Wellington is voted nuclear weapons-free by the city council (14 April 1982). In 1981, New Zealand peace groups began campaigning for sites around the country to become nuclear weapons-free. This initiative was supposed to highlight the dangers of nuclear weapons and to change national policies related toRead more
Early last century, New Plymouth man William Gordon assembled a photographic record of people (both Māori and European) who served in the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s. The Dominion Museum (Te Papa’s second predecessor) purchased the photographs in 1916 as part of the Gordon Collection. Recently, I have beenRead more
Te Papa’s curator of terrestrial vertebrates Dr Colin Miskelly tells the 11th instalment of the story of the emperor penguin that went where none had gone before. Previous blogs on the penguin were posted between 23 June and 12 September 2011. One of the unknowns regarding the emperor penguin thatRead more
Work at the fisheries Convention on the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna meeting on bycatch and ecological effects of fishing has progressed in Tokyo in March. The group met to consider ways of reducing seabird, turtle and shark bycatch in fishing for southern bluefin tuna around the southern Ocean. AlbatrossRead more
This week marks the conclusion of Wedding Dress of the Week, as Unveiled: 200 years of Wedding Fashion from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London finishes at Te Papa on Sunday. My final wedding dress pick is one of the most admired dresses not actually in the exhibition – that is exceptRead more
A few months ago we received a rather unusual loan request, on the surface the request looked quite straight forward however on closer inspection it was going to be rather challenging. First of all the Community Mafutaga Tupulaga Tokelau Porirua had asked if they could borrow some of the TokelauanRead more
During Unveiled: 200 Years of Wedding Fashion from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London there has been much gasping and musing over the number of teeny tiny waists on display, and those elegant instruments of torture, corsets. I, however, have been captivated by sleeves – dropped, ruched, puffed and frilled.Read more
It is with great sadness that we share the news that our respected colleague and dear friend William McAloon passed away on Sunday 8 April. William has been Curator Historical New Zealand Art at Te Papa since 2005. A key member of the art team, William was a superb curator,Read more
With the mornings crispy and the evenings increasingly darker, winter is distinctly on it way. This week’s wedding gown from Te Papa’s collection is perfect for the winter bride. This stunning medieval-style gown was designed by Italian high fashion house Carosa, and was worn by New Zealand’s ‘Queen of Wool’, Mary-Annette Burgess, for her marriage to Donald HayRead more
How does jewellery addess issues of identity? What’s the connection between a cruise ship and an ice skating rink? How does photography expose events from the past? You can find the answers to these and other questions in the video interviews with artists whose work features in Collecting Contemporary . Here’s a glimpse of the artists we’ve filmed: OverRead more
Hollowed out and painted birds eggs were the first Easter eggs and, in Christian tradition, they symbolise new life. Te Papa’s photography collection holds a large number of prints and negatives taken by naturalists and bird watchers with an enviable amount of enthusiasm and perseverance. These images show a varietyRead more
When I started writing this, it was midnight in Paris but back in NZ it was a bright cheerful 11 o’clock in the morning. I had spent 24 hours crossing from one hemisphere to the other, and was left struggling with a conflicting body clock, unfair currency conversions and aRead more
A waggley tail is among the many body parts missing from this particular dog. One of the more unusual items acquired by Te Papa recently was this mounted dog’s head, claimed to be a kurī (Māori dog). Kurī were brought to New Zealand from Polynesia by the ancestors of Māori,Read more
72 years ago, Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage (1872-1940) dies from cancer (27 March 1940) Michael Joseph Savage was New Zealand’s first Labour Prime Minister. He was born in Victoria, Australia, and arrived in New Zealand in 1907. Savage was active as a trade unionist and socialist, and first stood for parliament inRead more
Last Friday evening I found myself sitting at the judges table at the ZM Bride of the Century competition, as 19 gorgeous brides vied for a second honeymoon courtesy of Cook Island Tourism. In keeping with the theme of the competition, I have chosen a 21st century wedding gown this week. It is aRead more
