Whakaae-whenua – a recent acquisition Part of our roles as curators is to acquire, or purchase, taonga Māori (Māori treasures) to further strengthen and develop Te Papa’s collection. When considering taonga tūturu (customary taonga) for acquisition, it’s the interesting, the novel, and the extraordinary that we tend to focus onRead more
Te Papa scientists figure prominently among the 238 researchers who have contributed to a major new publication: The Inventory of New Zealand Biodiversity. The third and final volume of this 12-year project was launched at Te Papa yesterday, and celebrated the work of scientists from 19 countries, cataloguing over 56,000Read more
I have just started work on my PhD, based at Te Papa Tongarewa and enrolled at Massey University, Palmerston North. I am joining Heidi and Carlos in the Te Papa herbarium, working on our native forget-me-nots (genus Myosotis); you can read about some of the work already ongoing in olderRead more
47 years ago Keith Holyoake announced that New Zealand would send a combat unit to Vietnam to support the US-led coalition fighting there (24 May 1965). This is a portrait of the National party Prime Minister Keith Holyoake who, at the end of May 1965, announced that a combat unitRead more
He kanohi kitea, he hokinga mahara. To see a face is to stir the memory. On Sunday 6 May 2012, a beautiful kahu kiwi cloak from the Te Papa collection, was named by her descendants as part of a special church service held at Rongomaraeroa marae, Porangahau. Te Papa PressRead more
When I first saw Gavin Hipkin’s The shaman (blue), currently on display in Collecting Contemporary on Level 5, it was as a digital image emailed by his dealer. I was struck by the ambiguity of the photograph. The stunning, pale blue background is almost featureless, and like the blue orRead more
Arnold Manaaki Wilson 1928–2012 Ngāi Tūhoe and Te Arawa iwi (tribes) Artist Ahakoa ruarua noa o kupu i takoto Anō te rite he whakatauākī te reka I puta ai āu mahi tohungatanga I runga i te tatangi o te kī. Tirohia mai rā aku pewa I taurite tēnei ka tītokoRead more
By Alison Burnett and Susan Waugh The austral summer is the peak breeding season for seabirds in New Zealand. Te Papa is undertaking research into the impacts of seabird mortality in fisheries on shearwater populations over the next 2 summers. We began the study in January 2012, surveying islands toRead more
The New Zealand science community was quite different in 1977 compared to 2012. Most government scientists then worked for one of the many divisions of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), our reserve networks and protected species were administered by multiple agencies, and the national museum was known asRead more
Here at Te Papa we passionately believe in the power of art to enrich, empower and challenge our lives and we are committed to bringing art to the widest possible audience. Recently, a small group of us have teamed up to develop and trial a new project called Stick it toRead more
The Yamashina Institute of Ornithology in Abiko houses the largest collection of birds in Japan, with over 60,000 specimens, including the newly discovered Okinawan Rail Rallus okinawae, New Zealand Kakapo, and one of the world’s rarest species, the Short-tailed Albatross. The exchange with the Institute in Tokyo is part ofRead more
A year ago, we launched the Te Papa Wedding Photo Gallery. We did so in conjunction with the news that the V&A’s sumptuous exhibition of 200 years of wedding fashion was coming to our shores. Both announcements were timed to coincide with the much-anticipated marriage of Prince William to CatherineRead more
The New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt and associated archive has been gifted to Te Papa, and is now housed in the museum for posterity. The Quilt is a profound and significant taonga – representing the many people who died of AIDS in New Zealand during the devastating epidemic in theRead more
German jeweller Karl Fritsch, whose jewellery and objects are on display in Collecting Contemporary now lives in Wellington. The building of this workshop has been a key ingredient in the development of some of his work in the show. Ring, below, was made in 2010 soon after settling into WellingtonRead more
The Hen and Chicken islands are a familiar landmark located some 10 to 19 km off the Whangarei coast. From 28 March to 6 April this year, four of us (Robyn Blyth, Raymond Thorley and Jean-Claude Stahl from Te Papa, Kalin Lewis from Ngati Wai) stayed on Mauimua / LadyRead more
