Dalatias licha attacking hagfish

Recently, I published with my colleagues from Te Papa Fish Team and Massey University some interesting findings about a fantastic group of species: hagfishes. Those primitive deep-sea fishes repulse any predator attack using their slime. I present examples of how hagfish stop the attack from shark several times their sizes.Read more

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Following the holiday period, Te Papa is getting into full swing for 2012. The lifts are crammed, the phones are ringing, emails are flying and meeting requests are flooding in.  Best of all, it also means that the 2012 Events Programme for Unveiled: 200 Years of Wedding Fashion from the Victoria & Albert Museum, London isRead more

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Pleated silk wedding dress and coat, net veil decorated with silicone rubber, by Ian and Marcel, London, 1989. Bequeathed by Ian and Marcel. ©Victoria and Albert Museum / V&A Images

This week’s ‘wedding dress of the week’ is an homage to classicism. Designed by Ian & Marcel this dress and coat is one of the most subtle yet rewarding ensembles included in Unveiled: 200 Years of Wedding Fashion from the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Ian & Marcel was founded in 1979 by twoRead more

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Parachute silk wedding dress, 1947. Collection of the Smithsonian - National Museum of American History. Gift of Claude E. and Ruth L. Hensinger.

This week’s wedding dress is a recent acquisition – one which caused much excitment amongst Te Papa’s History team when it arrived. Wholly romantic in design, this dress is made from a Second World War silk parachute. It was made for Carol Gifford by members of her family, for her marriage toRead more

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Detail of the back darts and seams.

Wedding dress by Charles James for Baba Beaton, 1934 The Parisian fashion designer Madeleine Vionnet (1876 – 1975) is credited with having invented the bias cut. She commented: ‘Maybe because everyone else made dresses that flowed in the same direction, I saw that if I turned the fabric on an angle… it gained elasticity’.Read more

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Beaded lace wedding dress and train designed by Aida Woolf, London, 1914. Worn by Phyllis Blaiberg for her marriage to Bertie Mayer Stone at the Bayswater Synagogue, London on 9 September 1914. Gift of Mrs B. Rackow

A Christmas Wedding This silk chiffon and satin dress was worn by Lucy Eleanor (Lulu) Cracroft of Hataitai when she wed James Meade Ferguson at St Mark’s Church in Wellington just after Christmas on 29 December, 1914. While the dress is machine sewn, it features a significant amount of hand detailing and finishing,Read more

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Wedding dress made by Gladman & Womack, London, 1885. Cream silk satin trimmed with embroidered net and pearl beads. Worn by May Primrose to marry Major Herbert Littledale on 10 June 1885 in Cheltenham. Given by the Hon.S.F. Tyser

Perhaps a little unwisely, I have decided to commit to a weekly blog post in conjunction with our current exhibition Unveiled: 200 Years of Wedding Dress from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Wedding Gown of the Week will include gowns from the Unveiled and Te Papa’s own collection – the exhibition has spurredRead more

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Thirty-nine years ago, the last New Zealand forces withdraw from Vietnam (22 December 1972) New Zealand combat troops were in Vietnam from 1965 until 1972. This military support was underpinned by New Zealand’s defence obligations to the USA, an ANZUS treaty partner from 1951. Fewer than 4000 New Zealanders were in Vietnam over thisRead more

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Te Papa’s botanists made several significant finds during their explorations accompanying the recent Bryophyte and Lichen Workshop. Led by Research Associate Peter Beveridge and Research Fellow Patrick Brownsey, the moss Dicranoweisia spenceri was found in some abundance at the site we investigated within Tongariro National Park.  This is great newsRead more

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[Dame Whina Cooper], 1980s, New Zealand. Westra, Ans. Purchased 1993 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa

In an exhibition that might raise as many questions as it provides answers, Brian Easton, curator of The Makers of Modern New Zealand 1930 – 1990 exhibition at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery, welcomes the element of debate that could emerge from his choice of subjects. Dr Easton, economist, writerRead more

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The varnish removal is finally complete!  The detail of the brushwork in the Poedua’s face and hair have been revealed and we are one step closer to getting this painting ready for display. During the varnish removal we discovered a damage on the stretcher which meant that we needed toRead more

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Tables set for a wedding breakfast Pacific style.

Unveiled: 200 Years of Wedding Fashion from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London was officially opened this morning with a special wedding breakfast for 300 guests. Perhaps surprisingly for an exhibition from wintery London, guests were adorned with lei and fresh ‘ei (flower garland) on arrival and were drawn upstairsRead more

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Envelopes from Carmen. Photo by Kirstie Ross

Carmen Rupe (1936-2011), a New Zealand transgendered entrepreneur, entertainer, and role model, passed away in Sydney this morning. Carmen was a pioneer of greater sexual tolerance, who came to prominence through the entertainment and nightlife options she provided for Wellingtonians during the 1970s. Taumaranui-born, as Trevor, Carmen graced Auckland, Wellington, and Sydney with herRead more

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The 'toast rack' travelling system. Photo: Kate Whitley, Te Papa

On Monday, the Unveiled installation team unpacked what must be considered one of the exhibition’s most glamorous gowns – a glorious number designed by Norman Hartnell for Margaret Whigham, a British society beauty who married Charles Sweeney, a movie-star handsome American, in 1933. While one of the most glamorous, it is also the most tricky toRead more

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