Welcome to the first blog to keep you up-to-date with the conservation treatment of John Webber’s portrait of Poedua. Katherine Campbell and I, the two paintings conservators here at Te Papa, will aim to post fortnightly on the progress of our work, offering you insight into what happens to aRead more
This pair of boots belonged to historian Dame Judith Binney, who will be remembered for her monumental contributions to New Zealand history over the last four decades through her writing, research and teaching. These boots were the historian’s favourites, and had a colourful history of their own. The question is: whoRead more
2011 Māori and Pacific Textile Symposium The beating of aute, or tapa, is a heartbeat that resounds across the ocean of Kiwa. The harakeke of Aotearoa, symbolising family, acknowledges the relationship of the Pacific people as one, through weaving. These genealogical and material connections will be explored at the inauguralRead more
Tīkoki ana te waka o Aoraki! Ko Rūaumoko e ngunguru nei! He parekura! He parekura! He parekura e! Ko te motu whānui tonu kua pani. Kei te hunga kua riro ki te pō, moe mai rā. Kei ngā makorea, he aha rā he kōrero mō koutou? Ko te Atua heiRead more
Kia ora kotou Dr Hamish Campell has just sent through an article he has written for the NZ Herald. The text is reproduced in full below. Hamish is Senior Scientist at GNS Science and is Te Papa’s geological advisor. Bill Fry, GNS Science Seismologist, also explains Tuesday’s catastrophic events in thisRead more
Empire Games are held in Auckland, 4-11 February 1950 The cup above was produced by Crown Lynn as a souvenir of the Auckland games, which 590 athletes from 12 nations attended. New Zealand came third in the medal tally with 54 medals: 10 gold, 22 silver and 22 bronze. GoldsRead more
Well it’s coming to that sad time when exhibitions are about to close and a lot of people are always in the habit of putting things a off to the last minute so… I thought I would help you all out with a bit of a reminder in the hopeRead more
We can all do with a check-up every so often – just to ensure things are going ok and we’re not falling apart. Today our team took the lid off the colossal squid tank and started to drain out the preservation fluid so we can give the colossal squid a check-up. WeRead more
When I first moved to Wellington I used to walk around the bays of the Mirimar Peninsula. My favourite bay was Worser Bay. I liked its name (worser than what?) but primarily I liked it because of a modest, single story house. The house was ordinary in everyway except forRead more
This weekend the City Gallery, Wellington opens Crown Lynn: Crockery of Distinction, a celebration of New Zealand’s most iconic home ware producers. Drawing on public and private collections, the exhibition ‘considers the company’s vital role in a history of home-grown creativity, international influence and innovative design, and the nature ofRead more
53 years ago – Sir Edmund Hillary reaches the South Pole (4 January 1958) 54 years ago – Scott Base opens in Antarctica (20 January 1957) Having reached the summit of Everest with Tenzing Sherpa in 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary completed another extreme feat in January 1958. Early in theRead more
As part of a project to publish the wildlife diaries of Edgar Stead (see blog of 15 December 2010), I am revisiting some of the islands that Stead camped on during the period 1929-1947. The main focus is describing how the ecology of the islands has changed since Stead’s time.Read more
While exploring the subalpine flora around the Otira Valley during the field trip at the end of the Australian Systematic Botany Society 2010 Conference I recently attended, I came across some plants that I have studied in the past, as well as others that I’m about to begin researching. AfterRead more
Since 2009, Roger Rasmussen, alongside his role as a Te Papa host, has vounteered to re-house, measure and photograph a collection of to’i ma’a (stone adze) from Sāmoa which were gifted to the museum by Rhys Richards in 1991. Because of Roger’s important work, the images of the collection are nowRead more
In December last year I was contacted by Department of Conservation staff on Stephens Island reporting that they had found a bone that looked like a parrot’s beak in their vegetable garden, and asking if I could help identify it. Stephens Island Nature Reserve lies off the northern tip ofRead more
