Recently I travelled to Stratford to attend the opening of Te Papa’s touring art exhibition Gordon Walters: Koru which is currently on show at the Percy Thomson Gallery. The exhibition includes a selection of the artist’s iconic koru works from the mid-1950s until the 1980s from Te Papa’s collection. ItRead more
Four of Te Papa’s ‘Berry Boys’ were amongst the 8500 men who left with the Main Body of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force on 16 October 1914. These men, in their fresh uniforms, were draper George Hornig (above, in a photo taken in 1912), cabinetmaker Roy Houchen, and Frank Barber, fromRead more
New Zealand has a new tree fern – kind of. Te Papa Research Fellow Patrick Brownsey and I have recently recognised a subspecies within the stumpy tree fern, tuokura, Dicksonia lanata. The new name is Dicksonia lanata subspecies hispida. It is only kind of a new tree fern, as it wasRead more
‘Sometimes they marched with fixed bayonets and you saw this silver ribbon come winding through the crowd…’ Ena Ryan This wonderful, almost cinematic line comes from an interview with Ena Ryan, a Wellingtonian who was born in 1908. In the interview she vividly recalls the outbreak of the First World War, andRead more
Tēnā ano tātou – thank you for all of your support for last week’s blog! It is such an extraordinary privilege working with our Kaumatua and Kuia and sharing their kōrero with you. Feeding back the response from all the readers is ‘icing on the cake’. Here is our next instalment byRead more
By the Art Curators at Te Papa: Sarah Farrar, Athol McCredie, Lissa Mitchell, Chelsea Nichols, Justine Olsen, Rebecca Rice, Mark Stocker and Megan Tamati-Quennell The recent passing of Jonathan Mane-Wheoki, CNZM, (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kurī, Te Aupōuri, Pākehā), the national museum’s Head of Arts & Visual Culture, leaves not only TeRead more
This week is Niue Language Week 2014. In this post, guest blogger Salote Talagi writes about kahoa hihi – beautiful shell necklaces from Niue. Materials and manufacture The kahoa hihi is a neck garland (kahoa) made from strings of tiny, distinctively yellow snail (hihi) shells. It is an iconic itemRead more
Just as the old Sesame Street song enthuses, take a little walk through your neighbourhood and see who you meet. Chances are that this week you will come across some faces from the past. For bent, the mysterious artist responsible for many magical happenings around the city, from giant pigeons to miniature box cities, has been busy reunitingRead more
Have you noticed a strong sweet smell while walking past any trees lately? You might be smelling the flowers of lemonwood/tarata (Pittosporum eugenioides). This native New Zealand tree is better known for its lemon-scented leaves than its flowers, which are small and pale. However, the flowers produce an almost overpoweringRead more
Earlier this year we welcomed Ngāti Toa Rangatira into Te Papa to fill our iwi gallery and to be our iwi in residence for two-and-a-half years. Together with iwi leadership from Ngāti Toa and Te Papa, the exhibition Whiti Te Rā! The Story of Ngāti Toa Rangatira, and a host ofRead more
This week Te Papa, Archives New Zealand and Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision are taking our collections to the streets for an outdoor multi-media presentation as part of the Wellington City Council’s First World War commemoration programme. The launch of Lest We Forget on the 16 October marks the 100th anniversary of the departureRead more
If you’re on the east coast of the North Island during this spring and summer, the Department of Conservation would like your help! Please look out for wild plants of the striking, red-flowered kakabeak. Department of Conservation’s blog post “Keep an eye out for kakabeak”. Kakabeak (kowhai ngutu-kākā, Clianthus maximus)Read more
Tabua (pronounced “tambua” – the b has a ‘mb’ sound) are pierced and braided whales’ teeth, originally taken from the lower jaw of sperm whales. Fijians consider them to be kavakaturanga (chiefly items). Pacific Cultures curator Sean Mallon highlights some personalised tabua from the collections.Read more
Every year, Te Papa hosts a number of research interns, and this year we’ve very lucky to have Caroline Bost working with us in the Natural History research group. She’s a young researcher from France who’s working on penguin biology. Over the next few months she’ll be unpicking some ofRead more
This week to celebrate Tuvalu language week 2014 we have shared a few highlights from our collection on Instagram including a pair of taka (reef sandals). In Tuvalu taka were more than a fashion statement, for some they were a necessity. Tuvalu is a low-lying island group made up of four reef islandsRead more
