Tai Tamariki Kindergaten have written this great article for the forthcoming ecARTnz magazine about their creative response to the two China exhibitions held recently at Te Papa. Our curators, Rebecca Rice and Justine Olsen were both blown away by the children’s work. I am sure you will be too! Tai Tamariki KindergartenRead more
For Tongan language week 2014 – Uike Kātoanga’i ‘o e Lea Faka-Tonga I have been thinking about how our Tongan collection reflects this year’s theme “Ko e Kai ia ‘a e Tonga” – “Enriching Aotearoa with Tongan Wisdom”. My first thought was of the large ngatu pepa (2007) produced by IloRead more
Te Papa is excited to announce that there’s something big – extremely big – in our freezer. It’s got eight arms and two tentacles, with some rather fearsome looking hooks. It’s got eyes the size of a soccer ball. It’s got a doughnut-shaped brain. Can you guess what it isRead more
On Sunday 24th August we celebrated the launch of our kids audio guide for visitors to the Ngā Toi / Arts Te Papa exhibition. Children’s faces lit up with excitement when they heard their voices playing in the gallery. Visitors crowded around keen to hear and parents and teachersRead more
This week is Tongan language week 2014 – Uike Kātoanga’i ‘o e Lea Faka-Tonga. The theme for this year is “Ko e Kai ia ‘a e Tonga” – “Enriching Aotearoa with Tongan Wisdom”. Te Papa’s Pacific Cultures collections have just over 1000 artefacts associated with Tonga, from art works andRead more
I need your help to identify the buildings and locations in a small selection of early cartes-de-visite photographs which are mostly of Whanganui. These photographs were taken by William Harding who operated a long running photographic studio in the city in the second half of the 19th century. Some of these buildingsRead more
It is with sadness that we farewell Helen Mason, potter, first editor of the New Zealand Potter and great friend and mentor of the craft/arts community. Helen Mason’s involvement in the arts, from the early days of the studio pottery movement to her more recent endeavours, has become legendary. HerRead more
Lissa Mitchell, Curator Historical Documentary Photography, looks at various views of Whanganui River’s famous ‘drop scene’. I want to share the journey of one image of Whanganui River taken by Dunedin photography studio and postcard publishers Muir & Moodie. This photograph has been reproduced in so many different versions thatRead more
The image above is my favourite from a WWI album with photos by NZ soldier Herbert (Bert) Green. The group seems just perfectly composed. There is also the sense of it being two photographs somehow layered together, with another scene unfolding quite independently behind the soldiers. The way the hat of theRead more
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the occupation of Samoa by New Zealand troops. It was the first military action of New Zealanders in the first world war. This postcard titled ’German War Flag captured at Samoa by New Zealand Expeditionary Force’ is one of a small group of itemsRead more
Last week Te Papa hosted 90 students from Wellington-area schools for a special speed date. Of the literary kind. The event starred contributors to the recent Te Papa Press publication The Curioseum: Collected Stories of the Odd and Marvellous, including Dave Armstrong, James Brown, Sarah Laing and Jo Randerson, asRead more
Can you spot the arrow in the sky? This photographic postcard, by photographer James Daroux, was sent by Herman Wollerman to his father in Wellington from the Takapau Divisional training camp in the Hawke’s Bay in May 1914. Lissa Mitchell, Curator Historical Documentary Photography, explains the story of this postcard.Read more
Something I will never forget is having once witnessed the making of fire using the traditional hika ahi or ‘fire plough’ method. This was about 9 or 10 years ago during a toki making wānanga held out at Hongoeka Marae, Plimmerton. Those of us present looked on with a senseRead more
What is a relic of World War I? Is it a lemon squeezer hat, a fundraising tapestry, a knitting pattern or an Egyptian cigarette souvenired by a soldier? This is a question at the heart of Holding on to Home which Te Papa Press launched last Thursday. With more than 300Read more
Back in July, students from Makara Model School had the chance to meet some Te Papa curators and get a ‘behind the scenes’ look at part of our Natural History collection store. This opportunity came about as part of Science Live: Expedition Snares Island that was broadcast earlier in the year. ByRead more
