This Sunday marks the fourth anniversary of the devastating earthquake that shook the city of Christchurch, claiming the lives of 185 people and changing those of thousands of residents in ways that it is often hard to conceive unless experienced. In Te Papa’s commemorative display (20 February to 22 March 2015),Read more

The tragic news from the Pike River mine has put me in mind of another mining disaster on the West Coast.  In 1896 sixty-five workers were killed at the Brunner mine after a methane-gas explosion. It was New Zealand’s worst industrial accident. On the morning of 26th March, 1896, anRead more