What does a young Japanese migrant from Hiroshima bring with her to her new adopted country? Setsuko Yotsugi brought a few things with her to start a future life in Wellington: hopes, dreams, resilience, and values. Here, her daughter Deb Donnelly tells the story of her mother’s journey to Aotearoa New Zealand and how she kept her connection with her birth country alive.Read more
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and George left New Zealand this afternoon for Sydney, Australia. The Cambridge’s departure was less scenic than the Duke’s grandparents’ at the end of January 1954. On that occasion, just over 60 years ago, the royal yacht, the SS Gothic, made an unscheduled visit to MilfordRead more
Here is the perfect indoors game for a rainy day during a royal visit. Produced in the 1800s, its playing instructions are long gone. But you can still test yourself to see how many British sovereigns you can name, from William the Conqueror to Queen Victoria. Read more
Stephanie Gibson, Te Papa’s Curator of Contemporary Life & Culture writes: It was with great sadness last week that I read about the demise of royal visit souvenirs (‘No royal knick-knacks thanks, we’re Kiwis’, The Dominion Post, 1 April 2014). According to the journalist ‘tacky royal collectibles are becoming relicsRead more
Continuing our series of blogs to mark the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to New Zealand, I thought I would touch on one of the lesser known royal visits of the past, that of William’s grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, in December 1956. The relative obscurity ofRead more
57 years ago – Queen Elizabeth arrives in Auckland, becoming the country’s first reigning monarch to visit New Zealand (23 December 1953) The Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, arrived in New Zealand just before Christmas in 1953 for a 39-day tour. In the past, only sons or brothers ofRead more
