Redcoated ancestor
Graham Jackson and his grandson Mathew Jackson Raines were thrilled to see the uniform of their ancestor Sergeant John Smith Jackson (1870-1963) on display in Uniformity: Cracking the dress code at Te...
View ArticleBirds of a feather
The Te Papa Store has just taken possession of a range of new stock inspired by the museum’s natural history collection. Dead Set is by textile designer Genevieve Packer, and is based on Te Papa’s...
View ArticleDecember 1941: This month last century
Seventy one years ago, New Zealand declares war on Japan after the bombing of the US naval bases at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii (8 December 1941) The bombing of Pearl Harbour set the Pacific War in motion....
View ArticleThe Berry Boys – The First 50
For me the new year is an opportunity to stop for a moment and reflect on the achievements of the past year. Today my focus has been on Te Papa’s Kiwi Faces of World War I project where we have been...
View ArticleRātana Church and Mita Ririnui: The Colours of Service
ME024090; Āpotoro Rēhita Haahi Rātana Kākahu (Registered Apostle Ratana Church religious clothing) Continuing the blogging about some of the key uniforms and acquisitions for the Uniformity exhibition,...
View ArticleHunting henriettas on Ruapuke Island – on the tail of New Zealand’s first mice
Few people are aware of Ruapuke Island. Guarding the eastern approaches to Foveaux Strait, the 1600 ha island is large enough to appear as a smudge of colour at the very bottom of TV3’s weather map....
View ArticleJanuary 1900 – This month last century
St Joseph’s Home for Incurable opens 113 years ago (29 January 1900) This home for so-called ‘incurables’, in Buckle Street, Wellington, was an initiative set up by Reverend Mother Mary Joseph Aubert,...
View ArticleThe Canterbury earthquakes: a small act of kindness
12.51pm today marks the second anniversary of the 6.3 earthquake that caused severe damage and resulted in the loss of 185 lives in Christchurch and its suburbs, with many more injured and displaced....
View ArticleFebruary 1943: This month last century
70 years ago, 48 Japanese prisoners of war are killed during a riot at the Featherston prisoner of war camp (25 February 1943) From 1942, Japanese prisoners of war were brought to New Zealand and...
View ArticleSweden and modernism in New Zealand: identifying connections
When Te Papa purchased Easy Chair two years ago, we acquired it for its associations with modernism and with the Auckland store jon jansen. But we wanted to verify the designer. Detailed research –...
View ArticleMarch 19140 – This month last century
73 years ago Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage dies (27 March 1940) Mickey Savage, as many New Zealanders fondly referred to him, was the country’s first Labour Prime Minister. Australian-born...
View ArticleKiwi Faces of World War I – Anzac Day update. We have reached over 60...
To mark Anzac Day tomorrow, here is an update on our ‘Kiwi Faces of World War I’ soldier identficiation project. We now identified more than 60 men out of the 110 World War One soldiers who were...
View ArticleApril 1913: This month last century
100 years ago HMS New Zealand arrives in New Zealand (12 April 1913) In March 1909, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward announced that ‘the Dominion’ (New Zealand) was offering ‘the...
View ArticleThis month last century: May 1953
Sixty years ago, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain (29 May 1953) The two men’s mountaineering triumph came...
View ArticleLe vaiaso o le gagana Sāmoa (Sāmoan language week): Inspired inscriptions –...
To celebrate le vaiaso o le gagana Samoa (Sāmoan language week) 26-31 May 2013, the Pacific Cultures curators are highlighting stories related to cultural treasures from Sämoa. European style rings,...
View ArticleA collection of Fa’alupega (chiefly titles) – Le vaiaso o le gagana Sāmoa...
To celebrate le vaiaso o le gagana Samoa (Samoan language week) 26-31 May 2013, the Pacific Cultures curators are highlighting stories related to cultural treasures from Sämoa. Fa’alupega or the...
View ArticleToday in History: Miss New Zealand is Miss Universe 1983
Thirty years ago today, on 11 July 1983, American television host Bob Barker announced to the world that ‘Miss New Zealand, Miss Lorraine Downes, is now Miss Universe 1983’. It was a historic moment...
View ArticleBanks’ black and white engravings – now imaged and online!
It took many hours of sorting, registration, taxonomy review, preparation and coordination, then 12 long sessions in the imaging lab. Te Papa Science staff have now completed the online access for...
View ArticleJune 1953: Last month last century
Sixty years ago, Queen Elizabeth II is crowned (2 June 1953) Only selected officials were invited into Westminster Abbey to witness the formal coronation ceremony, so thousands of people lined the...
View ArticleConservation of a Micronesian textile
Recently I completed a two year project to conserve a unique Micronesian textile. It was such a pleasure to get acquainted with this very rare object with distinctive features–I was amazed to see that...
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