The origin of the present-day museum was in a small wooden building tucked behind the new Parliament Buildings. This was the Colonial Museum, which opened in 1865 under its first director James Hector.
In 1903, Augustus Hamilton was appointed as director, and it was during this time that the impetus for developing a public art gallery in Wellington was gathering momentum. In 1913, an act of Parliament was passed (the Science and Art Act) that provided for the establishment of a National Art Gallery within the building, which had by now become known as the Dominion Museum.
But it was not until 1930 that the original proposal, with a Board of Trustees, was brought into being under the National Gallery and Dominion Museum Act. A new building to house these institutions opened in Buckle Street, Wellington, in 1936. The New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts also wished to be included and agreed to sell its land and donate the proceeds to the new organisation on the provision that they would be accommodated.
In 1972, an act of Parliament updated the Dominion Museum's name to the National Museum.
By 1987, the National Art Gallery was growing increasingly restless with the inadequacies of the building protecting its art treasures. The Buckle Street building was never completed and within ten years of opening its functions and requirements had outstripped the site’s capacity. Lobbying for a new building was unsuccessful but did bring the situation, and the need for a serious commitment to resolve it, to the government's attention.
At the same time, though the National Museum was a much-loved place, with changes in New Zealand society and the evolution of new attitudes towards our history and our identity, it became clear that the Buckle Street site no longer served the wider community.
The need for a museum that was more representative of New Zealand's culturally diverse society, and with a broader audience appeal, was keenly felt. The goal was a place that could preserve images of the past as a foundation for the present and the future; a place that could speak with authority about who we were and who we are; and that could at the same time communicate a sense of involvement, pride, and celebration.
In 1988, the government established a Project Development Board for the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa to move towards this goal.
After extensive consultation with iwi (Māori tribal groups) and canvassing of political support to secure funding, a new act of Parliament was passed in 1992 (the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Act 1992), which combined the National Museum and the National Art Gallery to form the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
Usually, national museums have been in place for a long time. They bear the imprint of another era and adapting them to present needs can be difficult. The development of the museum now known as Te Papa was a rare and exciting challenge - the opportunity to design from scratch a place unique to New Zealand.
After an intensive five-year development, Te Papa was opened on its Cable Street site on 14 February 1998 - on time and within budget.
The museum's names
1865 - 1907 COLONIAL MUSEUM
1907 - 1972 DOMINION MUSEUM
1973 - 1991 NATIONAL MUSEUM (1972 ACT)
1992 - MUSEUM OF NEW ZEALAND TE PAPA TONGAREWA (1992 ACT)
The Museum’s original premises were opened by Lord Galway in 1936, in Buckle Street, Wellington. These were closed in 1996.
Te Papa, in Cable Street, Wellington, was opened by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley on 14 February 1998.
Our directors
Directors of the Colonial / Dominion / National Museum / Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Sir James Hector 1865 – 1903
Augustus Hamilton 1903 – 1913 (died)
M. J. McDonald (Acting Director) 1913 – 1914
Dr. Allan Thomson 1914 – 1928 (died)
Dr. W. R. B. Oliver 1928 – 1947
Dr. R. A. Falla 1947 – 1966
Dr. Richard K. Dell 1966 – 1980
Dr. John C. Yaldwyn 1980 – 1989
Dr. Michael Volkerling (Executive Director) 1989 – 1992
• Dr. Alan Baker, Dir. National Museum
• Ms. Jenny Harper, Dir. National Art Gallery
Dame Cheryll Sotheran (CEO) 1993 – 7 June 2002
Ms. Pat Stuart (Acting CEO) June 2002 – January 2003
Dr. Seddon Bennington (CEO) 13 January 2003 –
Kaihautū, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Te Papa is a bicultural organisation which acknowledges the importance of the Treaty of Waitangi, and the partnership implicit in the Treaty. The Chief Executive and a Kaihautū (Māori leader) share responsibility for the strategic leadership of Te Papa, including the bicultural development of the organisation.
Mr. Cliff Whiting 1995 – 2000
Mr. James Te Puni (Acting Kaihautū) 2000
Mr. Te Taru White 2000 – 2007
Mr. Arapata Hakiwai (Acting Kaihautū) 2007 – 2008
Mrs. Michelle Hippolite 2008 –
National Art Gallery directors
The National Art Gallery was established by Act of Parliament in 1936 (National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum Amendment Act).
Committee of Management of the National Art Gallery 1936 – 1947
The Committee was the ruling body for the National Art Gallery, and continued in this capacity after the appointment of the first director in 1948.
Stewart B. Maclennan 1 May 1948 – 14 May 1968
Stewart B. Maclennan appointed as first Director of the National Art Gallery (formerly Education Officer from May 46)
Melvin (Pat) Day 10 September 1968 – 10 October 1978
L.H (Luit) Bieringa October 1979 – December 1989
Dr. Michael Volkerling, (Executive Director National Art Gallery and National Museum) 1989 – 1992
• Dr. Alan Baker, Dir. National Museum
• Ms. Jenny Harper, Dir. National Art Gallery