Living tortoise brought home from WWI visits Te Papa’s Gallipoli exhibition
Te Papa welcomed a living piece of history today when it welcomed Torty, a Greek tortoise brought home from the First World War.
With her age estimated at over 115 years, Torty took a suitably slow tour of the museum, coming face-to-face with her own likeness: a detailed model of the famous tortoise features in the museum’s iconic exhibition Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War.
Torty was brought to New Zealand in 1916 by Stewart Little, a stretcher bearer in the New Zealand medical corps. He spotted her on a road in Greece after she had been run over by a French gun cart. Expecting she would not survive her injuries, he was astonished when the resilient tortoise stood up and carried on. Moved by her determination, he cared for her and brought her home to New Zealand in his rucksack.
The intrepid tortoise has since been cherished by three generations of the Little family, and is now in the care of Christine Little, whose late husband was one of Stewart Little's grandchildren.
Christine Little and her son Malcolm Little brought Torty to Te Papa on an impromptu outing, intending only to grab a quick photo in the Gallipoli exhibition.
“We thought we would just pop into Te Papa and see if we could grab a photo with her replica. But she caused quite a sensation, and the next thing we had many staff and lots of members of the public very interested to meet her,” says Christine Little.
In addition to her wartime origins, Torty has led an eventful life: according to family history she was stolen from Stewart in the 1930s and later discovered in a circus in Dunedin. Today, she spends her days in Christine Little's Manawatū backyard, grazing in the garden, and making occasional school visits.
With brumation – often called hibernation – approaching, Torty will sleep through winter and wake again in September. The timing of her yearly sleep means that Torty has never attended Anzac Day commemorations, Christine notes.
The Greek Tortoise (Testudo graeca) is known for its long lifespan, but the Little family has made careful plans for when Torty’s time does come: she will be returned to the Manawatū and buried alongside Stewart Little and his wife Maud.
Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War, was created by Te Papa in close collaboration with Wētā Workshop. It has welcomed more than 5 million visitors since opening in 2015 and has been extended to remain on show until April 2032.
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Media contact:
Kate Camp, 029 601 0180, kate.camp@tepapa.govt.nz