Explore the Digital Museum Tūhuratia Te Papa Huia

It is celebrated and argued over. It contains contradictions, and yet it offers clarity. It has a rocky past, but it is providing New Zealanders with new ways forward. It is the Treaty of Waitangi – this nation’s founding agreement.

Explore taonga from te ao Māori (the Māori world), historical images and documents, and kōrero tuku iho (histories, traditions) in Te Papa’s collections.

Browse hundreds of stories, taonga (treasures), kōrero (discussions), and mātauranga (knowledge) about Māori culture in Aotearoa.

ANZAC refers to the soldiers from Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia who served in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) during the First World War. Anzac Day is held annually on April 25 as a national day of remembrance to commemorate those who served and those who died in all international wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations.

From postage stamps to protest, childrens toys to familiar scenes, from early New Zealand society to contemporary migrant community collecting, view Aotearoa New Zealand culture on Collections Online.

Browse hundreds of stories, taonga (treasures), and voices from Aotearoa New Zealand social history and identity.

The Dawn Raids were the Government’s promise to ‘get tough’ on law and order and immigration in the 1970s. Raids took place in the early hours of the morning or late at night when police would enter homes to convict and deport so-called ‘over-stayers’. 

Find taonga in the collections from historical collecting in the early days of the Colonial Museum, to contemporary art from makers and communities from the Pacific Islands.

Browse hundres of stories, measina (treasures) related to Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa: Pacific peoples and cultures.

What art does an art curator like? What makes a piece of art important? Our art curators talk about their favourite artworks and describe particular pieces in our collection.

View taonga (treasures) and artist biographies on Collections Online from the National Art Collection that have come into the museum from collectors, artists, their families, and the public.

Browse hundreds of stories about New Zealand artists, jewellers, photographers, and discover the National Art Collection.

Te Papa’s botanical collections and research encompass marine algae (seaweeds), lichens, mosses, liverworts, lycophytes, ferns, and seed plants.

Crustacea, vertebrates, fossils, botany, molluscs, insects, marine mammals, fishes, and reptiles can be found in the largest, most comprehensive collection of New Zealand fauna and flora on Collections Online.

Browse hundreds of stories about te taiao (nature), botany, zoology, research, and the environment of Aotearoa and the Pacific.

Founded in Thorndon in 1865 by Sir James Hector, the Colonial Museum was Te Papa’s predecessor. Discover its early stories and people, and how past collecting practices continue to shape – and sometimes hinder – provenance research today.

In 1907, the Colonial Museum was renamed the Dominion Museum and took on a broader national focus. In 1936, a new building opened in Buckle Street to house the Dominion Museum and new National Art Gallery. In 1972, the Dominion Museum became the National Museum.

Rongomaraeroa is a unique marae (meeting place) within Aotearoa New Zealand. Like all marae, it is founded on Māori principles of kawa (marae protocol) and tikanga (cultural practices) it was created for our unique museum context as a contemporary marae acknowledging the whakapapa (ancestral history) and the taonga (treasures) of all peoples who call Aotearoa New Zealand home.

We share open collections, data, and knowledge around the web. Here’s why we do this and where to find us.

Are you interested in peeking inside Te Papa to take a journey into the wonders, taonga (treasures), and events that make up Aotearoa New Zealand’s history? Find out about our online learning options.

Take a moment or two to relax with online jigsaw puzzles using taonga from our collections. Come back frequently to find new ones!