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History

Read about trans histories, the Moon Landing, colonisation and impact, Edmund Hilary, tiny activism, Scots in New Zealand, and so much more.

  • A gold satin cushion with an image of a king and a unicorn embroidered on it.
    Coronation Commemoratives

    Coronation Commemoratives

    The sixth of May 2023 sees the coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla. As well as watching the ceremony on TV, some New Zealanders may choose to buy or make a special souvenir to mark the occasion.

  • Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Sālote Tupou III and Queen Elizabeth II stand outside a car, standing on tapa, in preparation of getting into the car
    Following the Queen: Brian Brake on tour with Queen Elizabeth II

    Following the Queen: Brian Brake on tour with Queen Elizabeth II

    One of the Te Papa collection connections with the late Queen Elizabeth II is via the photographs of Brian Brake.

  • Metal badge with ribbon with a picture of Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Edinburgh on it with the text Souvenir visit 1953
    Queen Elizabeth II – Her coronation and first visit to New Zealand in 1953

    Queen Elizabeth II – Her coronation and first visit to New Zealand in 1953

    New Zealanders celebrated two royal events in 1953. In the middle of the year, their new monarch Elizabeth II was crowned; six months later she came to Aotearoa New Zealand in person.

  • A lot of people in a stadium field waving as a motorcade passes by
    Leslie Adkin on Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation and visit to New Zealand 1953–54

    Leslie Adkin on Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation and visit to New Zealand 1953–54

    View excerpts from Leslie Adkins’ diaries – and photographs – documenting Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation celebrations in Aotearoa New Zealand, and the royal tour of 1953–54.

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    Quiz: How well do you know protest in Aotearoa?

    Quiz: How well do you know protest in Aotearoa?

    New Zealand has had its fair share of major protest issues, and over the decades New Zealanders have become adept at mobilising around causes – from protests about wars, to the rights of women and LGBTQI+ people, protecting the environment, and race relations.

  • Portrait of Chris Parker wearing a felt hat. The hat features tiny versions of the key New Zealand public figures during Covid-19, a bag of flour, a tiny self-portrait of Chris wearing his orange hoodie, and a tiny official Covid-19 symbol
    LGBTQI+ histories of Aotearoa New Zealand

    LGBTQI+ histories of Aotearoa New Zealand

    Explore queer objects, artworks, and stories in Te Papa’s collections and discover more about the rich histories of Aotearoa New Zealand’s LGBTQI+ communities and icons – including the AIDS Quilt, Carmen Rupe, and Xena: Warrior Princess.

  • A face mask woven from flax muka on a black background
    Making Histories: Communities and Covid-19

    Making Histories: Communities and Covid-19

    Making Histories is a Te Papa project which aims to support visitors and communities around New Zealand to reflect on and share their experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

  • two fashion dummies with two outfits on in front of a steel frame and a dark background
    Fashioning ourselves: clothing, identity and culture

    Fashioning ourselves: clothing, identity and culture

    From woollens to workwear, pōtae (hats) to Panamas, feathers to fur, and khakis to korowai (cloaks). Explore stories that highlight the influences, industry, and imagination of fashion in New Zealand through our collections, exhibitions and research.

  • Illustration depicting memories: of a young man embracing his grandmother, of a pathway showing many people in his lives
    Chinese Languages in Aotearoa

    Chinese Languages in Aotearoa

    Chinese Languages in Aotearoa is an ongoing project using language to highlight complex issues of cultural identity within various Chinese New Zealand communities. It begins with a series of videos, of people sharing stories of their connection to their heritage Chinese languages, speaking in Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, and Hakka.

  • Silver pendant with a rock in the middle
    Sir Edmund Hillary’s Everest rock pendant

    Sir Edmund Hillary’s Everest rock pendant

    It is 100 years since Sir Edmund Hillary was born. Te Papa recently acquired a pendant featuring a rock Hillary collected from the first successful summit of Mt Everest / Chomolungma.

  • An illustration of a red ball of string on a blue and green background. Part of the string is tied in a not
    Asian mental health

    Asian mental health

    Many individuals from Asian diasporas in Aotearoa New Zealand have consistently called for a greater focus on mental health issues. This project responds to this call and aims to highlight various discussions, understandings, and perspectives on mental health of Asian communities in Aotearoa.

  • A blue and white mural on the outside wall of a building
    Listen: New Zealand’s Mid-Century Public Art panel talk

    Listen: New Zealand’s Mid-Century Public Art panel talk

    In 1950s New Zealand, architects made a habit of commissioning artists to make site-specific works for new buildings. Listen to panellists discuss why – and what happened afterwards.

  • An aerial photo of a city in ruins after an earthquake.
    Faultlines: Earthquakes in Aotearoa New Zealand

    Faultlines: Earthquakes in Aotearoa New Zealand

    Around 20,000 shakes are measured every year in Aotearoa New Zealand – about 55 a day – our whenua (land) never stops shaking. Plates collide. Pressure builds. The land ruptures. How do we cope with living on such shaky ground?

  • A very old photo with people standing in front of a wooden building. There is a dog in the foreground.
    Rēkohu | Chatham Islands

    Rēkohu | Chatham Islands

    Rēkohu Chatham Islands are 862 kilometres east of Christchurch and are 45 minutes ahead of New Zealand time. The Chatham Rise, a 1,400-kilometre mostly underwater land mass connects them to New Zealand. Lakes and lagoons cover about a quarter of the biggest island.

  • Close up of the Te Tiriti ki Waikato-Manukau | Waikato-Manukau sheet, showing the beginning of the English text
    The Treaty of Waitangi

    The Treaty of Waitangi

    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.

  • Black and white photo of a woman hanging out the washing on the roof of an apartment complex
    Listen: Housing for Health, Happiness, and Justice

    Listen: Housing for Health, Happiness, and Justice

    Listen to leading architects, researchers, and advocates discussing the role of housing in creating a fairer, happier, healthier society.

  • A young girl in a sweatshirt inside a house holding a homemade medal
    Make a medal for an everyday hero

    Make a medal for an everyday hero

    Share the Anzac spirit by making a medal for an everyday hero – an essential worker, or someone in your bubble. Wear it when you stand at dawn, and tag us on Facebook when you share a photo.

  • A man in a suit stands between stage lights and has an old-fashioned camera on a tripod next to him
    Studio portrait photography in Aotearoa New Zealand

    Studio portrait photography in Aotearoa New Zealand

    Studio portraits taken in a professional photographer’s studio – often making use of backdrops or props – were for formal, posed portraits, as well as informal, candid photographs of people, and sometimes their pets.

  • A lady reads inside under a parasol
    The stay at home quiz

    The stay at home quiz

    Board games, television, sewing, weaving, cooking – many of us are trying to keep ourselves entertained while staying at home. Perhaps this quiz, using items from the collections, will help inspire your next project or activity.

  • A black and white photo of two teams playing rugby
    Sport in Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific

    Sport in Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific

    Professional and community-level sport has a long history in Aotearoa New Zealand from team sports to individual achievements. Read about rugby, running, racing, and rowing, along with political crossovers like the 81 tour, international firsts like the Britten Bike, Olympic champions like Peter Snell, and life before the All Blacks.

  • Sailing vessel
    Voyage and discovery in the Pacific

    Voyage and discovery in the Pacific

    The history of the discovery of Aotearoa New Zealand goes back a millennium and contains the stories of many fine explorers, from Kupe to Cook. Here, explore Pacific exploration and European colonisation through our taonga, kōrero, and events.

  • The emigrants
    The Scots in New Zealand

    The Scots in New Zealand

    Think ‘Scots in New Zealand’, and your thoughts will probably turn to tartan, bagpipes, and ‘Auld Lang Syne’. But look beyond these and you’ll find a Scottish presence everywhere in New Zealand life.

  • a lamp, and a chair on a blue and wooden platform
    Tubular lamp: industrial design in the home

    Tubular lamp: industrial design in the home

    Made from exposed tubular steel, John Crichton's lamp brought industrial materials and processes into the domestic interior and would have seemed radical in 1950s New Zealand. Te Papa decided to recreate it for Modern Living using historic photographs.

  • Buzz Aldrin on the Moon
    Quiz: The Moon landing

    Quiz: The Moon landing

    50 years ago the world celebrated landing on the moon. How’s your space knowledge? Put it to the test.

  • Pink badge with the words 'Women can do anything'
    Whakatū Wāhine: Women in New Zealand

    Whakatū Wāhine: Women in New Zealand

    Explore stories that highlight diverse women’s experiences as they have made positive changes for themselves, their whānau, and their communities.

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    What remains: When photos capture fleeting nature of time

    What remains: When photos capture fleeting nature of time

    Collections Data Technician Gareth Watkins finds a series of photographs from the 1800s where a combination of movement and long exposure has created unusual, ghostly scenes.

  • Women’s Social and Political Union Medal for Valour
    New Zealanders and the British suffrage movement

    New Zealanders and the British suffrage movement

    Find out how New Zealand citizens contributed to the suffrage movement in Britain.

  • Soldier
    Listen: Professor Jay Winter on photographing the Great War

    Listen: Professor Jay Winter on photographing the Great War

    Hear a talk by historian Jay Winter, exploring the ‘Kodak revolution’ of World War I and the extensive trail of unofficial photography that ensued.

  • Poster with the words 'Save the products of the land, each more fish - they feed themselves'
    Saving food, saving lives: WW1 food posters

    Saving food, saving lives: WW1 food posters

    This collection of propaganda posters was produced by the United States Food Administration during the First World War.

  • A illustration of a lady in the 18th century with a 'cork rump' so large her dog can sit on it
    Bring on the bum roll – Dressing for Splendour

    Bring on the bum roll – Dressing for Splendour

    Surgical enhancement to make bottoms bigger seems to be all the rage recently. In the 18th century ladies simply paid a visit to her local ‘bum-shop’ to purchase something a little less painful – a tie-on bum-roll.

  • Queenstown flooded 1878
    Quiz: How well do you know Aotearoa New Zealand?

    Quiz: How well do you know Aotearoa New Zealand?

    Do you recognise New Zealand in the 1800s and 1900s? Guess where these images by historic photographers Muir & Moodie and the Burton Brothers were taken.

  • Toolbox condoms and lube
    Get it on: Condoms

    Get it on: Condoms

    Today, no form of birth control is as widespread as the condom – or as essential for sexual health. But it wasn’t always so.

  • Lace being prepared
    The power of lace – making European Splendour 1500-1800

    The power of lace – making European Splendour 1500-1800

    Justine Olsen, curator of decorative art and design discusses the fine process of conserving and preparing lace for display.

  • A soldier with one arm poses for a picture in a park
    Photographing New Zealand’s limbless soldiers of WWI

    Photographing New Zealand’s limbless soldiers of WWI

    In 1918, the New Zealand army commissioned photographs of servicemen who had lost limbs during the war. This was part of a government scheme to show that these men were still competent and employable.

  • James Bond Toy Car
    Gifts for fathers through the years

    Gifts for fathers through the years

    Father's Day is celebrated in New Zealand on the first Sunday of September. We've had a rummage through Collections Online and brought together some of our favourite 'dad gifts'.

  • Mauve dress in the Splendour exhibition
    Conserving and dressing 18th century dresses

    Conserving and dressing 18th century dresses

    Our Textile Conservator and Costume Mountmakerwork have been restoring two 18th century dresses for display in Splendour – one of the exhibitions in Nga Toi | Arts Te Papa, Season 6.

  • PM Jacinda Adern sees Shackleton’s sled for the first time
    Ours: A podcast of twenty Te Papa objects

    Ours: A podcast of twenty Te Papa objects

    From Jacinda Ardern’s encounter with the sled of her Antarctic hero, to a nine-year-old boy obsessed with the colossal squid, this new podcast series brings New Zealanders face to face with their favourite objects from Te Papa.

  • New Zealand Railways cup and saucer
    Crown Lynn pottery: A Kiwi icon

    Crown Lynn pottery: A Kiwi icon

    A series of articles looking at the social and cultural impact of a one-time ‘essential industry’ and familiar presence in almost all New Zealand homes.

  • An influenza medicine depot a man and a boy stand outside
    Quiz: The 1918 influenza pandemic

    Quiz: The 1918 influenza pandemic

    The 1918 influenza lasted three years and infected roughly a quarter of the world’s population. But how much do you know about it?

  • Photograph of a young family window shopping by Ans Westra
    Golden days – summer in the ’50s and ’60s

    Golden days – summer in the ’50s and ’60s

    What better way to celebrate summer than through the lens of the golden days of the 1950s and ’60s?