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Voyaging the Pacific in Te Papa’s collections

From contemporary artworks merging Māori, Greek, and Roman mythology to an ‘ahu ‘ula (feathered cloak) that was once draped over the shoulders of Captain James Cook, Pacific navigation features extensively across our collections. Explore some of the highlights.

‘Ahu ‘ula (feathered cloak)

On 26 January 1779, the Hawaiian high chief Kalani‘ōpu‘u took this cloak, which he was wearing, and draped it over the shoulders of the English explorer Captain James Cook. I was donated to the Dominion Museum in 1912 and in July 2020, it returned home to Hawai‘i.

Banks and Solander specimens

Te Papa has a duplicate set of more than 500 specimens collected by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander during Captain Cook’s first expedition to New Zealand in 1769–1770.

Kupe

Kupe is an important ancestor to the Māori people, and in many but not all iwi narratives he is accredited with being the first Polynesian to discover the islands of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Marian Maguire’s ‘The odyssey of Captain Cook’

A tricultural reimagining of a bicultural exchange

Oceania: Early encounters

Explore the early encounters between Pacific and European peoples in Oceania – some of them marked by curiosity and cooperation, others by confusion and conflict.

Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique (The native peoples of the Pacific Ocean)

The panoramic French wallpaper, ‘Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique’, 1804-5, represents the intense interest in the Pacific aroused by Cook’s voyages.

Banks’ Florilegium

Joseph Banks’ collection of coloured botanical engravings was painstakingly printed in a limited edition of 110 sets, titled Banks’ Florilegium.

Voyagers: Discovering the Pacific

Forty thousand years ago, people began venturing into the Pacific. Read articles and browse collection objects related to voyaging in the Pacific.

Biography of Joseph Banks

‘Not only was Banks a 'can-do' sort of person – he also had the personal wealth to back it up.’ Read about the life of botanist and Endeavour crew member Joseph Banks.

Biography of Daniel Solander

‘Solander has become famous chiefly for his field observations and records of the plants of the south Pacific and Australia and New Zealand.’ Read about the life of botanist and Endeavour crew member Daniel Solander.

Poetua, daughter of Oreo, chief of Ra‘iātea

A portrait of a Pacific princess conceals an early clash of cultures.

Astronomical telescope from HMB Endeavour

This brass astronomical telescope is a Gregorian reflector type, made by Heath and Wing of London in about 1765.

Waterfall in Dusky Bay with Maori canoe

An extremely rare painting by William Hodges, an English painter on Captain Cook’s second voyage to the Pacific from 1772-75. It depicts a scene in Dusky Sound, Tamatea, where Cook first made landfall in New Zealand.

Tupaia, priest and navigator

Tupaia, was a priest and navigator from Ra‘iatea in the Society Islands. He and his servant Taiato joined the expedition of British explorer Captain James Cook when he visited Tahiti in 1769.

Ship Cove, Queen Charlotte Sound

A placid picture of Māori trading with British sailors hides a more troubled reality.

Chief mourner’s costume

It’s believed this mourning costume from the Society Islands was one of at least ten brought back from Cook’s second voyage.

Biography of Captain James Cook FRS

Captain James Cook was one of the mappers of the global village. His voyages into the Pacific and the charting of his travels helped create a picture that showed people the extent of the world they lived in.

After William Hodges’ ‘Cascade Cove’, 21 May 1995

A series of photographs by Mark Adams depicting Cascade Bay, based on a painting by William Hodges.

Biography of Abel Tasman

Abel Tasman was an experienced and highly skilled explorer, and was the first known European to sight New Zealand. He was also a controversial and colourful character who led an exciting and eventful life.