Free museum entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand
Open every day 10am-6pm
(except Christmas Day)
Free museum entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand
Transgender people and communities are taonga.
Trans people from their teens to their 70s were asked to identify objects of personal importance and to share the objects’ stories. What emerged was a quirky collection that is a testament to the diversity of trans experiences, and which disrupts established (and cis-written) narratives about trans lives.
Lauren Lysaght’s mixed media work Hidden Agender is inspired by the life of Eugenia Falleni (about 1875–1938), a woman who presented herself as man in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and whose life was placed under the microscope in 1920 when she was charged with murder and ‘sex fraud’.
Carmen Rupe (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Heke-a-Wai, 1936-2011) was a flamboyant transgender woman, performer, business owner, and anti-discrimination activist who became a cultural icon in New Zealand and Australia.
This comic was created by queer trans illustrator, comic creator, and designer Sam Orchard after seeing the exhibition Poutokomanawa: The Carmen Rupe Generation at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Wellington, in 2019.
Historian Will Hansen explores some of the many forms of trans resistance throughout history, illustrated by objects held in Te Papa collections.
An online accessible hub gathering trans history in its many forms and expressions. We're currently working on sharing some of the beautiful trans-related collections we hold.
Check out our beautiful trans history
This poster challenges the idea that there are only two genders and affirms diverse genders across indigenous cultures.
Beyer was the world's first openly transgender / whakawahine mayor and Member of Parliament. She was the mayor of Carterton from 1995-2000 (elected twice), and (Labour) Member of Parliament for Wairarapa from 1999-2007. She was the world's first openly transgender / whakawahine mayor and Member of Parliament. Both victories surprised many as Wairarapa was a conservative rural electorate.
Browse the collection of photographs from the wedding of trans woman Vanessa Wallis Wedding.
Vanessa made and designed her own clothing, including her wedding dress.
Mani Mitchell devoted much of their adult life to raising awareness about intersex and gender variance. They began laying the foundations for the Intersex Society of New Zealand (Aotearoa) in 1996. The society was officially launched in 1997 and became Intersex Trust Aotearoa New Zealand (ITANZ) in 1998.
Mani is considered the first person in New Zealand to publicly come out as intersex. They have contributed to initiatives to include intersex conditions in the fields of mental health, sexual health and medicine, and have helped many people on their own journeys.
In the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 2021, Mani is believed to have been one of the first intersex, non-binary New Zealanders to be made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. They were awarded the honour for services to intersex advocacy and education.
Johnny Croskery at Devotion Festival. From the album: Johnny Croskery photograph album 1980s–1990s, 1993, New Zealand, maker unknown. Te Papa (O.044271)
Kerry Ann Lee, Knowledge on a beam of starlight (panel 3), 2014, found images and questions, vinyl, commissioned 2014. Te Papa (MA_I.342631)
