Tāmaki Paenga Hira[a] | |
 Auckland War Memorial Museum | |
 | |
Former name |
|
|---|---|
| Established | 25 October 1852; 173 years ago (1852-10-25) |
| Coordinates | 36°51′37″S174°46′40″E / 36.86028°S 174.77778°E /-36.86028; 174.77778 |
| Type | Encyclopaedic / universal |
| Key holdings |
|
| Collection size | 4.5 million objects[7] |
| Visitors | 859,779 (FY 2016–17)[8] |
| Director | David Reeves |
| Chairperson | Richard Bedford[9] |
| Architect | Grierson & Aimer |
| Designated | 6 June 1985 |
| Reference no. | 94 |
TheAuckland War Memorial Museum (Māori:Tāmaki Paenga Hira), also known asAuckland Museum, is one ofNew Zealand's most important museums andwar memorials. Itsneoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory Hill,[10] the remains of a dormant volcano, in theAuckland Domain, nearAuckland CBD. Museum collections concentrate onNew Zealand history (and especially the history of theAuckland Region),natural history, andmilitary history.
Auckland Museum's collections and exhibits began in 1852. In 1867 Aucklanders formed a learned society—the Auckland Philosophical Society, soon renamed Auckland Institute.[11] Within a few years Auckland Museum was transferred to Auckland Institute, thereafter known asAuckland Institute and Museum until 1996.[12] Auckland War Memorial Museum was the name of the new building opened in 1929, but since 1996 it has been more commonly used for the institution as well. From 1991 to 2003 the Museum'sMāori name wasTe Papa Whakahiku.[13][14]
Auckland Museum, established in 1852, was originally housed in a small cottage in Grafton Road, referred to as "Old Government Farm House" or "The Governor's Dairy", near the corner withSymonds Street,[15][16] an area now part of theUniversity of Auckland.
The public were first admitted on Sunday 24 October 1852, and every Wednesday and Saturday thereafter.[17][18] Honorary SecretaryJohn Alexander Smith announced that the museum was now open to the public in the newspapers from 29 October that year:
THE object of this Museum is to collect Specimens illustrative of the Natural History of New Zealand—particularly itsGeology, Mineralogy,Entomology, andOrnithology.
Also,Weapons, Clothing, Implements, &c., &c, of New Zealand, and the Islands of the Pacific.Any Memento ofCaptain Cook, or his Voyages will be thankfully accepted.Also, Coins and Medals (Ancient and Modern.)In connection with the above, there is an Industrial Museum, to exhibit—Specimens of:
- building & ornamental Stone,
- Timber for various purposes
- Clays, Sands, &c., &c.,
- Dyes—Tanning substances, &c,
- Gums, Resins, &c.,
- Flax, Hemp, Hair, &c., &c.
As it is desirable that samples of New Zealand Wool should be exhibited—contributors are requested to send samples in duplicate, as soon as convenient, stating—the Sheep, where bred—of what breed—also the age—who contributed by.Donors are requested to send their contributions directed to the Honorary Secretary, at the Museum, any day in the week, except those open to the public.—Stating—the name of the contributor—where from—who contributed by—date—and any remarks that are considered necessary.
The museum attracted 708 visitors in its first year.[20] Interest in the museum dwindled over the following decade even as its collection grew, and in 1869 the somewhat neglected and forlorn museum was transferred to the care of theAuckland Institute, a learned society formed two years earlier. An Italianate-style building was constructed for the museum in Princes Street, near Government House and across the road from the Northern Club. It was opened on 5 June 1876 by the Governor of New Zealand,George Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby.[21] These new premises included a large gallery top-lit by a metal framed skylight. This room proved problematic as it was impossible to heat during the winter but overheated during the summer. Canvas awnings used to shield the roof from harsh sunlight made the exhibits difficult to view in the resulting gloom. Several exhibition halls were added to the side of the original building.[22]
One of the visitors during the 1890s was the French artistGauguin, who sketched several Maori items and later incorporated them into his Tahitian period paintings.
In the early years of the 20th century the museum and its collections flourished under visionary curatorThomas Cheeseman, who tried to establish a sense of order and separated the natural history, classical sculpture and anthropological collections which had previously been displayed in a rather unsystematic way. The need for better display conditions and extra space necessitated a move from the Princes Street site, and eventually the project for a purpose-built museum was merged with the idea of creating a memorial to commemorate soldiers lost inthe First World War.
After extensive consultation between the Mayor, SirJames Gunson and Thomas Cheeseman, the site chosen was a hill in the Government Domain commanding an impressive view of theWaitematā Harbour. Permission was granted by theAuckland City Council in 1918, with the Council in its liberality being given three seats on the Museum Council. In addition to an initial gift of£10,000 (equivalent to about £510,000 in 2023), the council also agreed to an annual subsidy fromrates towards maintenance of the facility, and eventually coaxed several of the other local bodies to the principle of an annual statutory levy of£6,000 to support the museum's upkeep.
A worldwide architectural competition was funded by theInstitute of British Architects, with a prize of£1,000 (equivalent to about £50,000 in 2023) sterling drawing more than 70 entries. The Auckland firm of Grierson, Aimer and Draffin won with theirneo-classical design reminiscent of Greco-Roman temples. In 1920, the present site was settled on as a home for the museum, and in August 1925, after successful fund-raising led by Auckland Mayor Sir James Gunson, building of the Auckland War Memorial Museum began. Construction was completed in 1929, and the museum's new building was opened by the Governor-General, GeneralSir Charles Fergusson.
The museum's architects commissioned Kohn's Jewellers of Queen Street to create a finely detailed silver model of the museum. This was presented to Gunson upon completion of the museum, in recognition of his extensive work in leading the project. After the death of Sir James, the model was presented to the museum by his son Wallace Gunson, where it remains on display to this day.
The building is considered[by whom?] to be one of the finest Greco-Roman buildings in the Southern Hemisphere. It has an 'A' classification from theNew Zealand Historic Places Trust, designating it as a building whose preservation is of the utmost importance. Of particular interest is the interior plasterwork which incorporates Māori details in an amalgamation of Neo-Greek and art-deco styles. Likewise the exteriorbas-reliefs, carved by Richard Gross (1882 – 1964) and depicting 20th-century armed forces and personnel, are in a style which mixesNeo-Grec withArt Deco.[23]
Restored 19th-centuryplaster casts of three Greek statues—The Dying Gaul,[24] "Laocoön and His Sons", and "Discobolus"—emphasise theGreek Revival architecture of the building, and are considered "an acknowledgement of the historical importance of the arts and learning of classical antiquity to [New Zealand's] importedEuropean culture".[25] They are among 33 statues[26] donated to the museum in 1878 by a wealthy expatriate Aucklander, Thomas Russell.[27]
The bulk of the building is EnglishPortland stone, with detailing in New Zealand granite from theCoromandel. The quotation over the front porch—which begins "THE WHOLE EARTH IS THE SEPULCHRE OF FAMOUS MEN"—is attributed to the Greek statesmanPericles; its appearance is in keeping with the museum's status as a war memorial.[28] The full text reads as follows:
The 1929 building was designed with a view to future extension. Two additions were made to the original building, the first in the late 1950s to commemorate theSecond World War when an administration annexe with a large semi-circular courtyard was added to the southern rear.[30] This extension is of concrete-block construction rendered in cement stucco to harmonise with the Portland stone of the earlier building. This major extension was designed by the architects M. K. and R. F. Draffin—one of the original architects and his son.[31]
In 2006, the inner courtyard was enclosed by a "Grand Atrium" at the southern entrance.[32]
In the last two decades, the museum was renovated and extended in two stages. The first stage saw the existing building restored and the exhibits partly replaced during the 1990s forNZ$43 million. The second stage of this restoration has seen a great dome andatrium constructed within the central courtyard, increasing the building's floor area by 60 per cent (an addition of 9,600 m2 (103,000 sq ft))[33] at a cost ofNZ$64.5 million.NZ$27 million of that was provided by the government, with the ASB Trust (NZ$12.9 million) and other donors making up the remainder.[34] This second stage was finished in 2007.
The copper and glass dome, as well as the viewing platform and event centre underneath it, had been criticised by some as "resembling a collapsedsoufflé", but quickly won the admiration of critics and public, being noted for "its undulating lines, which echo the volcanic landscape and hills around Auckland".[35] Standing in the event centre underneath the top of the dome was likened to being underneath the "cream-coloured belly of a giant stingray, with its rippling wings hovering over the distinctive city skyline".[35] In June 2007, the Grand Atrium project also received the Supreme Award of the New Zealand Property Council, which noted it as being "world-class", and a successful exercise in combining complex design and heritage demands. It also received theACENZ Innovate NZ Gold Award (Structural Engineering) for the redevelopment.[33][36]
The new sections underneath the dome, mostly contained within akauri-wood-panelled sphere approximately 30 m (98 ft) across, add 900 m2 (9,700 sq ft) of additional exhibition space, as well as an event centre under the dome roof with a free span 48 metres (157 ft) wide, plus new areas for tour and school groups, including an auditorium in the sphere-bowl with 200 seats. The bowl, which is the internal centre-piece of the expansion, weighs 700 tonnes and is suspended free-hanging fromtrusses spanning over it from the four elevator shafts located around it.[35][36][37]
The new sections of the museum have been favourably likened to aMatryoshka doll—buildings nested within a building.[30]
In 2020, the museum opened a new set of exhibitions calledTāmaki Herenga Waka: Stories of Auckland.[38] This includes sections on the land, water, and city, as well as specific areas focused on activism and data visualisation. The data visualisation section, titledLiving City: Rarau mai, explores the city's ethnically diverse population with large-scale visual displays focusing on three themes: people, environment and systems. This was created in collaboration with Data Visualisation Design Consultancy firmOom Creative and draws from a range of databases includingiNaturalist, National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), andcensus data. The exhibition includes a soundscape by Marco Cher-Gibard.[39]
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Also in 2020 was the opening of the redesigned South Atrium entrance, Te Ao Mārama. This built on Auckland architect Noel Lane's 2006 design which featured the large Samoan-inspired Tanoa bowl at its core. The new atrium was a design collaboration between Australasian architecture firms, Jasmax,Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp, and designTRIBE, in collaboration with Iwi and Pasifika communities in Auckland, with a multicultural focus.[40] Under the Tanoa bowl is an AV installation containing stories fromNgāti Whātua Orākei,Ngāti Paoa andWaikato Tainui.[41] Te Ao Mārama won Supreme Award and Civic Award at the 2021 Interior Awards.[42]
Several artworks were commissioned for Te Ao Mārama. The gateway (titledTe Tatau Kaitiaki) was created by artist Graham Tipene.[43] It depicts twomanaia, as well as Tipene's grandmother, and his mother, who died in 2014. Tipene called the commission "a huge honour", saying "When I heard I was given this task, my first thought was mum."[44] Placed centrally in the atrium isManulua—twin sculptures by Tongan artistSopolemalama Filipe Tohi.[45] They represent the traditional practise of lalava (lashing) and symbolise "the unity of all things past, present and future."[46] Outside the entrance is the sculptureWhaowhia byBrett Graham, a nod to the purpose of the museum as a war memorial and as a holder of knowledge.[47] Finally,Wāhi Whakanoa, two new whakanoa byChris Bailey, were commissioned for the space, inspired by Hine-pū-te-hue, the female guardian of thehue, and Rongomātāne, the god associated with peace and cultivated plants.[48]
Auckland Museum's collections are organised into three principal areas: documentary heritage (manuscripts,correspondence and other historical documents inarchives, along withpictorial art); the major branches of thenatural sciences; and human history (broadly,material culture).[49] The museum maintains a high degree of regional cooperation and complementary collecting with other organisations across Auckland (among themAuckland Libraries andAuckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki), and has done since its inception.[50][51]
The museum's nationally and internationally significant Documentary Heritage collections comprise manuscripts, ephemera, maps,charts andplans, newspapers and periodicals, rare and contemporary books andpamphlets, photographs, and works of art in the form of paintings,bookplates, and sketches and drawings. Among the areas of significant focus are Māori and Pacific cultures,[52] the human and natural history of the Greater Auckland region, New Zealanders' involvement in global conflicts, and exploration and discovery.[53] The museum holds the only known extant copy ofA Korao no New Zealand, the first book written inthe Māori language, published at Sydney in 1815 by the missionaryThomas Kendall.[54]
The museum has considerable holdings in historic paintings, rare watercolours, photographs and other artworks.[55] The Pictorial collection numbers in the millions,[56] and contains some of the earliest examples of the development of the photographic arts and technology in New Zealand, includingcalotypes byWilliam Fox Talbot; some of the first knowndaguerrotypes made in New Zealand,[57] and anambrotype portrait of theNgā Puhi chiefTāmati Wāka Nene attributed toJohn Nicol Crombie.[58]
The latter part of the 20th century is substantially represented by the collection of the documentary photographerRobin Morrison, while among the women photographers of note represented areUna Garlick and Margaret Matilda White. Other collections include the documentary photographs of theAuckland Star andNew Zealand Herald newspapers; some work by Arthur Ninnis Breckon andGeorge Bourne, including images made for theAuckland Weekly News;[59] the work ofTudor Washington Collins andJohn Watt Beattie,[60] and the archive of Sparrow Industrial Pictures. The paintings and drawings collection includes works byCharles Heaphy,Gustavus von Tempsky,George French Angas, andJohn Webster, as well as portraits of Māori byC. F. Goldie andGottfried Lindauer, and an impressive set of albums by the 19th-century clergyman and watercolour artistJohn Kinder.[56] The museum also has a significant bookplate collection, which contains more than 7,000 plates collected by the Australian scholarPercy Neville Barnett.[61]
The Manuscripts and Archives collection is of major regional importance and, at approximately 2,000 linear metres, it is one of the largest non-governmental archives in New Zealand.[56] The collection covers large organisational and business archives and smaller personal collections which record and illustrate New Zealanders' lives within the country and abroad, especially during military service.[56]
Among the personal papers held at the museum are 19th-century papers relating to the pioneeringWilliams family[62] and the Reverend Vicesimus Lush; the papers of the politicianJohn Logan Campbell,[63] who has been called "the father of Auckland"; the mountaineer, explorer and philanthropistEdmund Hillary;[64] and those of theBritish ResidentJames Busby. In addition, the Library also holds the papers of:
Among the companies and organisations represented in the collection are:
The collection includes both local and national society records; some examples include:
The Library is the repository of thePresbyterian Church records for Auckland and Northland.[56]
About 600 manuscripts contain material by or about women.[56] These provide fascinating insights into the lives of both pioneering and contemporary women, and are described in the museum publicationWomanscripts, compiled by Sue Loughlin and Carolyn Morris (1995).[66]
Nearly 300 manuscripts are described as being Māori or having Māori elements. Most of these are recorded in Jenifer Curnow's 1995 bookNgā Pou Ārahi,[67] a tribal inventory relating to Māori treasures, language, genealogy, songs, history, customs and proverbs.[56]
The museum is one of a small number of organisations in New Zealand which collects and cares for historic maps. The map collection contains large sequences of official New Zealand maps, WWII-era military maps, subdivision plans,[68] and other material, including atlases, which helps record and provide evidence of early New Zealand development.[69] There is also a small collection of significant maps relating to the discovery and exploration of the Pacific Ocean and islands by Europeans, dating from before 1800.[70]
Serials were the first collection items ordered by theAuckland Institute when it was formed in 1867. There are approximately 4,500 historical and current titles in the assemblage, excludingelectronic journals.[71] The extent, and in some cases uniqueness, of the museum's holdings of historical and current journals makes their research value of national importance.
The museum holds the country's most significant collection of Auckland newspapers,[72] based on a 1967 donation byWilson & Horton of their historical Auckland newspapers dating from the early 1840s and supplemented by individual donations. The museum contributes to the research sitePapers Past, as well as to the national network of institutions that hold historical newspapers.
The museum's own business and research archives (covering its governance, curation, exhibitions, education, publishing, building development and maintenance, and internal management) are housed alongside the above, and are accessed by way of the Museum Library Te Pātaka Mātāpuna, one of the country's leading heritage research libraries.[73] The library's collections of books and other publications are focused on New Zealand subject areas and are developed chiefly to support curatorial work and collecting, but also feature significant holdings ofMāori-language material,[56] and an impressive collection of rare books, including 16th-centuryherbals andflorilegia,[74] and a number of rare volumes onconchology.[75] In addition, there exists an extensive collection ofephemera, built for the most part on donations from private collectors starting in the 19th century.
The museum's natural sciences collections are principally a research and reference assemblage that provides information on the distribution and morphology of plant, animal and mineral species in New Zealand and the regional Pacific. The museum stores and exhibits 1.5 million natural history specimens from the fields ofbotany,entomology, geology, landvertebrates andmarine biology.[76]
AK is the index herbariorum code for the Auckland War Memorial Museum.[77][78]
The botanical collections of the Auckland MuseumHerbarium (AK) were first established in 1870,[79] and are the means by which the department carries out its function of collection and preservation of botanical materials, education—through public enquiries, individual and group visits, outreach programmes, and the display of material—and research and publication on various aspects of New Zealand flora. The focus of the herbarium collection is on wild plants (native and naturalised) in all plant groups principally from northern New Zealand and its offshore islands. Auckland Museum's is one of only three significantly sized herbaria in New Zealand; the others are atLandcare Research Auckland and theMuseum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, in Wellington.
The herbarium contains a number of collections from significant botanists includingThomas Cheeseman (curator, 1874–1923), and Captain James Cook's botanists,Joseph Banks andDaniel Solander. The Herbarium holds over 333,000 botanical specimens—including 200,000 angiosperms, 5,000 gymnosperms, 30,000 pteridophytes, 21,500 mosses, 12,300 liverworts, 22,000 algae, 27,200 lichens, and 1,000 timber samples.[80] The museum also holds a substantial collection ofkauri gum, and a specialist collection of "fern books" (bound collections offerns made by amateurs and professionals) along with a small "wet" collection (specimens preserved in liquid) of flowers, fruit and algae.[81][77]
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The Entomology collection contains about 250,000 catalogued specimens and, while focused on the northern areas of New Zealand, includes important collections ranging fromThree Kings Islands to thesub-Antarctic Islands. It is part of a national and international network and aims to contain a comprehensive reference collection of all insect types as well as other terrestrial and freshwaterinvertebrates (worms, spiders,millipedes andcentipedes, someisopods andamphipods) from the New Zealand region. This includes both native and introduced species. Its importance lies in the ability to support research into the biodiversity of New Zealand's terrestrial invertebrates (particularly beetles, moths and parasitic wasps), and their contribution to complex ecologies. Foreign collections of beetles and butterflies feature also, for comparative and educational value.
In 2009, the museum acquired a collection ofbutterflies and books about butterflies bequeathed by the late Ray Shannon, a private collector whose interest inlepidopterology began while he was stationed in theSolomon Islands during the Second World War. The collection contains about 13,000 specimens of just under 3,000 species and subspecies.[82]
The Geology collection was originally focused on material from theWaihi, Thames and Coromandel gold fields, through deliberate collecting by the museum's geologists as well as those donated by private collectors. It has been augmented by volcanic specimens of research and historical interest. The collection of around 12,000 specimens contains a number of nationally significant materials, and supports research work and collections held at other museums, universities andCrown Research Institutes.
The Palaeontology collection was established in the early 1900s and, with more than 20,000 specimen lots, is one of the largest collections of fossil invertebrates in New Zealand. Its importance lies in its ability to contribute understanding of evolutionary change, past biodiversity and the record of dynamic change during the past 65 million years with rapid submergence and uplift at various times during New Zealand's geological history. Past climate change and the significance of glacial cycles and oscillation are reflected in the specimens and their associated data as well.
TheLand Vertebrates collection comprises more than 12,500 bird specimens, 2,500amphibians and reptiles, and 1,000 land mammals, primarily collected from Northern New Zealand. Among the specimens are the oldest surviving New Zealand stuffed birds, bought around 1856–57, from Mr I. St John, a taxidermist fromNelson.[83] The collection is particularly strong inkiwi andmoa,oceanic seabirds,penguins,cormorants, ducks, waders and allies (Charadriiformes),passerine birds,tuatara,geckos,skinks, Pacific reptiles and New Zealandbats.[84]
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Established in 1966, the museum's Applied Arts and Design collection includes ceramics, jewellery, furniture, glass, metalwork, costumes, textiles, costume accessories, musical instruments,horological objects andobjets d'art from around the world.[85] The collection numbers nearly 7,000 objects[86] and represents key makers, manufacturers, designs, designers and technical developments and styles primarily of Auckland, but also of the Auckland region of New Zealand, and Western and Eastern cultures. The Applied Arts and Design department receives acquisition funds from the Charles Edgar Disney Art Trust,[87] and has a number of loan collections including the Mackelvie Trust Collection. A collection of 7,000 objects from across Asia is displayed on rotation.[88]
The museum has on loan all of the applied arts objects donated to the city of Auckland byJames Tannock Mackelvie, a Glaswegian Scot who lived and worked in Auckland from 1865 to 1871. He made a fortune in land speculation and gold-mining investments before returning to London, and was perhaps Auckland's single biggest arts benefactor. Mackelvie was a prodigious collector and from the beginning intended his acquisitions to one day form a teaching collection in New Zealand.[51]
A collection of more than 480 musical instruments was acquired in 1996 from Zillah and Ronald Castle.[89] The Castle Collection contains "rare violins, an 18th-century harpsichord and an eclectic collection of instruments associated with New Zealand's pioneer days". The items in the collection "range over every imaginable un-powered device capable of producing music", and includes "workable examples of every member of theviolin family, as well asdidgeridoos, azuffolo,harpsichords, acrwth,harps,tablas, a sáhn,horns,trumpets,clarinets, [and] ahurdy-gurdy".[89]
The museum houses a large collection ofMāori andPacific Islandartefacts, including Hotunui,[3] a largewhare rūnanga (carved meeting house) built in 1878 atThames, and Te Toki-a-Tapiri,[90] aMāori war canoe from 1830 carved byTe Waaka Perohuka[91] andRaharuhi Rukupō.[92] Within New Zealand, the Taonga Māori collection is of equal significance to that of the national museum,Te Papa Tongarewa. It is a cultural and research resource of the first order, having the most comprehensive range of types and periods of material and is essential for the whole spectrum of studies in Māori art andmaterial culture.[93] The collection dates from the early decades of the founding of the museum; its focus has been on acquiring first-quality 'masterworks' from all tribal and geographic areas of New Zealand, as well as representative material-culture items. The museum's collection of ethnic musical instruments is the largest in the country, and is one of the most important in the world.[93]
The museum's comprehensive Pacific collection has a range of arts and material culture from tropical Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.[93] The collection is diverse both geographically and in type of material, covering all the cultures of the Pacific, fromWest Papua, north-east toHawaii and south-east toEaster Island. Objects are collected for their intrinsic cultural or artistic importance, and also for their place within a temporal or geographic range by virtue of the relevance of their maker, who may be anonymous.
The World (Foreign Ethnology) collection is diverse, the largest and most significant of its type in the country. It aims to reflect a well-balanced range of arts and artefacts of non-Western, -Pacific, and -Māori cultures, and it is an important collection in terms of its ability to portray the diversity of world cultures, in particular that of South-east Asia, because of that area's "prehistoric links with Polynesian cultures and its contemporary regional political significance".[93]
The museum publishes two scholarly serials as part of its statutory role to advance and promote cultural and scientific scholarship and research.Papahou: Records of the Auckland Museum (named for atoi whakairo carved container, previouslyRecords of Auckland Museum),[c] has been regularly published since 1930, and contains results of original research on the museum collections and research by curatorial and other staff, and associates.[94] New issues are published online and earlier issues are being digitised.[95][96]
Papahou contain more than 450 articles written by over 150 different authors and co-authors dealing mostly withzoology,archaeology, ethnology, and botany. The articles contain important accounts of archaeological excavations and ethnographic objects, and descriptions of nearly 700 newtaxa (mostly new animal species and subspecies).[94]
The occasionalBulletin, which appears less often and usually contains results of larger research projects, has been published since 1941.[97]
The museum has an extensive permanent exhibition, "Scars on the Heart", covering wars—including theNew Zealand Wars and New Zealand's participation in overseas conflicts such as the First and Second World Wars; theAnglo-Boer War; conflicts such as theKorean andVietnam Wars, and the country's role inUN Peacekeeping missions.[98] This exhibition is linked to the War Memorial, and shows, for example, models of Māoripā (fortified settlements) and originalSpitfire[99] andMitsubishi Zero[100] aeroplanes. In November 2016,Pou Maumahara (Māori for 'post of remembrance'),[101] a memorial enquiry centre, was established,[73][102] and in 2017, the museum openedPou Kanohi: New Zealand at War, a new permanent exhibition designed "to tell young people about the country's experiences of WWI".[103]
Parts of the museum, as well as the Cenotaph and its surrounding consecrated grounds (Court of Honour) in front of the museum, also serve as a war memorial, mainly to those who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars. There are two "Halls of Memory" within the museum, whose walls, together with a number of additional marble slabs, list the names of all known New Zealand soldiers from the Auckland Region killed in major conflicts during the 20th century.[28][104][105]
RSA representatives have noted that the Cenotaph area is in need of renovation, and also would like measures put in place that ensure the area is treated with more respect by people using the park or visiting the museum. Auckland City was considering replacement the old concrete paving with granite and basalt pavers.[106] This was apparently decided against, possibly for cost reasons. The city has however conducted substantial remedial works, to improve the condition of the existing Court of Honour, including repairs to and lighting of the steps, uplighting of the Cenotaph, as well as general cleaning and a new interpretive engraving provided by the Auckland RSA.[107]
In early 2010,Auckland City Council started work in front of the Court of Honour, up to then taken up by a smaller car park. The area was changed to provide a new water feature, and walkways and other infrastructure were also upgraded. Work around the court was completed in mid-2010.[108]
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The museum is governed by atrust board,[109] and has an executive management team headed by a director.[110] The board's duties, functions and powers, and its responsibilities to ten statutory objectives are set out in the Auckland War Memorial Museum Act 1996.[111] Paramount amongst its responsibilities is the trusteeship and guardianship of the museum and its extensive collections of treasures and scientific materials.
The Act also tasks the board with the appointment of a Māori Committee of no less than five members, known as the Taumata-ā-Iwi. The Taumata-ā-Iwi is founded upon the principle ofmana whenua (customary authority of and over ancestral land), and comprisesNgāti Whātua,Ngāti Pāoa andTainui.[112][113] The committee is "responsible for the provision of advice and assistance to the Trust Board in a series of matters as set out in the Act,"[109] including matters provided for in theTreaty of Waitangi.[111]: § 16 (8) The Act further "empowers the Taumata-ā-Iwi to give advice on all matters of Māori protocol within the Museum and between the Museum and Māori people at large",[114]: Principle I codified in the committee's governance principles as "the right to advise".[114][113][112]
The Auckland Museum Institute has a role in the governance of Auckland Museum by appointing four members to the Museum Trust Board. The institute was established in 1867 and is an independent voluntary run organisation. It is the Auckland branch of theRoyal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi and also does public outreach and education.[115] Council members listed for 2022/2023 are: Dr Roger Lins (President),Marilyn Kohlhase (Vice President), Marguerite Durling, Phil Lascelles, Angela Lassig, Rae Nield, Daniel Pouwels, Alison Preston (Treasurer) and Moth Sutherland-Tupp.[115]
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Since 1999, Auckland War Memorial Museum has regularly awarded theAuckland Museum Medals to recognise research and public service achievements. Recipients have included botanistLucy Cranwell, historian and academicRanginui Walker, artistMary Ama andNgāti Whātua paramount chief and academicHugh Kāwharu.[123][124]
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The papers and memorabilia of the lateSir Edmund Hillary, the first man to reach the summit ofMount Everest, are held in the museum. In 2009, the museum was involved in legal action with Hillary's children,Peter and Sarah Hillary, over publishing rights to his papers.[125]New Zealand Prime MinisterJohn Key offered to mediate, and his offer was accepted and the matter resolved amicably.[126][127] In 2013 the Sir Edmund Hillary Archive was registered on the UNESCO New Zealand Memory of the World.[5]
The appointment and activities ofVanda Vitali, a Canadian citizen who served as director from 2007 until her resignation in 2010, saw a number of disputed changes in the museum, with multiple staff members being made redundant, or having to reapply for their positions. The museum also charged a controversial "donation" for entry (while still claiming to provide free entry), despite a museum levy being part of the regional rates.[128]
Vitali was roundly criticised for her actions by a number of former staff and public figures, such as editorialist Pat Booth, who accused her of downplaying the "War Memorial" element of the museum name and function,[128] as well as by former finance head of the museum, Jon Cowan, who in a letter to theNew Zealand Herald argued after her resignation that she was responsible for a significant fall in visitor numbers and visitor satisfaction during her tenure. He also claimed that these statistics had ceased to be published in the second year of Vitali's work at the museum, given the clear negative trends of her initial year.[129]
I feel I should explain at this point thatTe Papa Whakahiku is not a literal translation of "Auckland War Memorial Museum".Te Papa refers toPapatuanuku, the earth mother, the place where all people will be ultimately buried (in this context, in war cemeteries here or abroad).Whakahiku means to bring together treasures, a repository, a museum.Hiku also means the tail of a fish. That is, in the North Island (Maui's legendary fish – Te Ika a Maui) the head is regarded as atWellington while the tail is at Auckland and all lands to the north: hence "Te Papa Whakahiku".[2]
Auckland Museum has in the collection a unique tangible link between Māori and the East Polynesian homeland. A fishing lure made from tropical black-lipped pearl shell (Pinctada margaritifera) was found in a 1964 archaeological excavation atTairua on the Coromandel Peninsula. The lure is highly significant because it was made in East Polynesia and brought here, on awaka, with the Polynesian settlers ofAotearoa. […] Despite over 60 years of professional archaeological excavations in New Zealand, the pearl shell lure is the only object from Polynesia to have been foundin situ in an excavation.
Askaitiaki (guardians), responsible for caring for more than 4.5 million treasures, we hold the 'DNA' of Auckland.
In 1878, the Auckland Museum in Princes Street received a gift of 33 casts of antique statuary from a wealthy expatriate Aucklander, Thomas Russell.John Logan Campbell saw the opportunity to establish the first free school of art in Auckland to be located in the museum. Other classical statues were subsequently donated[, and] were used as models forfigure drawing. This plaster replica was made in the cast workshop of [Domenico] Brucciani's Galleria delle Belle Arti in Russell St,Covent Garden, London.
In December 2006, the $64.5 million 'Grand Atrium' will be officially opened.
George Graham's papers are held in Auckland Libraries' Sir George Gray Special Collections and in the Auckland War Memorial Museum Library, with the latter holding the greater part.
Auckland Museum holds all of the applied arts that Mackelvie donated to Auckland, both while he was alive and on his death. Paintings and sculptures are held in the Auckland Art Gallery and books are held in the Auckland Library.
In 1933 Auckland Museum purchased, for the grand sum of £25, a series of some 1300 glass plate negatives from Beattie's Studios Pty. Ltd., Hobart, Tasmania. The negatives were the work of photographer John Watt Beattie, taken during an expedition to the South and Western Pacific in 1906.
Collection includes deeds, wills, birth, death and marriage certificates.
Auckland Museum holds papers relating to Brickell's studio, his artistic practice and his commissioned works, both public and private. The collection, which dates from 1965 to 1985, includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, sketches and photographs.
We began gathering the voices of Māori women and their writings by building on the work of previous research, for example […] Auckland War Memorial Museum'sWomanscripts…
Significant gifts of European and Oriental objects and collections, reflecting the interests of individual connoisseurs and collectors, had been made to the Museum, and in 1967 The Charles Edgar Disney Art Trust was set up for the Museum to purchase items in these fields.
The top floor of the museum is dedicated to the memory of fallen soldiers and included within the war memorial galleries is the spectacular World War One Hall of Memories.
Media related toAuckland War Memorial Museum at Wikimedia Commons
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