In 1969 North Shore man Stanley Hunt lifted an axe over his shoulder and swung its blade down hard on an old wooden chest. As the casing splintered into shards of kindling, sheaves of paper and parchment fluttered out from a secret compartment that had been exposed by his blows.

Will Ye Marry Me - Click to view transcription

After years of concealment, an odd assortment of papers was revealed, all written in Scotland between 1727 and 1834. Here was a list of accounts, birth and marriage testimonials, rental receipts, details of an annuity and, most peculiar of all, a rhyming advertisement for a wife written by a man in Forfar jail (click on the image on the right for a large version with a transcription).

Whose were these papers? Most of them related to either James Cowie or his son John from Auchterhouse, Angus (Forfarshire), Scotland. One document concerned the Earl of Airlie, David Ogilvy, of Cortachy Castle.

Stan Hunt had found the chest abandoned in a shed when he bought his North Shore property. He contacted the previous owner who said the chest was given to her by her father, but she did not know how he had come by it. Its origins remain a mystery. Stan gave the chest to Motat who passed it on to the Auckland Museum where it is in the care of the manuscript’s librarian Martin Collett.

Martin says secret compartments were fairly common, especially in Scottish chests. It is most likely chest came to New Zealand from Britain in the 19^th century, but there are still other possibilities as well, such as, Nova Scotia in Canada.

The papers tucked away for posterity inside may never have been exposed to the New Zealand sun before Stan Hunt picked up his axe to render an old chest into kindling.

As for whether any woman was so taken by the advertisement, we may never know. If you happen to know anything about the Cowie family in New Zealand or Scotland please let us know.

Picture perfect: a diver stops to take a photo while schools of Blue Maomao swim overhead © M Francis

The team of 13 scientists from Auckland Museum, Te Papa, the Australian Museum, NIWA and the Department of Conservation made some amazing discoveries including species that were new to New Zealand and even new to science.

I think we were knew it was something special when we found ourselves constantly checking our emails for news from the ship. We were very lucky to have science communicator Alison Ballance on the ship, she was able to bring the expedition alive for everyone who was following the blog.

Working with the scientists to communicate what they were finding and being able to share videos and photos of those in near real time was a real privilege. We like to think that for some of the children following the blog it might be the spark that gives them a lifelong passion for science.

It was also a great opportunity for the museum to give the public a firsthand look at some of the research we’re involved in, with our research manager Tom Trnski driving that expedition.

We were thrilled with the way people responded to the blog in May last year and this award is the icing on the cake.
For anyone that followed our blog http://kermadec.aucklandmuseum.com and who is still hankering for a fix from the Kermadecs, you’ll be glad to hear our exhibition team is busy working on a marine exhibition for 2013 where you’ll get to see firsthand some of the incredible discoveries that were made and make some of your own discoveries too.

Entombed in a Central American grave for centuries, our gold frog, now sitting unpretentiously in our Ancient Worlds hall, has a long and sometimes mysterious history.

Gold Frog from the Sir George Grey Collection

Crafted around AD900-1200, this form of the flat-legged frog ornament is common in Costa Rica and Panama, and was probably made by the lost-wax casting method. The gold frog, along with several painted ceramic pots (also on display), are believed to have been dug up from graves in Colon on the east coast of Panama.

Pre-Columbian societies in this area are known to have displayed their wealth and power through use of gold, along with the construction of ceremonial centres and public architecture. The societies, which lasted until the Spanish conquest in the early 1500s, were religious, hierarchical and highly organized politically.

How these objects made their way from Central America into the possession of Sir George Grey is unknown, but it is possible that they were originally purchased from one of the many London artefact dealers that traded in curios collected from across the globe. It is known that some of Grey’s Maori artefacts were obtained in this way. We do however know that the gold frog was part of a large gift that Grey bequeathed to the citizens of Auckland in 1887, and that the frog, along with over 800 other artefacts, was eventually loaned to our Museum by the Auckland City Art Gallery in 1915.

Gold Frog from the Sir George Grey Collection

After sitting among our collections for 86 years, the frog was again in the spotlight in early 2001 when an unsuccessful attempt was made to steal it. Burglars broke in to the Museum at night and stole what turned out to be a worthless replica: the original was safely tucked away in one of our vaults. Even had the burglars been successful and stolen the original they might have been disappointed: the frog is made from a gold/copper alloy known as tumbaga (tumbago) rather than pure gold.

Our golden frog still catches the eye of curious visitors – and you can be assured that when you come to see our gold frog you’ll be viewing the original object!

Also see the Sir George Grey Bicentennial page

We are incredibly fortunate to hold a large selection of the Sir George Grey Collection here at the Auckland Museum. Originally part of a larger collection gifted to the Auckland City Council in 1887 which included manuscripts, maps, works of art on paper, paintings, books, an impressive array of Maori artefacts, as well as objects from wider Polynesia, Melanesia, Australia, South America and Africa, we look after over 800 irreplaceable and priceless objects, including over 400 taonga Maori.

Papahou named Turikatuku after Hongi Hika's senior wife (25203)

Among the artefacts is a finely crafted papahou, named Turikatuku after the senior wife of the famed NgaPuhi chief Hongi Hika. Born in the late eighteenth century to Mutunga II and belonging to Te Hikutu and Ngāti Rehia, Turikatuku was probably in her late teens when she married Hika. She was the mother of at least two of Hika’s children, a son named Hare Hongi, and a daughter named Rongo, and later given the Christian name of Hariata.
In about 1816 she suffered an inflammation of the eyes, which left her completely blind. Despite this disability she took a full part in the activities of the tribe, including the cultivation of food. In fact Samuel Marsden, the chaplain of New South Wales, observed her in 1819 digging and weeding in Hongi’s kumara gardens at Te Puna, noting that she worked with as much, or more, efficiency as those that were sighted. As a mark of respect Marsden exchanged her wooden weeding tool with an iron hoe. Her weeding tool was subsequently sent to the Church Missionary Society in London.

It is known that Hongi never travelled or fought without taking Turikatuku as his chief adviser. His devotion to her is evident in the naming of this beautiful papahou carved with sinuous figures at the ends and characteristic northern style rolling spirals on the lid. It would have been used to store taonga such as rare huia feathers, pounamu ornaments and other small treasures. 

Provinence of the papahou glued to the underside of the lid, written by Sir George Grey.

The papahou was given by Hongi Hika to Ngāti Tūwharetoa people living around Lake Rotoaira in the central North Island as a peace offering. In 1866 it was given by Hari Tauteka of Rotoaira to Sir George Grey.  The papahou Turikatuku is on display in the Central Maori Court, Museum Ethnology number: 25203. 

Also see the Sir George Grey Bicentennial page

Some of the birds just back from the taxidermists.

Over the last five months a variety of rare bird visitors have made their way to the Museum’s collections, having flown to New Zealand from as far afield as the tropics and subantarctic islands.

They include a crested tern, brown booby and tropic birds (all classified as rare tropical vagrants) as well as a brown skua that is normally at home in the subantarctic.

The birds were found dead on beaches near Tauranga, Muriwai, Coromandel and Tawharanui. The specimens will enrich our already substantial collections.

They first come to the Museum’s freezers. Those that are in a good condition are turned into ‘skins’, while those that have begun to decompose have the rest of their flesh and feathers removed (in a smelly process which basically involves letting them rot in jars of water) so their bones can be kept.

This week the specimens came back from the taxidermist, along with a variety of other birds, including a brown teal and a black shag.

A crested tern (bottom) and a tropic bird back from the taxidermist

They become part of a vast and valuable collection and associated database. Researchers might use them to glean information about the changing distribution or speciation of birds in the Pacific.  Or they may be useful in years to come by researchers using technologies that haven’t yet been invented.

Recently specimens collected in the 19th century for identification and display were used by a researcher unlocking secrets of pigmentation and evolution using new spectrometry technology.

Auckland Museum holds about 14,500 birds in our collection. And counting.

Dr Louise Furey, Auckland Museum Archaeology Curator

Many people are fascinated by archaeology and how archaeologists strip away the layers in the soil to reveal what is hidden. From 13-26th February, the archaeology curator from the museum, Dr Louise Furey, is joining a party of archaeologists and students on the annual Field School run by the Anthropology Department, University of Auckland.

Pa site Matakawau (also known as Stingray Pa). Note the triple defensive ditches at the right which protected the pa occupants.

Great Mercury Island/Ahuahu has a well-preserved Maori archaeological landscape. There are parallel stone lines indicating garden plots where kumara and taro were grown, fortified pa, and also occupation sites around the coast. It also has swamps where the environmental history of the island is preserved in the form of pollen, seeds and sediment layers.

Garden site with stone alignments sloping into the wetland area where kumara or taro were grown.

The Great Mercury Archaeological Programme will among other things investigate the history of changes to the landscape, document stone resources and how they were used as tools, investigate changing patterns of marine exploitation and develop an understanding of the social and political organisation on the island over the period of 700 years of occupation. Most importantly, the research will allow archaeologists to develop long term strategies for site management and protection of this outstanding archaeological landscape.

Kumara storage pit depressions in the foreground looking across the central part of the island where the archaeologists will be working in February.

Progress on the archaeological excavations can be followed on this blog or see Dig Diaries (http://digdiaries.ac.nz/fieldschool/), which will record students’ impressions of archaeological fieldwork, the daily routine of fieldwork and what is involved in being an archaeologist. Questions can be asked of the archaeologists about their work, or leave comments.

Hongi Hika: A self-carved wooden bust completed on Hongi's first trip to Sydney.

After a lot of preparation our team finally set off to join Te Runanga a Iwi o Ngapuhi for their biennial festival in Kaikohe.  Matua Haare Williams, Chanel Clarke, Vasiti Palavi, Nicola Railton and Bethany Edmunds and a selection of Ngāpuhii taonga from Auckland Museum made a historical journey home to the north where the taonga will be displayed as part of the Toi Ngāpuhi exhibition at the festival.   Amongst the taonga at the festival is a beautiful piece of art by Hongi Hika himself, carved in 1816 on his trip to Sydney, and a greenstone mere.

It’s been a long journey getting to this point, and we are certainly looking forward to the next few days when we get to see our taonga at home in in Northland, amongst their iwi, and to hear and see their stories being told.    This is the first time that taonga have traveled North for the festivities, and we hope that by being there we will reinforce and promote the Mana, Matauranga and Tikanga of Ngāpuhi nui tonu, and enjoy a weekend full of entertainment, art, competitions, kapa haka, whanaungatanga, wananga, matauranga, stalls, shopping and plenty of kai.

The forward team have prepared the way  for the festival team that travels up tomorrow.  It was good to wake up this morning to see and hear the media coverage of our taonga loan.  I know Chanel has spent a lot of hours on the phone talking to the media,  RNZ has run a couple of stories, including a small piece on manu korihi news, and the NZ Herald also covered it well.  I also caught up with Vasiti as well this morning and she spoke of the emotional welcome they received as they arrived, and the care and attention they have all received.

The rest of the team tomorrow morning when we can set up our site at the festival in front of the stage.  The weather forecast is good for Saturday and Sunday, so we are all on track.  If you come to the festival come and see us and explore a range of activities we have planned for all the family.  Set the kids a task making badges or doing activities while you find our more about the taonga on loan, or use our cenotaph and te kakano databases to search for family members or taonga related to you.   If you want a bit of fame and have a story to share about your t shirt, why not let us take your photo in your t shirt while you tell us your story….it might even feature in our next exhibition ‘Identi-Tee: My T-Shirt, My Story’ or ‘Identi-Tee: Tāku Tī hāte, Tāku Kōrero’

Over the next few days we will be blogging from the festival, capturing the atmosphere and the flavour of our historic trip north.  We expect it all to be pretty fast paced at the Festival and this will probably be reflected in the style of our postings……accept our apologies in advance!  If you want to follow us on twitter then look out for the #Ngapuhi2012 handle, and if you are up in Kaikohe come and see us.  The full team will be Bethany, Chanel, Vasiti, Nicola, Jeff, Carlin, Dot, Amelia, Dianne, and myself.

See you at #Ngapuhi2012

Welcome to this week’s preview of Tamaki Paenga Hira, an informative program recently featured on Maori Television exploring 13 taonga Maori from the Auckland War Memorial Museum collections.

Episode 13: Tutauru

The show, screened on Maori Television onWednesday 11th January 2012 explored the rich tradition relating to the toki poutangata (adze) ‘Tutauru’.

Tradition states that blade of Tutauru was shaped from a block of pounamu (greenstone) that had been collected in Aotearoa by the Polynesian explorer Ngahue and taken back to the ancestral homeland of Hawaiki. Two adzes were made – Tutauru and Hauhau-te-rangi – and both were used in the construction of the migration waka Te Arawa.

Toki poutangata Tutauru

By the late 18th century the adze had been acquired from its guardian, Purahokura, and transported to England, where it was gifted to a Miss Jennings by her uncle in July 1794. It was eventually purchased by William Oldman and added to his extensive collection before the entire collection was purchased by the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs. The adze was deposited in the Auckland Museum in 1950 as part of the Oldman Collection.

Please note that Tutauru is currently on long term loan to Rotorua Museum.

Episode 12: Te Taiaha a Hōne Heke

This week’s show focuses on the life of northern chief and war leader Hōne Heke. Born in or about 1807 at Pakaraka, south of Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands, Heke held considerable authority in the north right up until his eventual defeat at Te Ahuahu in 1845.

Te upoku a te taiaha a Hōne Heke. The head of Hōne Heke's taiaha.

A nephew of Hongi Hika who had led Ngapuhi musket raids south from the Far North in the 1820s, Heke and Tāmati Wāka Nene were instrumental in convincing fellow northern chiefs to sign the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 – but only after Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson had assured them that the purpose of the Treaty was primarily to protect Māori land and Māori interests.

Within 5 years, Heke’s dissatisfaction with the British and their increasing disregard of the Treaty of Waitangi drove him to challenge the Crown publically by chopping down the flagstaff at Kororāreka several times in 1844 and 1845.

Warfare was inevitable, and finally broke out when Hōne Heke, Pūmuka and Kawiti led a Māori attack on Kororāreka (Russell) on 11 March 1845. Further battles were fought in the north between Ngapuhi warriors and British troops. Heke’s force held their own in several battles, including the defeat of a mixed force of British army regulars, seamen, marines and European volunteers at Puketutu. He was eventually defeated at Te Ahuahu by a pro-government force of Maori from Hokianga. Heke lived a further 5 years, dying of tuberculosis on 7 August 1850.

The taiaha was gifted to the Auckland Museum by Mr. A Geddes in 1913.

Please note that the taiaha is on display in the Maori Court of the Auckland Museum.

Tamaki Paenga Hira, Episode 12: Te Taiaha a Hōne Heke screened on Maori Television, Wednesday 4th January 2012 at 8.30.

Poster calling for protests agains the US Invicible's visit to Auckland

In a wee storeroom off the top of a stairwell is the Museum’s collection of ephemera. The array of acid free cardboard boxes contain everything from dance cards to fast food menus. The box that is the subject of this blog is a window into two of the great protest movements in New Zealand’s recent history.

It contains pamphlets from the anti-nuclear protests of the 1970s and 80s, and from the Springbok Tour protests of 1981.

It seems a fitting subject for an end of year blog, given that Time magazine declared “the Protester’ its 2011 person of the year (yes, they still use the singular).

Nearly every right we enjoy today, from the right of women to vote through to equality before the law came through people who stood up and demanded change. People who protested, who argued and who mobilised.

A nuclear warhead heads for NZ

New Zealand’s anti-nuclear protests gathered intensity during the 1970s. Visits by nuclear capable US navy ships brought thousands out to demonstrate their opposition to nuclear weapons. It was a time when the annihilation of life on Earth felt imminent. It seemed an exchange of warheads between the two great Cold War superpowers, Russia and the United States, could be precipitated at any momemnt by an accident or geopolitical incident spiralling out of control.

New Zealander’s anti-nuclear campaign culminated in the decision by the then recently elected Labour government to declare New Zealand nuclear free in 1984.

The most divisive protest movement in recent New Zealand history came when the New Zealand Rugby Football Union invited the Springboks to tour in 1981. Opposition was instantaneous. The first protests attempted to dissuade the NZRFU from hosting the Springboks, who were representing the racist apartheid regime of the white South African government.

Handbook for Springbok tour protestors in the north of the country

Protests began well before the Springboks arrived

The NZRFU went ahead with the tour and the protest movement grew and grew. The country came as close to a kind of civil war as was imaginable. The protests culminated at the final test in Auckland’s Eden Park. A pamphlet from that protest informs marchers that there is “no place for dogs, bicycles, babies or WEAPONS”.

Handout for protestors at the Eden Park match, who had been placed in the Biko group

It also tells them to be prepared to manoeuvre

- To jog

- To stop

- To wheel

- To turn on the spot

Which seems fitting advice to anyone who wants to make the world a better place.

Merry Christmas.