What should the story of New Zealand in 2.5 million objects look like?

Friday, 25 January 2019

Te Papa curator and bird expert Colin Miskelly reveals some of the museum's hidden treasures.

Should it stay or go? That's the question being asked of Te Papa's 2.5 million collection objects, as the museum rethinks what a national collection should look like.

Preliminary work found the current story of New Zealand in 2.5 million objects is mostly the story of middle and upper-class Kiwis. The art collection lacks work by female artists and the history collection is Eurocentric, poorly-documented and under-represents religion, schooling, popular culture and work.

Te Papa's Collections Strategy 2018-2023 outlines plans for a 'focussed, rather than comprehensive' collection 'to grow New Zealanders' understanding of who we were, are and can be in the world we live in'. They're on the hunt for items 'of low value', duplication and objects that no longer fit.

King Dick - the first animal on display at Wellington Zoo - is one of the objects Te Papa recently removed from its collection. It was given to the Wellington Museum in 2017. (File photo)

In the gun are likely to be the museum's international collection - including the mummy and sarcophagus of Egyptian girl Mehit-em-Wesekht - and international art. The historical photography collection is also under review and could be rehomed elsewhere, such as the National Library.

**READ MORE:

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* Te Papa's international reputation in good practice is richly deserved

* Is Te Papa properly managing its collections?**

Collected in Sussex, England, Te Papa's iguanodon tooth arguably has no relevance to the story of New Zealand. However, as the first known dinosaur fossil, it's one of the most valuable objects in the museum's collection.

Collection storage is nearly full in many areas.

Te Papa's director of collections, research, and learning, Dale Bailey, said it was important to constantly reassess the collection and the stories it told.

'The question is really - what should be in the national museum collections of New Zealand? What are other people collecting around New Zealand and how that in total reflects our view of the world and our interaction with it.'

They were yet to decide what to get rid of, but expected to have a plan by the end of June on how to tackle the collection review, Bailey said.

Te Papa is reconsidering what a national collection should look like.

The museum is pulling back from its international art collection, deeming it 'low priority' and axing its specialist curator. Bailey said they would not expand the collection, which includes British works pre-dating New Zealand's colonisation. However, they had no immediate plans to offload it. Internal documents say axing the international art curator was 'not widely supported', with feedback stressing that New Zealand art was influenced by international art movements.

The international collection, which includes the Egyptian mummy, will also be 'reviewed for fit', documents say.

Bailey said storage was increasingly squeezed and room was needed for future collecting 'because New Zealand hasn't finished yet'. Te Papa's planned South Auckland offshoot would include an extra 8000m² of shared storage, but it was not known what collections might move.

A commemorative spade used by HRH. the Prince of Wales in planting a pohutukawa tree in Parliament grounds in 1920 is among seven items removed from Te Papa's collection in the past five years.

Items can be removed from Te Papa's collection if they are 'no longer relevant', in irreparable condition or are to be repatriated or transferred to another institution. Only seven objects have been removed since 2014, of which five were transferred, one was returned to the donor and one was given to charity.

Bailey will not decide the collection's future, having resigned on Tuesday to return to Auckland, from where he weekly-commutes. He will leave at the end of March, after completing the controversial restructure that scientists fear jeopardises critical expertise and collections care.

Scientist Mike Rudge, who looked after the national collections from 1994-1998, said there was a danger in discarding anything, as technology was constantly unlocking new secrets.

A typewriter similar to this (but in poor condition) was given to charity.

'With collections, there are times where you can't be sure what the value of a particular item is. So you can never be sure what should be chucked away. Forgotten specimens from Antarctica are now being analysed as fundamental things in the story of climate change.'

OBJECTS THAT GOT THE CHOP (2014-2018)

▪ Lion King Dick - the first animal on display at Wellington Zoo. (Donated to Wellington Museum)

▪ An 1899 photo album depicting Auckland's volcanic cones and important pā. (Donated to another institution)

▪ The commemorative spade used by the Prince of Wales in planting the Pohutukawa tree in Parliament Building grounds, May 7th 1920. (Donated to another institution)

▪ A Royal bar-lock no.15 Typewriter. (Given to a charity as it was in poor condition and not significant to the collection)

▪ The Hyde collection - seven items, including a bag, mat, woven band and tapa, found in a cave in 1894. (Donated to another institution)

▪ 17 uncatalogued boxes of animal bones from Pacific archaeology digs. (Returned to their home country)

▪ Proof plate of Wellington Provincial Chambers foundation plaque. (Donated to another institution)