DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.36.172531

Authors: Lara D. Shepherd

Abstract: Not applicable as it is a short communication (as per guidelines for authors)

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.36.163578

Authors: Julia Kasper, Anton Hovius, Amy Gault

Abstract: Since 2020, the New Zealand Mosquito Census has enhanced existing mosquito monitoring by collecting and analyzing specimens from Kiwi citizen scientists. Its goal is to improve understanding of the distribution and population dynamics of endemic and introduced mosquito species while raising awareness of mosquito biodiversity. With nearly 900 submissions between 2020 and 2022, representing 10 of the 16 known species, the project captured data across diverse biotypes, highlighting underrepresented regions. Submissions were concentrated during the summer months in cities like Auckland and Christchurch, with urban areas dominated by introduced species and rural areas showing a more balanced mix. The project successfully engaged participants through clear communication, user-friendly online tools, educational content, and regular feedback. Despite a decline in participation during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, targeted campaigns—such as media presence and callouts via social media—led to a threefold increase in rural submissions in 2022. A key finding was the detection of Aedes subalbirostris in central Canterbury, extending its known range by 150 km. However, limitations such as the need for physical specimen submission and permits for conservation area sampling introduced geographic biases. Despite these data limitations, the project provided valuable insights into species distribution and demonstrated the impact of citizen science.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.36.166001

Authors: Victoria Munn

Abstract: This article explores the summer that New Zealand artists Dorothy K. Richmond and Frances Hodgkins spent in the Dutch artist colony of Rijsoord in 1903. Drawing on visual and archival evidence, it positions “Wilhelmina”, an oil painting recently acquired by Te Papa, as a product of Richmond’s stay in Rijsoord and sheds light on the social, cultural and artistic context in which it was painted. With reference to traditional Dutch dress, I interpret the painting as evidence of Richmond’s engagement with South Holland culture and daily village life. Moreover, by highlighting connections in composition and subject matter between “Wilhelmina” and select works by Frances Hodgkins, I argue that “Wilhelmina” visualises the fruitful artistic cross-pollination between Richmond and Hodgkins in the early years of the twentieth century.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.36.135525

Authors: B. Foss Leach, Janet M. Davidson, Melinda S. Allen

Abstract: A species of fish, Odax pullus, predominantly vegetarian, common in weedy marine zones in New Zealand, is the subject of this paper. The species is primarily caught by setting gill nets today, and seldom takes a baited hook. It has variable abundance in archaeological sites, more commonly in higher latitudes. It is very rich in iodine, and is useful in preventing goitre, since the element is low in New Zealand soils. It has very low levels of unsaturated fatty acids and low levels of omega 3 lipids. Modern specimens were collected and cranial bones extracted and measured to establish equations to back-calculate fork length (FL) and ungutted weight (BWT). Power curves were fitted, and constants provided to enable live characteristics to be estimated from archaeological bones. Bones from nine archaeological sites were studied and FL and BWT estimated. Length-frequency distributions were mostly non-normal, suggesting more than one method of capture, possibly set nets or hoop nets with different mesh size. The modern practice of only eating the fillet harvests only 34% of nutrients, with a MNR of 89:10:1. Ethnohistorical observations suggest more than the fillet was formerly eaten, especially fat-rich components. We estimate a MNR of 78:21:1 was more likely if some of the head, viscera and skin was eaten. In southern latitudes, where carbohydrate-rich foods were in shorter supply, harvesting these fat-rich parts was a sensible survival strategy. The archaeological catches show 20–45% were fecund individuals, below modern legal size. This is consistent with other marine species from archaeological sites.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.35.127170

Authors: Peter Stupples

Abstract: The National Gallery of New Zealand appointed two representatives in London from the 1950s to the 1970s, of which the second was Mary Chamot. She recommended and purchased works of British and European art that enriched to collection that became part of The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. This paper is both a history and an appreciation of the contribution Chamot made to that collection.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.35.132206

Authors: Safua Akeli Amaama

Abstract: Exhibition Review: Connections across the Coral Sea: a story of movement

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.35.115090

Authors: Lara D. Shepherd, Alan J. D. Tennyson, Colin M. Miskelly

Abstract: Prions (Pachyptila) are small seabirds with a Southern Hemisphere breeding distribution. Antarctic prion (Pachyptila desolata) and Salvin’s prion (P. salvini) are two species that are regularly recorded in New Zealand as beach-wrecks but they are difficult to distinguish morphologically. Salvin’s prion is restricted to breeding on the Prince Edward Islands and Crozet Islands in the Indian Ocean but Antarctic prions have a circumpolar breeding distribution on numerous sub-Antarctic and Antarctic islands in the Southern, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Our aim was to examine the level of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) structuring within Antarctic prion and Salvin’s prion colonies, to test whether this technique can determine the provenance of beach-cast birds. The Auckland Islands Antarctic prion population exhibited distinct mtDNA haplotypes from all other populations, supporting the suggestion that these islands may have been an ice-free refugium during the Last Glacial Maximum. All other sampled breeding populations shared haplotypes, limiting the use of these sequences for determining the provenance of beach-cast birds. None of our museum specimens of Salvin’s prion collected from breeding colonies produced DNA sequences. This result indicates that the method by which these specimens, which were collected in the 1960s and 70s, were preserved, or subsequent treatments, has resulted in the loss of their DNA.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.34.106803

Authors: Annika Sippel

Abstract: Francis Henry Dumville Smythe (1873–1966), a humble clergyman from England, spent a lifetime amassing his private collection of British watercolours. During the 1950s, he decided to gift the bulk of them to two art institutions in New Zealand – Dunedin Public Art Gallery and the National Art Gallery in Wellington. They were welcomed with open arms and celebrated as “the finest collection of water colour pictures in the Southern Hemisphere.” However, they soon fell out of favour as shifting aesthetic tastes and calls for a new national identity dominated the art scene in New Zealand during the latter half of the twentieth century. This paper will examine Smythe’s collecting habits and tastes in art, as well as the formation, gifting and reception of the collection in Wellington and Dunedin. It is based on two chapters from the author’s PhD thesis “A Matter of Taste: The Fate of the Archdeacon Smythe Collection of British Watercolours in New Zealand” (2021).

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.34.107369

Authors: Rosanne J. Livingstone

Abstract: Te Papa holds a collection of 17 textile fragments acquired in 1914 from the Egypt Exploration Fund. These fragments were excavated from the site of Antinoopolis in Egypt during the 1913–1914 season of fieldwork, carried out under the direction of John de Monins Johnson. They derive from items of dress and soft furnishings dating from the first millennium CE (the Roman Period and Early Arabic Period in Egypt). The objectives of this study were to identify the original textiles that the fragments derive from and their dates of manufacture and use, all within the context of the story of Antinoopolis. As part of the study, the textile fragments were examined according to standard modern practice. The study was carried out as an extension of recent work undertaken by institutions in the United Kingdom in particular the Whitworth Art Gallery, on the textiles recovered from Johnson’s excavation, most of which are held in collections in the United Kingdom. The Te Papa study is significant in that it adds to this body of work. In addition, the collection is a valuable resource for education and research.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.34.106520

Authors: Courtney Powell, Safua Akeli Amaama

Abstract: Te Papa Museum’s International History Collection comprises about 6,000 collection items, around 1,000 of which are associated with South Africa. This article provides a brief overview of the development of the collection. The authors also present a small study of the collection, focusing on provenance details of acquisitions, objects and key historical events. The article traces important historical connections between South Africa and New Zealand in the 19th century to contextualise the objects held in Te Papa’s collection. It introduces the 2021 project undertaken to increase public awareness of Te Papa’s South Africa collection. Five significant donors and their contribution to the museum are explored, as well as a further two objects of unknown provenance to direct future aims of building international institutional relationships.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.34.98329

Authors: Rodrigo B. Salvador, Abraham S. H. Breure, Severine Hannam, Wilma M. Blom

Abstract: The catalogued collection of South American terrestrial gastropods, including the Caribbean ABC islands and Trinidad & Tobago, of the Auckland War Memorial Museum (AM), New Zealand, is discussed here. In total, 264 specimen lots from South America were found in the AM collection, including eight type lots. Twelve of the specimens represent new geographic distribution data, including the first known precise locality for the species Bostryx luridus (L. Pfeiffer, 1863) and potentially for Drymaeus cf. waldoschmidti Parodiz, 1962 as well. The specimens of Lopesianus crenulatus Weyrauch, 1967 allowed for the revision of the monospecific genus Lopesianus Weyrauch, 1958, which is herein considered valid in the family Simpulopsidae.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.34.97731

Authors: Melanie Ioane-Warren, Rodrigo B. Salvador, Karyne M. Rogers, Alan J. D. Tennyson

Abstract: Augustus Hamilton (1853–1913) was a New Zealand ethnologist and naturalist who amassed a significant collection of fossils, mostly of birds, during his career. Today, those fossils are housed in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (NMNZ). While some fossils have been catalogued and integrated into the collection of the NMNZ, a large part remained unsorted and uncatalogued. The present study brings an integrated view of Hamilton’s collection at the NMNZ, highlighting the most significant fossils. In total, there are 3692 specimen lots collected by Hamilton in the NMNZ representing a large sample of taxa and a wide range of locations around Aotearoa New Zealand. Most fossils are of Holocene age and belong to birds. The collection includes type specimens, circa 250 specimen lots belonging to extinct species, and specimens belonging to otherwise poorly represented species in natural history collections. We hope that our study makes Hamilton’s fossils visible and more readily available for future research.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.34.98136

Authors: Colin M. Miskelly

Abstract: Ecological surveys of Mana Island, Wellington, in 1972 and 1975 confirmed that house mice (Mus musculus) were the only pest mammals present, and resulted in nationally significant populations of Cook Strait giant weta (Deinacrida rugosa) and of two threatened lizard species being confirmed or discovered. Photographs taken in June 1972 were re-taken in June 2022, and are used to document social and ecological change on the island over this 50-year interval. Mana Island was farmed until 1986, and has been a conservation reserve administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC) since 1987. Mice reached plague numbers after farm stock were removed, and caused a population crash of McGregor’s skink (Oligosoma macgregori). Following mouse eradication in 1989–90, the island has been free of introduced mammals. A major revegetation effort since 1987 included planting of more than 443,000 trees and shrubs over about 36% of the 217 ha island. For the last two decades, conservation management of the island has largely followed a comprehensive ecological restoration plan that was published in 1999. The Friends of Mana Island was formed in 1998, and has taken the lead role in most conservation initiatives on the island since then, in partnership with Ngāti Toa Rangatira (mana whenua) and DOC. In addition to the revegetation programme, weed control, and recreation of a wetland, 22 animal species have been translocated to the island, and several bird species have colonised naturally. Conservation successes and failures are described, and research relevant to restoration ecology undertaken on the island is summarised.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.33.82337

Authors: Moira White

Abstract: Over 1949–1951 the Association of Friends of the Otago Museum purchased approximately 100 pieces of contemporary ceramic work described by them at the time as representing the best current English potters – work they felt would have a lasting value. Muriel Rose, the Crafts and Industrial Design Officer at the British Council, made the selection on their behalf and arranged transport. The group included work from Bernard Leach, the Leach Pottery, Michael Cardew, Katherine Pleydell-Bouverie, Steven Sykes, Henry Hammond and Margaret Leach, as well as Wetheriggs Pottery and examples of work from commercial factories, particularly Wedgwood, who employed highly regarded graphic artists. In 1951, HD Skinner suggested to Robert Falla, director of the Dominion Museum, that they share this group. This paper examines the acquisition as a whole, its background, and the logistics of the division between the two institutions.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.33.82325

Authors: Peter Stupples

Abstract: Gordon Crook (1921–2011) became a significant Wellington artist after his arrival in Aotearoa, New Zealand in 1972. He produced tapestries, prints and banners. In the 1980s, he turned from celebratory public works to more introverted, private imagery, particularly after acquiring a copy of Muriel Gardiner’s The Wolf-Man and Sigmund Freud. In Freud’s analysis of Sergei Pankeev (The Wolf-Man), Crook discovered a set of ideas that enabled him to explore his own infantile neurosis, the result of childhood traumas and his psycho-sexual difficulties in human relationships. The result was a major series of works (1990–91) embracing tapestries and black-and-white prints, two sets of which are in the collection of Te Papa. This paper is based upon Crook’s correspondence over the period of the development of his turn towards more introverted subject matter, as well as a close study of the relationship of Crook’s images to the text of Gardiner’s book.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.33.83716

Authors: Edwina Pio

Abstract:  

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.32.e34269

Authors: Chance Wilson

Abstract: Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–69) is one of the most renowned printmakers in history. Although New Zealand public collections have acquired an estimated 118 genuine Rembrandt prints since 1869, they have been subject to little academic investigation and are often viewed through the lens of the artist’s printmaking practices. While valid, such investigations have consequently overlooked the history and significance of restrikes and reworkings, produced from his copperplates by other intervening hands, as well as copies of his prints. This article considers this subgenre, focusing on New Zealand holdings. It also questions how to best understand these works, and their relationships with ‘original’ impressions wholly executed by Rembrandt

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.32.e34268

Authors: Michael Upchurch

Abstract: This paper looks at He Iwi Rū | Quake Nation, an interactive visualisation in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, as a case study for the practical application of interactive data visualisation in the museum space. It explores how the considerations that affect the concept and design development can impact the visitor, and vice versa (i.e. how considering the audiences can affect the exhibition development process); what the production, control and use of interactive data visualisations tell us about museum interpretation and the visitor as meaning maker; and how the general principles of museum and heritage interpretation apply to this particular example and medium. As just one part of the Whakarūaumoko | Active Land exhibition within the museum’s Te Taiao | Nature exhibition zone, Quake Nation demonstrates that well-visualised data can be used not only to tell and reveal stories, but also to invite personal interaction.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.32.e34266

Authors: Peter Stupples

Abstract: Gordon Crook (1921–2011), a British textile artist who arrived in New Zealand in 1972 and settled in Wellington, became well known as a tapestry weaver and designer of decorative banners, as well as a silkscreen printer, before turning to pastel drawing in 1984–85. He created two suites of pastels, each ‘drawing’ consisting of three sheets of fine art paper pasted on watermarked paper on board. These were shown at two exhibitions in Wellington, one at the Janne Land Gallery (1985) and the second at the City Art Gallery (1986). They marked a sharp change of direction in his work, from cheerful and decorative to introspective and complex composite images of memory and feeling states. They are represented in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa collection by arguably the best of these drawings, Gymnasium. Crook did not turn to pastels again, but his work on these two suites served as the foundation for his collaged photographic prints of 1989, as well as the tapestries and prints of his Wolf-Man project of 1991. This paper is based on Crook’s voluminous correspondence archived in the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.32.e34264

Authors: Mark Stocker

Abstract: Two weeks after the opening of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) in February 1998, the British Council touring exhibition Pictura Britannica opened there in turn. It caused instant, deep and long-lasting controversy, largely due to two exhibits, Tania Kovats’s Virgin in a Condom (1992) and Sam Taylor-Wood’s Wrecked (1996). This article examines the controversy, particularly in regard to the former work, drawing extensively on the hundreds of letters sent to Te Papa from members of the public and subsequently lodged in the museum’s corporate records. The extensive press coverage is also examined; although critical of Te Papa’s handling of the exhibition, it generally opposed the removal of the two offending artworks. Two articles on the issue, by Jenny Harper and Justin Paton, receive close attention. The recollections of two pivotal Te Papa staff members at the time, Sue Superville and Ian Wedde, complement the account. Letters and phone calls from the public were overwhelmingly critical, often hostile. They convey a sense of insult and betrayal on the part of religious believers, many of whom had recently been excited by, and supportive of, Te Papa when it opened. Although numerous objections came from Catholics, other Christian denominations and religions were also widely represented. Correspondents supporting the museum often came from the art world, and several were practising Christians. They stressed the importance of freedom of expression and freedom from censorship, and admired the museum leadership for not capitulating to its critics. The response of Te Papa Chief Executive Cheryll Sotheran is analysed, particularly in her letter to Cardinal Tom Williams, an early and prominent complainant. Te Papa’s role as a forum for debate is discussed and its effectiveness here is questioned. The article concludes by observing that while Te Papa held out against its critics by exhibiting Pictura Britannica intact until its scheduled ending, the museum thereafter followed a more risk-averse policy. This is reflected in the fact that no significant exhibition of international contemporary art has been held there since

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.32.e34263

Authors: Leon Perrie, Lara Shepherd

Abstract: The Australian tree Lomatia fraseri was recently reported as naturalised on ‘Mowlem Ridge’, near Wainuiomata in the Wellington region of the North Island of New Zealand. Here, we provide more details about this discovery and the presence of the species in New Zealand. The identification of these plants as L. fraseri is supported by the abundant hairs on the underside of the leaves (although these are absent in some plants), hairy flower tepals (also absent in some plants) and the narrowly ovate or narrowly elliptic, dentate leaves of the adults. Occasional juveniles have pinnatifid rather than the usual unlobed leaves, a variation consistent with Australian reports . Lomatia fraseri clearly fulfils the criteria for the Naturalised category in New Zealand. It is intensively established on Mowlem Ridge, where many thousands of plants extend over more than 2 km on a ridgeline firebreak through regenerating forest dominated by Leptospermum scoparium (mānuka). Scattered plants have also been found at least 2.5 km to the east. In addition, self-sown seedlings of L. fraseri have been reported near Christchurch in the South Island. Currently, the Wainuiomata population of L. fraseri is not being actively controlled. We suggest this may be regretted given that L. fraseri has the potential to establish widely throughout New Zealand, based on its demonstrated invasiveness and its broad indigenous distribution in southeastern Australia. Furthermore, that L. fraseri remained undetected for long enough to become so well established, despite being so close to a major population centre and being an utterly distinctive tree, raises the question of whether governmental agencies should be doing more biosecurity surveillance.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.32.e34260

Authors: George Hook

Abstract: This article investigates Eugene von Guérard’s claim that his Lake Wakatipu painting (1877–79) was ‘as true to nature as far as possible’ by examining the extent to which its features are faithful to the view at the site; to the geography, geomorphology, geology, ecology and botany of the location; and to the conditions experienced on the day of his visit. Critical to this fidelity analysis is determining the location from which the artist sketched the views on which the painting is based. His moving vantage point resulted in some features being portrayed from different perspectives. This raises some geographical fidelity issues, although the painting was not intended to be a composite work per se. Despite heightening peaks and steepening slopes for compositional purposes, the work exhibits a high degree of fidelity to many aspects of the landscape and to the natural history of the Wakatipu Basin, particularly when compared with historical photographs in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Von Guérard’s limited familiarity with the geology and flora of the region did, however, result in a few inaccuracies. The article includes a discussion of the historical fidelity of the painting relating to pounamu (greenstone) sourced in the surrounding mountains, and concludes with the affirmation the artist received from the scientist Julius von Haast

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.32.e34258

Authors: Bethany Gwynne

Abstract: This article provides case studies of the Wellington Women’s Gallery and the Suffrage 125 commemorations at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and wider Wellington, thereby exploring the concept and implementation of feminist museology as it manifests in the capital city. Each case study investigates the various items, contributors and accompanying programmes that have been used to continue the struggle for gender equality, as practised within the galleries, libraries, archives and museums sector. By examining these exhibitions, their themes and their content, the article reflects on the tools that have been used in the history of feminism, and how – despite the progress of suffragism and feminism – gender inequality remains an ongoing issue. It concludes by stating that these two case studies were more than just commemorations of the struggle for gender equality, and should be understood as feminist acts in and of themselves.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.31.e34257

Authors: David Bell

Abstract: This is the third article addressing the 2016 Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) acquisition of a selection of Japanese artworks from the collection of Ian and Mary Heriot. Its scope embraces woodblock prints from the Meiji, Taishö and Shöwa periods (1868–1912, 1912–26, and 1926–89, respectively). These include compositions relatively unfamiliar in New Zealand; most earlier collectors had been preoccupied with the ukiyo-e ‘floating world pictures’ of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.The works are significant, however, for appreciating the twentieth-century revitalisation of the medium, its sustained popularity in Japan and its appeal for collectors in the West. The appeal of these later works to the Heriots reflects their depth of knowledge in the field, and the enquiring minds they brought to their interest in Japanese pictorial arts. Ian Heriot acknowledges the enjoyment of ‘relatively modern Japanese art’ that distinguishes his collection from others, and the dispositions of curiosity and taste for the unusual that have informed this. He became very knowledgeable in the field, joining an international shin-hanga (‘new print’) interest group to cultivate his knowledge in the

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.31.e34256

Authors: Peter Stupples

Abstract: Gordon Crook (1921–2011) is a major New Zealand artist, well represented in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa collection. He came to New Zealand in 1972, aged 51, where he made for himself a new career, based upon new styles of artmaking, particularly tapestries, both large-scale wall hangings and more intimate pieces. He wove many of the small works himself, but also worked with New Zealand weavers, in particular Lesley Nicholls and Trish Armour. This is the first study to examine the range of Crook’s textile art made in New Zealand and his response to Pacific and Oceanic themes.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.31.e34255

Authors: Rodrigo B. Salvador, Abraham S. H. Breure

Abstract: A small collection of Vietnamese door snails (family Clausiliidae) was recently (re)discovered in the malacological collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (NMNZ). This material previously belonged to the famed shell collection of Belgian malacologist Philippe Dautzenberg(1849–1935) and was eventually acquired by, or donated to, NMNZ in the first half of the twentieth century. The collection comprises type material of 19 taxa (species and subspecies) and possible type material of one taxon, alongside non-type material of several additional species. It is presented here in the form of an annotated and illustrated catalogue.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.31.e34254

Authors: Mark Stocker, Julia Kasper, Philip Sirvid

Abstract: This article examines a series of 12 etchings of invertebrates, Muscarum Scarabeorum … Varie Figure (1646), by the Bohemian artist Wenceslaus Hollar (1607–77). It locates Hollar in the historical and cultural context of this sub-genre and his likely source material. It then discusses the provenance of the series in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, which can be traced back to the political refugee and former prime minister of Denmark, Bishop Ditlev Monrad (1811–87). Hollar’s prints formed part of the foundation art collection of the Colonial Museum, Te Papa’s antecedent. The Appendix to this article attempts to identify each species or family of invertebrate depicted. In most instances, this exercise proved relatively straightforward because of the commonness of the species, but difficulties were occasionally posed by Hollar’s artistic licence and errors in detail. As a consequence, several prints in the series have been retitled to reflect taxonomic accuracy.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.30.e34253

Authors: Foss Leach, H. Leach

Abstract: This article describes an excavation of a quarry area and associated workshop, located at Oturehua in Central Otago, for the production of prepared-core prismatic blades made from silcrete using a hard hammer-stone. Of the 290 m2 area laid out, the most instructive part was in an area of 60 m2. Each 1 m square was divided into 25 sub-squares and all finds were recorded by these sub-squares. Of the 14,015 flakes recovered, those heavier than 2 g (n = 6348) were labelled with Indian ink and laid out in their original position on a gridded laboratory floor. Over a 12-month period, flakes were matched and glued together to reconstruct a series of cores to understand the procedures involved in blade-making. Although the focus of the artisans was on producing macro-blades, the lengths of blades produced varied from 33 mm to 230 mm. One small spent nucleus was recovered, which was fluted on all sides and measured 65 mm high. Two charcoal samples from different parts of the site gave median radiocarbon dates of cal. AD 1138 (twigs) and cal. AD 1137 (flecks).

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.30.e34252

Authors: George Hook, Stephen Carey

Abstract: The disappearance of Lake Rotomahana’s Pink and White Terraces in the 1886 Mt Tarawera eruption meant the loss of the ‘eighth natural wonder of the world’. The unique geothermal features were either destroyed or left unrecognisable, and other landmarks were eventually submerged. This led to conflicting opinions on the locations and fates of the terraces. In the current decade, the rediscovery of a pre-eruption geological feature led to a photogrammetric map by Ronald Keam predicting that extant terrace features would be submerged in the lake close to the shore (de Ronde et al. 2016a), while the discovery of a pre-eruption topographical sketch map by Ferdinand von Hochstetter resulted in a counter-claim that the terraces are buried onshore (Bunn & Nolden 2017). The projection of pre-eruption photographic sight lines onto a topographic map led to a third claim that the terrace sites were further offshore and consequently destroyed (Keir 2017). More recently, confirmation of the accuracy of a published map by Hochstetter led to the conclusion that the terrace locations lie within the confines of the current lake (Lorrey & Woolley 2018). To resolve this ‘battle of the maps’, we assembled a pre-eruption lake panorama and used spatial technology to project the current lake level onto the pre-eruption landscape and to determine terrace bearings. When plotted on a topographic map, those bearings intersect terrace bearings derived from another early photograph, confirming the terrace sites are within the current lake, relatively close to the shoreline. Furthermore, comparison of pre- and post-eruption photographs indicates that while some Pink Terrace features might be extant, this is unlikely to be true of the White Terrace.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.30.e34251

Authors: Colin M. Miskelly, Dafna Gilad, Graeme Taylor, Alan Tennyson, Susan Waugh

Abstract: New Zealand is a global centre of diversity for gadfly petrels (family Procellariidae, genus Pterodroma). The 11 extant breeding species include six endemic species (greyfaced petrel Pt. gouldi, Chatham Island tāiko/Magenta petrel Pt. magentae, mottled petrel Pt. inexpectata, Chatham petrel Pt. axillaris, Cook’s petrel Pt. cookii and Pycroft’s petrel Pt. pycrofti) and two further species of which more than 90% of the world population breeds in New Zealand (white-naped petrel Pt. cervicalis and black-winged petrel Pt. nigripennis). Within New Zealand, hotspots for Pterodroma species diversity include the Kermadec Islands (three species, none of which is endemic), islands off the northeast coast of the North Island (four species, three of which are endemic to New Zealand, with one endemic to the northeast North Island) and the Chatham Islands (three species, two of which are endemic to both New Zealand and the Chatham Islands). With the exception of the recently colonised soft-plumaged petrel Pt. mollis, all living New Zealand gadfly petrel species have suffered population declines and/or range contractions as a result of predation by introduced mammals (especially feral cats Felis catus and rats Rattus spp.), with nine of these 10 species recently responding positively to pest mammal eradications or species recovery programmes. Population sizes for each species range from about 35 known pairs for Chatham Island tāiko to more than 2.8 million pairs for black-winged petrel. Population trends are poorly known for most species, although eight species are considered to be stable or increasing.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.30.e34249

Authors: Rodrigo B. Salvador

Abstract: The malacological collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (NMNZ), despite naturally focusing on New Zealand species, also includes a variety of specimens from South America. Examination of this material revealed new distributional data for several species. All Brazilian, Uruguayan and Argentinian terrestrial gastropods from the NMNZ collection were examined and reidentified (no material from Paraguay was found). The information gathered was compiled and is presented in this article, and may contain significant data for malacologists working with the region’s fauna. In summary, 99 species are reported, 13 of which represent new records and meaningful increments in geographical distribution, either extending their known range or filling distributional gaps. Moreover, the NMNZ collection houses the type material of six species from Brazil and Argentina described by the New Zealand malacologist Henry Suter (1841–1918) in 1900.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.30.e34248

Authors: David Bell

Abstract: This article examines Edo period (1603–1868) Japanese artworks acquired by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa from the Ian and Mary Heriot collection in 2016. It situates its commentary on these works of art in the context of the emergence of a new, affluent, educated middle class and a new ‘floating world’ sensibility that favoured the enjoyment of literature, visual and decorative arts, kabuki theatre and the teahouses, restaurants and pleasures of the Yoshiwara licensed brothel district of Edo, the city we know today as Tokyo. It constructs a historical narrative for the broader development of ukiyo-e ‘floating world pictures’ from the crystallisation of the polychrome nishiki-e ‘brocade picture’ woodblock print, through to the theatricality of later Utagawa school kabuki prints. Within this narrative, it also acknowledges the emergence of specialist pictorial categories of bijin-ga pictures of beautiful women, manga collections of informal drawings, kabuki theatre themes and actor prints, deluxe limited-edition surimono prints, allusive genre scenes and poetic mitate-e ‘parody pictures’. This account also embraces period works outside the normal Edo focus of ukiyo-e, works from Ōsaka and Yokohama, and monochrome compositions from the Kanō school painters. Finally, these narratives situate the diversity of the Heriots’ Edo-period works against the broad purvey of recurrent threads of interest in collecting Japanese art through several generations in New Zealand.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.30.e34247

Authors: Mathew Norman

Abstract: In 1979, Rüdiger Joppien published a detailed study of the 1785 pantomime Omai, or, A Trip round the World. This included analysis of the surviving drawings for costumes and props, in which Joppien grappled with the question of attribution to either Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg or John Webber. While revisiting Joppien’s thoughts on attribution, and his observations on stylistic differences in particular, this article focuses on new evidence concerning aspects of the drawings that have not previously been discussed. This includes a contemporary depiction of one of the actors apparently in costume, the watermarks in the sheets and the inscriptions found on the drawings. A close analysis of the latter suggests the complex working relationship between the two artists, the exact nature of which remains undeciphered at this time. Finally, a new provenance for the majority of the drawings is proposed in place of that put forward by Rüdiger Joppien and Bernard Smith in their 1985–87 survey of works of art connected to Captain Cook’s voyages.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.30.e34246

Authors: Laura Moretti

Abstract: A drawing attributed to the Dutch painter, draughtsman and print designer Maarten van Heemskerck (1498–1574) was acquired in 1973 by Melvin Day, director of the then National Art Gallery of New Zealand. The sheet presents several studies after antique sculpture, supposedly dating from 1532–36/37, when the artist was in Rome. This article focuses on a figure represented at the top of the recto of the sheet, a reclining male nude that is illustrated twice, seen from slightly different angles. In the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, the object was located in the courtyard of Casa Maffei in Rome. The sculpture – often referred to as Endymion – later travelled to Venice, Verona and Munich, where it resides today. Executed in Rome, probably in the first century ce, it was recognised at the end of the sixteenth century as a replica of a piece forming part of a fourth-century BCE group representing Queen Niobe of Thebes and her sons. Three other copies of the same subject are known, currently located in Florence, Dresden and Turin. The article discusses similarities and differences between the replicas, as well as their individual stories, with the aim of understanding how the model was read and interpreted when it was depicted on the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa sheet.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.29.e34243

Authors: Stephanie Gibson

Abstract: This paper explores the context, development and evaluation of Contraception: Uncovering the collection of Dame Margaret Sparrow, an exhibition at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) in 2015–16. Collections and exhibitions of contraceptive material are rare in New Zealand museums. In the case of Te Papa, strategic acquisitions since 2004 have enabled the display of contraceptive objects, culminating in the stand-alone exhibition Contraception, based on Dame Margaret’s extensive collection. To guide the exhibition’s development, formative evaluation was conducted by members of the exhibition team, including the curator/author. Having exhibition staff talk directly to visitors enabled immediate understanding of our audiences, and ensured that staff could confidently champion the findings at a senior approval level and feed the results directly into the exhibition’s development. Summative evaluation followed in order to understand the impacts of the exhibition. The paper details the mechanics and findings of both evaluations, and the exhibition’s successes. It also acknowledges that curatorial assumptions regarding visitors’ perceptions of the exhibition were largely counteracted by the results.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.29.e34242

Authors: Foss Leach, Shizuo Oda, Roger Bird

Abstract: Samples of obsidian from 15 different volcanic sources in Kyushu, Honshu and Hokkaido were subjected to analysis using the PIXE–PIGME method. Eighteen elements were resolved for each source, and a series of statistical techniques was used to assess the distinctiveness of the sources. It was found that the sources could be separated into three groups, each with sub-sources that are virtually indistinguishable from each other. The first group of four sources originates in the Shinshu area, the second group of two sources is from the Izu Islands, and the third group contains two sources on Kyushu. Each of these groups is easily distinguished from the others. Finally, nine obsidian artefacts from three archaeological sites were analysed and compared with these sources. Eight of these could be allocated to a source, while one proved to be from an unknown source.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.29.e34240

Authors: David Bell, Mark Stocker

Abstract: In 2016, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) acquired more than 60 Japanese artworks from the private collection of Ian and Mary Heriot. The works make a significant addition to the graphic art collections of the national museum. Their variety and quality offer a representative overview of the art of the Japanese woodblock print, and potentially illustrate the impact of Japanese arts on those of New Zealand in appropriately conceived curatorial projects. Additionally, they inform fresh perspectives on New Zealand collecting interests during the last 40 years. After a discussion of the history and motivations behind the collection, this article introduces a representative selection of these works, arranged according to the conventional subject categories popular with nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Japanese audiences. Bijin-ga pictures of beautiful women, genre scenes and kabuki-e popular theatre prints reflect the hedonistic re-creations of ukiyo ‘floating world’ sensibilities in the crowded streets of Edo. Kachōga ‘bird and flower pictures’ and fukeiga landscapes convey Japanese sensitivities to the natural world. Exquisitely printed surimono limited editions demonstrate literati tastes for refined poetic elegance, and shin-hanga ‘new prints’ reflect changes in sensibility through Japan’s great period of modernisation. In sum, these works offer holistic appreciations of the diversity of pictorial interests, the technical and aesthetic triumphs of the polychrome woodblock print, and the emergence and ability of Japanese arts to engage international viewers today.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.29.e34239

Authors: Simon Nathan

Abstract: Alexander McKay (1841–1917) explored many parts of New Zealand while working as a fossil collector and geologist for the New Zealand government between 1873 and 1902. He was also a keen amateur photographer, taking photographs of geological features and documenting the impact of the 1888 and 1901 Canterbury earthquakes. He invented a telephoto lens about 1890, and later developed techniques for photographing fossils and microscopic thin sections of rocks. All of McKay’s varied photography was aimed at illustrating the scientific work he was undertaking, and as such he can be designated New Zealand’s earliest scientific photographer.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.29.e34236

Authors: Mark Stocker

Abstract: This article examines the art holdings at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) that relate to William Shakespeare and his writings, beginning with an engraving by Jan Harmensz. Muller of Cleopatra (c. 1592), which is treated as broadly ‘Shakespearean’ in its iconography. Later works include paintings by the neoclassicist George Dawe and prolific literary illustrator John Masey Wright, early modernist prints by Eric Ravilious and George Buday, as well as more recent counterparts by Tony Fomison and Sidney Nolan. Most detailed analysis is given to Raymond Boyce’s full-sized cartoons (1989) for the embroidered wall-hangings in Shakespeare’s Globe, London. It is argued that they are Te Papa’s most significant Shakespearean artworks and have a uniquely New Zealand component.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.29.e34235

Authors: Colin M. Miskelly, Alan Tennyson, Colin Bishop

Abstract: The flax weevil Anagotus fairburni (Brookes, 1932) and knobbled weevil Hadramphus stilbocarpae Kuschel, 1971 were among the first New Zealand insects to be granted legal protection. Both are large flightless species with narrow host–plant requirements. Their disjunct distributions are probably the result of predation by introduced rodents, with populations of both having apparently been extirpated by ship rats (Rattus rattus) at one documented site (Taukihepa/Big South Cape Island). Within Fiordland, flax weevils were previously known from a single small island in Breaksea Sound, and knobbled weevils had been reported from five outer islands, from Secretary Island south to Resolution Island. We report the presence of both species in Dusky Sound, and flax weevils in Chalky and Preservation Inlets, based on surveys of 134 islands in 2016 and 2017. Signs of flax weevil feeding were recorded on 56 widely scattered islands, with live or dead animals found on seven of these during the limited search time available. A single knobbled weevil was found at night on a small island in the Seal Islands, southwest of Anchor Island. The status of both weevil species is discussed in relation to the past and present distribution and control of rodents and stoats.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.29.e34234

Authors: Alan Tennyson, Al Mannering

Abstract: We describe two partial but well-preserved Late Pliocene fossil skeletons from Taranaki, New Zealand, as a new species of seabird. In structure, these bones match those of a shearwater (Procellariiformes: Procellariidae) but the new taxon is distinguished from all known extant and extinct taxa by a unique combination of features. It was a gliding species as large as the largest species of extant shearwater. It represents the first pre-Pleistocene record of a new shearwater taxon from the western Pacific and helps reveal the history of shearwater evolution. Today, New Zealand has the greatest diversity of breeding shearwater species in the world, and the new fossil adds weight to other evidence that shearwaters have a long history in this region.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.28.e34233

Authors: Louisa Hormann

Abstract: The absence of artefacts in many Jewish museums today is due to the widescale destruction, plundering and displacement of people and their possessions during the 1941–45 Holocaust. While some European institutions actually hoarded large Judaica collections in this period, countless Jewish objects went into exile with refugee families. The main methods used by European Jewish museums to offset this deficiency (through narrative display, and by seeking object donations from these refugee families) raise critical museological questions regarding the representation and ‘repatriation’ of these exilic objects. Not only are donated Jewish refugee objects (as opposed to artefacts appropriated illegally) largely absent from European museum collections; they also rarely inhabit cultural heritage collections in New Zealand. The material culture objects brought to New Zealand in the 1930s by Jewish refugees are today mainly held in the private homes The absence of artefacts in many Jewish museums today is due to the widescale destruction, plundering and displacement of people and their possessions during the 1941–45 Holocaust. While some European institutions actually hoarded large Judaica collections in this period, countless Jewish objects went into exile with refugee families. The main methods used by European Jewish museums to offset this deficiency (through narrative display, and by seeking object donations from these refugee families) raise critical museological questions regarding the representation and ‘repatriation’ of these exilic objects. Not only are donated Jewish refugee objects (as opposed to artefacts appropriated illegally) largely absent from European museum collections; they also rarely inhabit cultural heritage collections in New Zealand. The material culture objects brought to New Zealand in the 1930s by Jewish refugees are today mainly held in the private homesof descendants. However, the significant lack of a dedicated, permanent collection space capable of accepting these privately held refugee materials constrains the options of the second generation regarding the future preservation of their heritage.This paper explores the current position of New Zealand’s national heritage collecting institutions regarding the acquisition of Jewish refugee objects, their use of such artefacts, and the perspectives of refugee families and their descendants as potential donors. This paper explores the current position of New Zealand’s national heritage collecting institutions regarding the acquisition of Jewish refugee objects, their use of such artefacts, and the perspectives of refugee families and their descendants as potential donors.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.28.e34232

Authors: Tony Mackle

Abstract: John Baillie was a key figure in the establishment of New Zealand’s national art collection in the first decades of the twentieth century. He was a unique combination of gifted artist and astute businessman. As a young artist, he travelled from New Zealand to London, where he created a respected dealer gallery. On the basis of his work experience and knowledge of British painting, Baillie was commissioned to organise two substantial art exhibitions that toured New Zealand. From these, the Wellington public purchased paintings and prints as a foundation for a national collection of art. This paper aims to provide an appreciation and acknowledgement of Baillie’s talents, in particular his commitment to the promotion of art in New Zealand.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.28.e34230

Authors: Noelle M K Y Kahanu

Abstract: While scholars have documented the travels of the ‘ahu ‘ula (feathered cloak) and mahiole (feathered helmet) of Kalani‘ōpu‘u over the course of more than two centuries, what is of principal importance to many Native Hawaiians is simply this – they left by an act of Pacific generosity and they returned by an act of Pacific generosity. This brief article seeks to explore the circumstances of the original gifting of these chiefly riches by ali‘i nui (high chief) Kalani‘ōpu‘u to Captain James Cook in 1779, as well as the implications of their most recent return by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Both acts were of lasting cultural and political import, and were magnificent gestures of faith, of trust and, one might argue, of commitments intended to bind future generations. Might these acts be viewed not independently, but as an intergenerational continuum of relations? And how might Kalani‘ōpu‘u’s own agency be understood in both a historical and a contemporary context?

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.27.e34227

Authors: Colin M. Miskelly

Abstract: At least 160 different pieces of New Zealand legislation affecting total protection of species of aquatic fauna (other than birds) have been passed since 1875. For the first 60 years, legislation focused on notification of closed seasons for New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri), for which the last open season was in 1946. All seal species (families Otariidae and Phocidae) have been fully protected throughout New Zealand continuously since October 1946. The first aquatic species to be fully protected were the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) and pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata) within 3 nautical miles (5.6km) of the coast in 1935. Attempts to protect famous dolphins (including Pelorus Jack in 1904 and Opo in 1956) were ultra vires, and there was no effective protection of dolphins in New Zealand waters before 1978. The extinct New Zealand grayling (Prototroctes oxyrhynchus) was fully protected in 1951, and remains New Zealand’s only fully protected freshwater fish. Nine species of marine fishes are currently fully protected, beginning in 1986 (spotted black grouper, Epinephelus daemelii). Protection of corals began in 1980. The reasons why aquatic species were protected are explained, and their protection history is compared and contrasted with the history of protection of terrestrial species in New Zealand.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.27.e34226

Authors: Patrick Brownsey, Leon Perrie

Abstract: Several publications over the last 30 years have suggested that there may be more than one species of Christella in New Zealand: one with creeping rhizomes found in Northland and the Kermadec Islands, referable to the widespread species C. dentata ; and another of uncertain status with short-creeping or erect rhizomes, confined to thermal regions in the North Island and the Kermadec Islands. The taxonomic status of these plants has been re-evaluated based on collections in the main New Zealand herbaria and field observations from botanists who have collected them. Analysis of frond and rhizome morphology, spore size and cytology indicates that the only difference between the two groups is the nature of the rhizome. Based on current knowledge, we conclude that only one rather variable species, C. dentata, is indigenous to New Zealand, and that it shows similar variation to the species in Australia. In addition, there are a few populations naturalised in northern New Zealand, some of which are slightly different in appearance to the indigenous plants and have probably been introduced from overseas sources, and others that may have originated from indigenous plants brought into cultivation.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.27.e34225

Authors: Foss Leach, Hamish Campbell, Nelson Eby, Katherine Holt, Marcel Regelous, Rhys Richards, Steve Weaver

Abstract: A large block of pumice with a thick layer of volcanic glass attached to one side was found on a beach in the Chatham Islands. The geochemical signature of the specimen was most unusual: it proved to be a peralkaline phonolite with a negative europium anomaly. Since there was no obvious eruptive event that might have been the source of the floating object, identification of its geographic source involved a series of steps that progressively narrowed in on fewer and fewer potential sources. This process eventually pointed most strongly to McDonald Island in the Antarctic region southwest of Australia. This was confirmed only after unpublished geochemical data for the island were found. The process of identification described could have wider application when trying to find the volcanic source of obsidian artefacts with greater certainty.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.27.e34221

Authors: Jeremy Coote

Abstract: Chris D. Paulin’s account in the pages of this journal of the Māori fishhooks at the University of Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum provides an inaccurate picture of the collection and its history. In particular, he misattributes to Hawai‘i an important Māori fishhook acquired on Cook’s first voyage (1768–71). An accurate account of the museum’s collection is provided here, some of the errors in Paulin’s report are corrected, and the evidence for the Māori provenance of the first-voyage hook is presented.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.26.e34219

Authors: Patrick Brownsey, Leon Perrie

Abstract: Two species of Cyathea (Cyatheaceae) have been recognised as endemic to Raoul Island in the Kermadec Islands: C. kermadecensis and C. milnei . However, their relationships to their mainland relatives – C. cunninghamii and C. dealbata, respectively – have been uncertain, with their morphological distinctiveness in question. Here, we review their taxonomic status. The DNA sequences investigated are uninformative as to delimi - tation of the Kermadec plants, but they do support a close relationship to the mainland species. Morphologically, we find that C. kermadecensis can be consistently distinguished from C. cunninghamii, and likewise C. milnei from C. dealbata. With no data to reassess whether species or subspecies rank is most appropriate, we recommend the taxonomically conservative approach of retaining both C. kermadecensis and C. milnei as separate species for now.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.26.e34216

Authors: Ian Wards

Abstract: During his tenure at Otago Museum (1919–57), H.D.Skinner assembled the largest Cook Islands collection of any museum in New Zealand. This paper shows that New Zealand’s colonial administrative structure was pivotal in the development of these collections, but that they were also the result of complex human interactions, motivations and emotions. Through an analysis of Skinner’s written correspondence, examples are discussed that show his ability to establish relationships where objects were donated as expressions of personal friendship to Otago Museum. The structure of the resulting collection is also examined. This draws out Skinner’s personal interest in typological study of adzes and objects made of stone and bone, but also highlights the increasing scarcity of traditional material culture in the Cook Islands by the mid-twentieth century, due in part to the activities of other collectors and museums.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.25.e34213

Authors: Colin M. Miskelly

Abstract: New Zealand has had a complex history of wildlife protection, with at least 609 different pieces of legislation affecting the protection of native wildlife between 1861 and 2013. The first species to be fully protected was the tūī (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae), which was listed as a native game species in 1873 and excluded from hunting in all game season notices continuously from 1878, until being absolutely protected in 1906. The white heron (Ardea modesta) and crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) were similarly protected nationwide from 1888, and the huia (Heteralocha acutirostris) from 1892. Other species listed as native game before 1903 were not consistently excluded from hunting in game season notices, meaning that such iconic species as kiwi (Apteryx spp.), kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus), kōkako (Callaeas spp.), saddlebacks (Philesturnus spp.), stitchbird (Notiomystis cincta) and bellbird (Anthornis melanura) could still be taken or killed during the game season until they were absolutely protected in 1906. The tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) was added to the native game list in 1895, but due to inadequate legislation was not absolutely protected until 1907. The Governor of the Colony of New Zealand had the power to absolutely protect native birds from 1886, but this was not used until 1903, when first the blue duck (Hymenolaimus malacorhynchus) and then the huia were given the status of absolutely protected, followed by more than 130 bird species by the end of 1906. The groundbreaking Animals Protection Act 1907 listed 23 bird species, four genera, one family (cuckoos, Cuculidae) and tuatara as protected. The Animals Protection Amendment Act 1910 extended protection to all indigenous bird species, but led to confusion as to which bird species were ‘indigenous’. This confusion was removed by the Animals Protection and Game Act 1921–22, which presented a long list of absolutely protected species. The 1921–22 Act introduced further problems through omission of species that had not yet been discovered or named, including South Island snipe (Coenocorypha iredalei), Chatham Island mollymawk (Thalassarche eremita), Pycroft’s petrel (Pterodroma pycrofti), Archey’s frog (Leiopelma archeyi) and Westland petrel (Procellaria westlandica) . The Wildlife Act 1953 avoided missing unknown species by reverting to the 1910 approach of making everything protected unless listed as ‘not protected’. Further, by covering both native and introduced species, the 1953 Act was able to avoid use of ambiguous terms such as ‘indigenous’. The 1953 Act has provided a stable platform for wildlife protection for 60 years, including allowing the addition of selected threatened terrestrial invertebrates in 1980, 1986 and 2010, and all New Zealand lizards in 1981 and 1996. The reasons why species were protected are explained.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.25.e34212

Authors: Simon Nathan, Judith Nathan, Rowan Burns

Abstract: Analysis of a large bundle of family accounts has yielded information on the lifestyle of James and Georgiana Hector in the early 1870s, when they lived in Museum House next door to the Colonial Museum in Wellington. James Hector was director of the Geological Survey and Colonial Museum. With a salary of £800 a year, as well as income from a marriage settlement, the Hectors were able to live well as part of the colonial social elite. Dr Hector clearly managed his money carefully, and there is no sign of high expenditure on social activities or entertaining. Mrs Hector patronised many Wellington shops, among which Kirkcaldie and Stains is the only one still in business.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.24.e34210

Authors: Mark Stocker

Abstract: The ‘Smiling Boy’ pair of New Zealand stamps, named after the youth depicted on each value, was issued in 1931. The stamps carried a 1d (one penny) premium on their postage to raise funds for the burgeoning health camp movement. They bridge the gap between their charity stamp predecessors and the Health stamps of the future. The article considers their design, aesthetics and iconography, locating the stamps within their political and cultural contexts at a time of economic depression. The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa has significant holdings of ‘Smiling Boys’ material, including Royal Mint die proofs and official correspondence, as well as specimens of the stamps and the promotional poster. These are among the sources utilised in this paper.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.24.e34209

Authors: Billie Lythberg

Abstract: The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) collects and exhibits Tongan barkcloth (ngatu) to illustrate curatorial narratives about Pacific peoples in New Zealand. I discuss the materiality and provenances of five ngatu at Te Papa, their trajectories into the museum’s Pacific Cultures collection and, where relevant, how they have been exhibited. I consider the role of Tongan curators and communities in determining how, when and which ngatu will enter the collection, and how Tongan identity will be imaged by the objects. The paper concludes with a close examination of contemporary descriptive and evaluative nomenclature for ngatu made with synthetic materials, including examples at Te Papa.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.24.e34208

Authors: Stephanie Gibson, Sara Kindon

Abstract: The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) represents the diverse cultures of New Zealand through community exhibitions. The Mixing Room: stories from young refugees in New Zealand is the museum’s sixth community exhibition and focuses on young people from refugee backgrounds and their stories of resettlement. The exhibition tested traditional ideas of community by focusing on a community of situation – that of being a refugee. The exhibition also tested Te Papa’s development of community exhibitions by embracing contemporary museological practice, which advocates for greater social responsiveness and engagement. Consequently, the project was created through a participatory model guided by the principles of participatory action research (PAR) and youth development practice. The exhibition content was created by the young people themselves and presented digitally within the exhibition without editorial intervention. In this paper, we investigate the methodologies and aims behind The Mixing Room project, discuss its results, challenges and outcomes, and explore the implications of working in this way for other museums and exhibition teams considering a co-creation model for exhibition development.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.24.e34204

Authors: Sarah Farrar

Abstract: For 30 years Don Driver’s artwork Ritual (1982), from Te Papa’s collection, has intrigued, angered and confused audiences. This text analyses documentation of the public response to the work and its institutional history from 1982 to 2012, and considers the impact of this chequered history upon Ritual ’s iconic status within New Zealand art.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.24.e34203

Authors: Alan Baker, Jack A. F. Garrick

Abstract: no abstract

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.23.e34201

Authors: Stephanie Gibson

Abstract: This paper examines a collection of international First World War posters held by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa), in terms of its provenance, reception and display at the end of, and in the years immediately after, the First World War (1914–19). The paper details how and why the posters entered the Dominion Museum (now Te Papa) in 1918–19, their subsequent display from 1921 to 1924, and how they were received during this period. The posters came to New Zealand as a result of transnational networks that existed in the British Empire. They were intended for the national collection and display in a hoped for national war museum because they could illustrate important aspects of the war. However, their function and meanings shifted as they moved from the streets to museums and exhibitions. They became markers of imperial effort and relationships, but also reminders of the emotions of the war years. The paper discusses reasons for this memorialising impulse and continuing engagement with war posters. The colourful and dramatic international posters in the collection are briefly compared to New Zealand’s comparatively plain letterpress printed posters. The lack of pictorial content in New Zealand’s posters, and the New Zealand government’s reliance on imported posters for recruitment purposes, has led to absences in the relevant literature, which this paper addresses.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.23.e34200

Authors: Lynette Townsend

Abstract: This paper questions the extent to which museum collections capture the history of childhood. It advances the premise that collections are shaped by the historical context within which they were created, whether at the level of social discourse or the activities of individual people. This is evident in the types of childhood objects collected and in the changing way these objects are valued by the museum. In the museums examined here, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) and the Auckland War Memorial Museum (Auckland Museum), objects change from being valued as ethnographic specimens to colonial artefacts and high-end decorative art, to everyday objects that embody multiple perspectives and personal stories. Yet within these categories, the object-focused case studies in this paper show that the distinctive way in which museums make history enables children to become more visible. The paper argues that in collecting the material culture of childhood, museums capture a unique and extremely elusive element of history.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.23.e34198

Authors: Allen C. G. Heath

Abstract: Carios quadridentatus, a new species of argasid tick associated with the New Zealand lesser short-tailed bat, is described and illustrated from larval material. This is the second species of soft tick found in New Zealand, bringing the total number of tick species breeding in New Zealand to 11. The taxonomic history of bat ticks is discussed, together with the affinities of the new species with the Australian bat-tick fauna.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.23.e34196

Authors: Carlos Lehnebach

Abstract: Lectotypes for the names of one Australasian and two New Zealand native forget-me-nots are selected: Myosotis australis R.Br., M. forsteri Lehm. and M. goyenii Petrie, respectively. The collection of the type material of M. forsteri by J.R. and G. Forster at Dusky Bay (South Island, New Zealand), and not in Australia, is further supported. Images of all three lectotypes are included.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.22.e34195

Authors: Leigh Winsor

Abstract: Within the context of ongoing taxonomic revisions of terrestrial flatworms from the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands: (1) a new tribe Argaplanini is erected; (2) a new genus Argaplana is erected; (3) the species Argaplana ranuii is redescribed; and (4) the replacement name Marionfyfea is proposed for Fyfea, pre-occupied.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.22.e34194

Authors: Leon Perrie

Abstract: The African podocarp Afrocarpus falcatus ( Thunb.) C.N.Page is newly recorded as reproducing within New Zealand. Numerous seedlings were found directly beneath a mature female tree in Palmerston North. Within New Zealand, A. falcatus clearly fits the ‘Cultivation Escape’ subcategory of the Casual Record list, and it is easily distinguished from other podocarps by the yellow-orange colour and large size of its mature seed cones, its relatively thin, flaky bark, and details of the leaves.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.22.e34192

Authors: Ricardo Palma

Abstract: no abstract

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.22.e34191

Authors: Safua Akeli, Shane Pasene

Abstract: The Pacific Cultures collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) holds around 300 objects from the island of Niue, including textiles, costumes and accessories, weapons, canoes and items of fishing equipment. The history of the collection is described, including the increasing involvement of the Niue community since the 1980s, key items are highlighted, and collecting possibilities for the future are considered.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.21.e34189

Authors: Fred Brook

Abstract: The prehistoric (pre-AD1800) landsnail fauna of the Rarotongan coastal plain comprised at least 43 species. Seventeen of these were probably endemic to this island; the remainder of the fauna consisted of species with wider distributions in the tropical Pacific, including several species probably introduced by Polynesians. By contrast, the modern coastal landsnail fauna as surveyed in 2005–07 contained 48 species and was dominated by non-indigenous species that were mostly introduced to Rarotonga in the last 100 years or so; most of the Rarotongan and Cook Island endemics are either extinct or verging on extinction. Loss and modification of native shrubland and forest habitats in the lowlands during the historic period was undoubtedly a key factor in the declines and extinctions of many native Rarotongan snail species. However, the introduction and establishment of a suite of non-indigenous predators during the historic period was probably also a significant contributing factor, and is inferred to have been the main cause of the declines and extinctions of native snail species in inland Rarotonga over the last 140 years. Descriptions of 13 new species of landsnails, thought to be endemic to Rarotonga, are given: Atropis rarotongana n.sp.(Assimineidae); eight species of Minidonta (Endodontidae) – Minidonta aroa n.sp., Minidonta arorangi n.sp., Minidonta iota n.sp., Minidonta kavera n.sp., Minidonta matavera n.sp., Minidonta ngatangiia n.sp., Minidonta pue n.sp. and Minidonta rutaki n.sp.; and four species of Sinployea (Charopidae) – Sinployea muri n.sp., Sinployea taipara n.sp., Sinployea titikaveka n.sp. and Sinployea tupapa n.sp. Nesopupa rarotonga n.sp. (Vertiginidae) from the southern Cook Islands is also described.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.21.e34186

Authors: Allen C. G. Heath

Abstract: The ectoparasite fauna of kiwi is reviewed, and new host records given for ticks and fleas. New locality records for the tick Ixodes anatis Chilton, 1904 are provided, together with geographical distribution, seasonal data for each tick stage, and a discussion on the biology of the tick as far as could be ascertained from the available material and observational data. The effects of the parasites on the hosts, and the extent to which host phylogeny is only dimly illuminated by host–parasite relationships, are presented. The availability of a good series of the trombiculid Guntheria (Derrickiella) apteryxi Loomis & Goff, 1983 suggests that this mite is likely to be more specific to the kiwi than the mammalian links with other species in this genus would otherwise indicate. Some suggestions are made for further research, especially into tick biology.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.21.e34185

Authors: Grace Hutton, Safua Akeli, Sean Mallon

Abstract: Artefacts from the Cook Islands have been collected since the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) opened in 1865 as the Colonial Museum. In this article we provide a historical overview of the Cook Islands collection at Te Papa. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the collection, review some of the factors influencing its growth, and consider the possibilities for future collection development. This article is an output of a survey of the Cook Islands collection carried out between 2007 and 2009.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.21.e34184

Authors: Fred Brook, Richard Walter, Jacqueline Craig

Abstract: Thirty-seven species of terrestrial molluscs (36 landsnails and one slug) are recorded from Miti‘āro, a low-lying makatea island in the southern Cook Islands. The fauna was found to consist predominantly of non-indigenous and cryptogenic species, and lacked local endemics. Comparison of fossil and modern assemblages indicates declines and extirpation/extinction of some species, including three species of Endodontidae, over the last several hundred years. There have also been synanthropic introductions of many non-indigenous species, beginning in the prehistoric period, and including a major influx over the last 100 years or so of species ultimately derived from source areas outside the Pacific basin.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.21.e34183

Authors: Stephanie Gibson, Sean Mallon

Abstract: Exhibitions at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) are represented and promoted through a title and ‘hero’ image. Te Papa works with external community advisors to determine titles and images for community-focused exhibitions. The authors analyse two exhibition case studies in terms of ommunity consultation, the representation of complex communities, and authenticity of the images used: The Scots in New Zealand and Tangata o le Moana: the story of Pacific people in New Zealand.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.21.e34181

Authors: Safua Akeli

Abstract: Since the 1960s, Samoan-born graphic designer Joseph Churchward has hand-created over 570 typefaces (fonts), the greatest number designed by any individual in the world. In 2008, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) acquired a large number of samples of Churchward’s work and showcased a range of pieces in the exhibition Letter Man: Joseph Churchward’s world of type . This new acquisition and exhibition deviated from the historical practice of collecting and exhibiting artefacts from the Pacific Islands, which previously had an ethnographic focus. This paper considers the rationale for acquiring an extensive archive of this nature for the Pacific Cultures collection.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.20.e34180

Authors: Lissa Mitchell

Abstract: In December 1874, the British journal the Photographic News published ‘Photographic experiences in New Zealand’ by Daniel Louis Mundy (1826/27–81). The article (which was read before the Photographic Society of Great Britain) described the time Mundy spent taking photographs in New Zealand during the 1860s. As an important account of early landscape photographic practice in New Zealand, the article enables a unique insight into Mundy’s method as a photographer and the rationale behind some of the photographs he took. The project, and subsequent exhibitions and publications, gained Mundy scientific honours but very little artistic or financial reward. This paper looks at the context the article gave Mundy’s photographs and the work he did to promote and publish them in London in 1874 and 1875.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.20.e34179

Authors: Athol McCredie

Abstract: This article examines the development of Te Papa’s historical photography collection, from its origins in the Colonial Museum to the present. In so doing, it outlines the collection’s contents and shows that the present-day shape of the collection bears the imprint of changing museology and evolving ideas about the role of photography in a museum. It covers the relatively passive collecting by founding director James Hector in the nineteenth century; the concerted effort to build a collection of ethnographic photographs under his successor, Augustus Hamilton; photographic activity by Museum staff during the twentieth century; and the acquisition of major collections from the mid-twentieth century to the present. Such collections include works by photographers like the Burton Brothers, Thomas Andrew, Leslie Adkin, Gordon H. Burt, Spencer Digby, Eric Lee-Johnson and Brian Brake, as well as those assembled by photo historians Hardwicke Knight and William Main.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.20.e34177

Authors: Wilma Blom, Richard Webber, Thomas Shultz

Abstract: Benthic invertebrate bycatch was collected, as part of the Conservation Services Programme Observer Project, from 35 bottom trawls at water depths ranging from 130 m to 1250 m, mainly from the northern, eastern and southern edges of the Chatham Rise, the Bounty Plateau, the Campbell Plateau and the southern Norfolk Ridge/Three Kings Rise region. A total of 398 samples had robust locality data and yielded a minimum of 216 separate taxa, from eight phyla. Sponges, branched and un - branched corals, ophiuroids and decapod crustaceans were well represented. The presence of anthozoans appeared to correspond to higher numbers of species at four of the most common trawl locations. The larger branched corals (gorgonians and anthipatharians) were collected predominantly from the Three Kings Rise, the Bounty Plateau and the Campbell Plateau, whereas the smaller forms (actiniarians, scleractinians and other anthozoans) were collected predominantly from the northern and southeastern Chatham Rise. The lack of an asymptote in the relationship between ‘sampling effort’ (i.e. trawls) and number of species implies that at least some of the assemblages have not yet been ‘fully sampled’.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.20.e34175

Authors: Leigh Winsor

Abstract: Within the context of ongoing taxonomic revisions of terrestrial flatworms from the Australia–New Zealand region: the new genus Eudoxiatopoplana is erected; the new species Eudoxiatopoplana bilaticlavia is described from Stewart Island; and the new subfamily Eudoxiatopoplaninae is erected within the family Geoplanidae.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.19.e34173

Authors: Alan Tennyson, J. A. Sandy Bartle

Abstract: Type specimens of birds, including fossils, were deposited in the collections of the Museum of New ZealandTe PapaTongarewa (Te Papa) and its predecessor organisations from 1871 onwards. These are listed here for the first time.We have identified 69 primary type specimens, which are name-bearing specimens for 61 taxa, and 446 registered lots of secondary type specimens in the collections. In total, 73 names are based on these specimens. More than half of these names are now junior synonyms. The primary types of at least nine taxa, notably eight species named byWalter Buller, are missing. The remaining type specimens are now all labelled and conserved in line with the recommendations of the International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature. Loss of types from the collection before 1914 reflected inadequate government funding of the national collections during the first 50 years of the museum’s existence.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.19.e34170

Authors: Bruce Marshall, Gary Barker

Abstract: The New Zealand species referred to Allodiscus Pilsbry, 1892 during the last 60 years are evaluated. A total of 60 species are recognised, of which 37 are described as new. The taxa are described, they are illustrated by colour photographs and scanning electron microscope images, their distributions are described andmapped, and their biology and conservation are briefly discussed. Pseudallodiscus tataensis Climo, 1971 is referred to Allodiscus [s. lat.].Three new genera are introduced: Granallodisus (for Helix granum L. Pfeiffer, 1857 and two new species), Costallodiscus (for three new species) and Canallodiscus (for Allodiscus fectoloides Dell, 1955, Phelussa elliottae Gardner, 1968 and a new species). Hirsutodiscus Climo, 1971 is elevated to generic status. Lectotypes are designated for Helix dimorpha Reeve, 1852, Pitys cryptobidens Suter, 1891, Helix venulata L. Pfeiffer, 1857, Nanina tullia Gray, 1850 and Psyra godeti Suter, 1891. Neotypes are designated for Helix granum L. Pfeiffer, 1857 and Charopa miranda Hutton, 1883.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.19.e34168

Authors: Graham Fenwick, Richard Webber

Abstract: A checklist and an illustrated key to the identification of the 28 described species and species groups of terrestrial amphipods (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Talitridae) of New Zealand are provided. Twenty-five species are endemic, belonging to six endemic genera (Kanikania, Makawe, Parorchestia, Puhuruhuru,Tara and Waematau). A brief history of New Zealand terrestrial amphipod taxonomy and an overview of the group’s diversity are presented. Identification methods and terminology are defined, with terrestrial amphipod morphology described and illustrated. The key is intended as a stand-alone identification guide, and is designed to enable identification of individuals of either sex in the absence of specimens of the opposite sex.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.19.e34165

Authors: Stephanie Gibson

Abstract: This paper examines a significant collection of Second World War posters held by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa).The collection was amassed, distributed and displayed by Wellington manufacturing businessman Cecil Herbert Andrews as part of his war effort, and later donated to the Dominion Museum in 1967. The paper examines his business archive to deduce his motivations, and these are set within the wider context of the distribution and display of war posters throughout New Zealand by government agencies, particularly the Director of Publicity (J.T. Paul), the National War Savings Office and the New Zealand Railways Department. The New Zealand-made posters in the collection provide illuminating glimpses into the government’s priorities during the war – particularly the posters created for fund-raising campaigns.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.18.e34163

Authors: Bruce Marshall, Gary Barker

Abstract: The endemic New Zealand cyclophoroidean genus Cytora is revised. A total of 42 species are recognised, of which 23 are described as new. All taxa are described and illustrated with colour photographs and scanning electron microscope images.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.17.e34162

Authors: Leigh Winsor

Abstract: Within the context of ongoing taxonomic revisions of terrestrial flatworms from Australia and the Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand: (1) a new subfamily of the Terricola, the Anzoplaninae, is erected, and some subantarctic terricolan taxa are reassigned to the new subfamily; (2) diagnoses for the subfamily Caenoplaninae and genus Coleocephalus are emended; (3) the new genera Anzoplana and Fyfea are erected; and (4) the new species Anzoplana trilineata is described. A lectotype is designated for Fyfea carnleyi (Fyfe).

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.17.e34161

Authors: Joanna Morton

Abstract: Two types of wax were tested for earthquake mitigation use for an exhibition of large, heavy, cast-glass vessels by New Zealand glass artist Ann Robinson, at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa). Informal testing was carried out using a mechanical tilt test. Consultation with an engineer enabled the tilt test to be related to earthquake conditions expected in the museum building. Results indicate that dental Utility Wax is stronger than Museum WaxTM, but greater care is needed in its use.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.17.e34160

Authors: Alan Eyles

Abstract: The new genus Poecilomiris and four new species, Poecilomiris longirostris, P. planus, Romna pallescens and R. rubisura, are described and illustrated. Revised keys to the genera of Deraeocorini in New Zealand, and to 14 species of Romna Kirkaldy, 1906, are provided. Four genera and 18 species in the tribe Deraeocorini are now known from New Zealand.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.16.e34159

Authors: Laith Jawad

Abstract: Scale surface morphology and squamation patterns provide new and useful information for tripterygiid systematics. A comparative study comprising 48 tripterygiid species was conducted to identify the most useful scale and squamation characters within the family and to clarify their systematic significance. Several characters were established. Three types of bending of the first interradial circulus were found: straight, bulging rostrad, bulging caudad. The genera Forsterygion, Grahamina, and Obliquichthys have a straight interradial circulus, which separates them from the remaining triplefin genera. Also, body scales with a pentagonal shape were found uniquely in those three genera. Several features of the lateral line scales proved to be of particular value for taxonomic purposes. The squamation on the head, belly, caudal peduncle, and fins was also found to be of interest in this context. From the results, it is concluded that scale and squamation studies can be valuable tools in investigating systematic relationships among the Tripterygiidae.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.16.e34157

Authors: Bruce Marshall

Abstract: The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa’s holdings of primary types in the following invertebrate groups are listed: Protozoa, Acanthocephala, Annelida, Brachiopoda, Myxozoa, Nematoda, Nematomorpha, Platyhelminthes, Porifera and Sipuncula. A list of primary types missing from the museum collections and a complete list of primary references are also provided.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.16.e34156

Authors: Trevor Worthy

Abstract: A left tibiotarsus BMNH A5906, carrying the original Royal College of Surgeons number 2305 (later replaced by 2290 and then by 2292), located in the Natural History Museum, London, is identified as the lectotype (nominated by Lydekker in his 1891 catalogue) of Dinornis curtus Owen, 1846. BMNH 21687, the lectotypical cranium of Palapteryx geranoides Owen, 1848, was found to be conspecific with Pachyornis mappini Archey, 1941, which therefore becomes a junior synonym of Palapteryx geranoides, now known as Pachyornis geranoides, for which a new synonymy is given. The majority of moa bones from Waingongoro, Taranaki, New Zealand, whence the lectotypical cranium of Pachyornis geranoides originated, belong to this same species, as originally stated by Owen. Photographs of both lectotypes are presented. A lectotype for Pachyornis septentrionalis Oliver, 1949 is nominated, as the ‘type’ is a ‘skeleton’ that comprises two taxa.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.16.e34155

Authors: Francis Reid

Abstract: Drawing upon a wide range of printed primary sources and manuscripts held in the archive of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, this paper argues that the New Zealand Institute during the period 1867–1903 should be understood as a class-based and a class-defining institution, and that efforts during the early 1880s to reform the Institute were in part an attempt to replace a social elite with a professionalised one. Furthermore, this paper argues that this class-based system helped to support scientific institutions by solidifying links between New Zealand’s tiny band of professional men of science and the colonial political elite.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.16.e34154

Authors: Terry Galloway

Abstract: Birds found dead as a result of window-strikes on the University of Canterbury campus (Christchurch, New Zealand) and other dead birds submitted to the Zoology Department were examined for ectoparasites. A total of 244 birds of 22 species were examined during 1998–2000. Silvereyes were found in greatest numbers (n = 133) and were infested with the feather louse, Menacanthus eurysternus (Burmeister, 1838) (Phthiraptera: Menoponidae), which reached greatest prevalence and intensity of infestation in the summer and early autumn months; in general, infestation with lice was not related to host sex. One silvereye was infested with a flea, Ceratophyllus gallinae (Schrank, 1803) (Siphonaptera: Ceratophyllidae), a new host–parasite record for New Zealand. The remaining 21 species of birds were infested with, collectively, at least 20 species of lice (including M. eurysternus) . Infestation parameters for lice are provided for all host species examined. One male and one female of Ornithoica sp. (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) were found on blackbirds; one blackbird was infested with a male C. gallinae . Two of three Hutton’s shearwaters examined were infested with the tick, Ixodes uriae White, 1852 (Acari: Ixodidae), a new host–parasite record for New Zealand.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.16.e34151

Authors: Stephanie Gibson

Abstract: The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) holds the significant Kiri Te Kanawa Collection from which a small dress exhibition called Kiri’s dresses - A glimpse into a Diva’s wardrobe was created in 2003. The exhibition storylines and interpretation were determined by the dresses and the first person memories of Dame Kiri and her designers. These curatorial and interpretive approaches are explored as a case study on an object/memory approach to developing an exhibition about aniconic person. Dame Kiri’s approach to dress is illuminated throughout the paper.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.15.e34150

Authors: Laith Jawad

Abstract: Skeletal deformities in a mullet fish, Mugil cephalus Linnaeus, 1758 (Mugilidae: Perciformes), are reported from New Zealand for the first time. Deformities involve the last three thoracic and the first caudal vertebrae. Adverse environmental factors, such as chemical pollution of the habitat, are believed to be the cause of such deformities.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.15.e34148

Authors: Trevor Worthy

Abstract: Lake Poukawa, in Hawke’s Bay, North Island, New Zealand, has a number of lacustrine deposits of early to late Holocene age on its margins. A total of 13 475 anatid bones from these sites were examined to reveal minimum numbers of individuals as follows: Anas superciliosa 332, A. chlorotis 442, A. rhynchotis 157, Aythya novaeseelandiae 158, Tadorna variegata 6, Chenonetta finschi 28, Oxyura n.sp. 19, Malacorhynchus scarletti 16, Cygnus atratus 66, Biziura delautouri 3, Mergus australis 2. Four bones of Cnemiornis gracilis are presumed to be from a Pleistocene site. The fossils of Anas rhynchotis reveal that this species was a resident in the prehuman avifauna. Descriptive diagnoses are given for humeri, ulnae, carpometacarpi, scapulae, coracoids, femora, tibiotarsi, and tarsometatarsi of all mainland New Zealand anatids except Cygnus, Cnemiornis, and Biziura.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.15.e34147

Authors: Christopher Taylor

Abstract: The genus Pantopsalis Simon, 1879 and its constituent species are redescribed. A number of species of Pantopsalis show polymorphism in the males, with one form possessing long, slender chelicerae, and the other shorter, stouter chelicerae. These forms have been mistaken in the past for separate species. A new species, Pantopsalis phocator, is described from Codfish Island. Megalopsalis luna Forster, 1944 is transferred to Pantopsalis. Pantopsalis distincta Forster, 1964, P. wattsi Hogg, 1920, and P. grayi Hogg, 1920 are transferred to Megalopsalis Roewer, 1923. Pantopsalis nigripalpis nigripalpis Pocock, 1902, P. nigripalpis spiculosa Pocock, 1902, and P. jenningsi Pocock, 1903 are synonymised with P. albipalpis Pocock, 1902. Pantopsalis trippi Pocock, 1903 is synonymised with P. coronata Pocock, 1903, and P. mila Forster, 1964 is synonymised with P. johnsi Forster, 1964. A list of species described to date from New Zealand and Australia in the Megalopsalidinae is given as an appendix.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.15.e34146

Authors: Michael Bayly, Alison Kellow

Abstract: This paper, a further contribution toward a revised classification of Hebe, lectotypifies 20 names in Veronica and Hebe from New Zealand. These names are: Veronica subg. Koromika J.B.Armstr., V. subg. Pseudoveronica J.B.Armstr., V. buchananii Hook.f., V. buxifolia var. patens Cheeseman, V. cupressoides var. variabilis N.E.Br., V. diosmifolia A.Cunn., V. dorrien-smithii Cockayne, V. lewisii J.B.Armstr., V. lycopodioides Hook.f., V. macroura var. dubia Cheeseman, V. menziesii Benth., V. obovata Kirk, V. parviflora var. phillyreaefolia Hook.f., V. pinguifolia Hook.f., V. salicifolia G.Forst., V. stricta Benth., V. tumida Kirk, Hebe brachysiphon Summerh., H. corriganii Carse, and H. corymbosa G. Simpson.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.15.e34145

Authors: Michael Bayly, Alison Kellow, Rebecca Ansell, Kevin Mitchell, Kenneth Markham

Abstract: This paper investigates geographic variation in Hebe macrantha, endemic to mountains of South Island, New Zealand. It assesses the attributes, distribution, and appropriate taxonomic status of its two previously described varieties, the validity and circumscriptions of which have been questioned by some taxonomists. Morphometric analyses support the existence of two distinguishable entities that equate with previous circumscriptions of these varieties, whose continued recognition is recommended. Variety brachyphylla occurs in the north of the species’ geographic range, from the Anatoki Range, northwest Nelson, to the Hanmer Range, north Canterbury. Variety macrantha is geographically more widespread and morphologically more variable. It occurs in the south of the species’ range, south and west from Mt Haast (southwest Nelson) and Lewis Pass (south Nelson/north Canterbury), as well as at Lake Tennyson (southeast Nelson), the only locality at which specimens assigned to both varieties occur. The two varieties are morphologically most similar at localities close to their geographic interface. Patterns of variation in leaf flavonoids neither strongly support nor contradict recognition of the two varieties. Analysed samples share a similar and, within Hebe, distinctive flavonoid profile, and the distribution of two flavonoid glycosides is partly correlated with the morphological circumscription of varieties (the correlation is incomplete in samples taken near the geographic interface of varieties). A distribution map and a table of key morphological differences between varieties are provided.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.15.e34143

Authors: Ricardo Palma

Abstract: Upon the rediscovery of seven syntypes in the collection of the United States National Museum of Natural History, a male lectotype for the louse taxon Docophorus atlanticus Kellogg, 1914 is designated from the syntype series. Detailed study of the rediscovered syntypes showed that two species (Saemundssonia cephalus (Denny, 1842) and an unidentifiable species of Saemundssonia) were included in the series.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.15.e34142

Authors: Leon Perrie, Patrick Brownsey

Abstract: Previous attempts to distinguish the tetraploid ferns Asplenium oblongifolium and A. obtusatum subsp. obtusatum with chloroplast DNA sequence data have been unsuccessful, although they have implicated one or other of these taxa as the chloroplast parents of the putative allopolyploids A. lyallii and A. scleroprium. Here we report new chloroplast DNA sequence data from the trn L intron, which are able to distinguish genetically the samples of A. oblongifolium and A. obtusatum subsp. obtusatum investigated. However, these data are insufficient to resolve which of the tetraploids were involved in the allopolyploid events producing A. lyallii and A. scleroprium.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.14.e34141

Authors: Stephanie Gibson

Abstract: The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) has a mandate to represent the diverse cultures of New Zealand. Different migrant communities are profiled in the Museum’s Community Gallery every two years. The exhibition development process relies heavily on the relationship between the Museum’s exhibition team and a voluntary Community Advisory Group. The third community exhibition to be held in the Community Gallery is about the Indian communities in New Zealand, called AAINAA - Reflections through Indian Weddings. Issues regarding this project are explored as a case study on the relationship between museums and communities.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.14.e34138

Authors: Trevor Worthy, David Roscoe

Abstract: A rich terrestrial vertebrate fauna from the pitfall trap deposit of Takaka Fossil Cave on Takaka Hill, South Island, New Zealand, is described. Radiocarbon ages on moa bones bracket the onset of sedimentation in the site to between 12 361 and 11 354 14C yrs BP. Euryapteryx geranoides was in the Late Glacial moa fauna that predates the onset of sedimentation in the site, but was absent in younger faunas. The moa Anomalopteryx didiformis was present in the Late Glacial fauna as well throughout the Holocene. A total of 1633 bones from 25 species of birds and a further 895 bones of 154 individuals of vertebrates other than birds (two species of frog, one tuatara, three lizards, two bats, and a rat) were identified in the total recovered fauna. A well-preserved partial skeleton of Haast’s eagle (Harpagornis moorei) of Late Glacial age had severe arthritis. Unusually small specimens of Euryapteryx were morphologically diagnosed as E. geranoides, and confirmed as such by mitochondrial DNA analysis. The molluscan fauna contained two aquatic, troglobitic hydrobiids and 29 taxa of land snails. While there is little change in species diversity between lower and upper layers, there are marked changes in relative abundance of some taxa that suggest the environment was drier in the early and middle Holocene than it was in the Late Holocene.

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.14.e34137

Authors: Ricardo Palma, Trevor Worthy, Alan Tennyson

Abstract: We investigate the history, availability, and validity of the nominal taxon Apteryx maxima. We conclude that Apteryx maxima Sclater & Hochstetter, 1861, is an available name, and a senior synonym of Apteryx haastii Potts, 1872. However, we propose that the junior synonym (Apteryx haastii) be regarded as the valid name (nomen protectum) for the species known as the great spotted kiwi, while relegating Apteryx maxima to be an invalid name (nomen oblitum), in accordance with Article 23.9 on Reversal of precedence as established in the Fourth Edition of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature published in 1999. Also, we designate a neotype for Apteryx maxima .

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DOI: 10.3897/tuhinga.13.e34135

Authors: Brian Gill, Alan Tennyson

Abstract: A cervical vertebra and a mandibular found 68 years apart in Late Holocene sand dunes at Tokerau Beach, Northland, and a left fibula from an archaeological site at Paremata near Wellington belong to a species of pelican (Pelecanus sp.) and are new geographic records for pelicans in the New Zealand fossil avifauna. These bones represent at least the ninth and tenth individual pelicans from New Zealand fossil and archaeological sites, and the seventh and eighth from the North Island. Previous records from New Zealand are reviewed. Many pelican bones from New Zealand, including the new finds, seem to be within the size-range of Australian bones of Pelecanus conspicillatus. While it is possible that pelican remains in New Zealand represent an endemic form (P. novazealandiae), it is more probable that they represent stragglers of P. conspicillatus from Australia.

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