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.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.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.34.106520

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.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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