Maori artefacts in Australian show on Cook

An 18th Century Maori weapon displayed in the exhibition.

A collection of artefacts gathered on Captain James Cook's Pacific voyages goes on show in Canberra today.

Included in the Cook's Pacific Encounters exhibition are Maori combs, cloaks, belts, spears, adze blades, clubs and baskets.

One of three curators for the collection, Ian Coates, said about 60 items of the 350 on display were from New Zealand.

Cook sighted New Zealand on October 6, 1769, and returned on his 1772-75 and 1776-79 voyages.

The items in the collection were gathered by Cook, his crew and German naturalists Johann Reinhold Forster and his son, Georg.

"There was a passion about collecting these items and when they got to London, there would be dealers on the docks competing to buy the stuff first," Mr Coates said.

The collection has been held at the Georg August University of Gottingen in Germany for more than 200 years and has come to Australia in a cultural exchange between the two countries.

It has been shown in Hawaii, and is now in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time.

"There are no plans for it to go to New Zealand, so anyone over there wanting to see it is advised to come over," Mr Coates said.

The exhibition runs until September 10.

Not all of the collection is on display in Germany, making this exhibition a prized one.

It comprises jewellery, clothing, weapons, tools and musical instruments collected between 1768 and 1779.

The items were mostly made before European contact and are considered rich in craftsmanship and spiritual power.

They were given as gifts or traded by indigenous people from locations including Tonga, Tahiti, Hawaii and New Zealand.

Highlights include a boar's tusk bracelet and feathered chief's helmet from Hawaii, a shell trumpet from the Marquesas, and a mourning dress and shark-skin drum from Tahiti.

Mr Coates marvelled at the Maori baskets.

"They are of incredibly intricate design and to get up close to them and see the techniques they used is very special."

He said the museum hoped the collection would spark debate about Cook and his relationship with the Pacific cultures.

"Australia has a different perspective to the rest of the Pacific. For Australia, Cook is generally about that first voyage, encountering the east coast of Australia, but this collection shows so much more about his other two voyages, about the exploration and the cross-cultures he met.

"We hope this collection opens up Australian eyes to understanding more about the Pacific."

The museum will hold a seminar about Cook's voyages next month with Paul Tapsell, Maori director at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, as one of the speakers.

A Maori culture group will perform at the exhibition's official opening tonight.

- NZPA