KEY POINTS:
The battered helmet worn by veteran protester John Minto during the 1981 Springbok tour will be given to Te Papa.
The blue fibre-glass bike helmet, a Nelson Mandela mug, T-shirts and a HART - Halt All Racist Tours - placard were offered to the museum by Mr Minto.
Mr Minto's girlfriend bought the helmet for him after seeing pictures of police using their baton against protesters in Wellington
"It was a cheap way of protecting myself. It doesn't have any padding, just a foam strip down the middle," Mr Minto told the New Zealand Herald.
"It got plenty of whacks but thank God it held together."
Te Papa history curator Stephanie Gibson told the paper she hoped Mr Minto's helmet would form a part of a planned exhibition on key points in New Zealand 20th century history.
- NZPA
