Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi and the Te Rau Aroha Museum feature more than 500 images and immersive experiences for visitors. Photo / supplied.
Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi and the Te Rau Aroha Museum feature more than 500 images and immersive experiences for visitors. Photo / supplied.
With Matariki a time for learning and growth, there's no better time to find out more about our country's history. Jessica Wynne Lockhart explores some of the best museums and special exhibits that focus on te ao Māori and matauranga Māori.
Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi
Every journey to understand modern Māori nationhood should include a visit to the Bay of Island's Waitangi Treaty Grounds to understand what was changed, what was gained and what was lost. On the site where New Zealand's founding document was signed are two contemporary museums: the award-winning Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi and the new Te Rau Aroha.
The former features more than 500 images, immersive audiovisual experiences, and interactive touchscreens, which explain the differences between the English and Māori versions of the document, and the decades of unrest and warfare that followed its signing. Te Rau Aroha, which opened in 2020, tells the equally important story of the 28 (Māori) Battalion of World War II.
Entry includes access to both museums, the Treaty House, Māori cultural performances and guided tours of the site. It costs $30 for adults and is free for those under 18 accompanied by a caregiver. waitangi.org.nz
He Tohu
The Waitangi Treaty Grounds may tell the story of modern Aotearoa, but in the National Library in Wellington, you can see the original document itself. He Tohu is home to the nine-page Tiriti o Waitangi, the agreement on which New Zealand was built, alongside He Whakaputanga. In 1835, this important document was how Rangatira told the world that Aotearoa was an independent Māori nation. Both entry and tours to the museum to the exhibit are free. natlib.govt.nz/he-tohu
Te Papa
The Museum of New Zealand is home to several significant permanent exhibitions that tell the story of Aotearoa. Te Marae is a living exhibition that explains the meaning of the marae experience while acting as a showcase for contemporary Māori art and design. In Te Tiriti o Waitangi: Ngā tohu kotahitanga, you'll find massive blown-up copies of the Waitangi Treaty, illustrating how different versions and interpretations shaped relationships between Pākehā and Māori people. And finally, the portraits within Toi Art's Encounters gallery—including Gottfried Lindauer's paintings of Māori leaders such as Wī Tako Ngātata—represent mana and examine the concepts of power and prestige in colonial New Zealand. Entry is free. tepapa.govt.nz
Wellington's Te Papa is home to several significant permanent exhibitions that tell the story of Aotearoa. Photo / Wellington NZ
Dark Sky Project
Stars were once critical for more than just marking the seasons—they were also what guided the early Polynesians to Aotearoa. And there's arguably no place to better see them than in the light pollution-free Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve.
On daytime indoor tours, Takapō/Tekapo's Dark Sky Project—which opened just before the pandemic—combines tātai aroraki (Māori astronomy) with Western science. Visitors can feel the heartbeat of a star and see Māori constellations on this tour, which costs $30 for adults and $15 for children. darkskyproject.co.nz
Tours with Tekapo's Dark Sky Project combine tātai aroraki (Māori astronomy) with Western science. Photo / Rachel Gillespie
Aratoi: Wairarapa Museum of Art and History
Located in Masterton, Aratoi contains close to 4000 items of regional, national, and internal significance, including taonga Māori and contemporary artwork by Māori artists in its permanent collection.
This Matariki, a special exhibit will celebrate the importance of the constellations to early Polynesian explorers as they made their way to New Zealand. Ngā Haerenga/ Journeys – Celebrating Matariki examines how stars were used as early navigational aids, and how they continue to be used today. It runs until August 21. aratoi.org.nz
The Buried Village of Te Wairoa
Tourism is a critical piece of New Zealand's history and development, and it all started in Rotorua. Nearly 200 years ago, visitors began travelling there to witness its geothermal wonders and experience its rich culture, including at the Pink and White Terraces (which were destroyed in 1886 by the eruption of Mount Tarawera). This is where tour guiding became a formalised profession, largely led by local bilingual Māori women of Ngāti Tūhourangi.
Today, tours are still led by Māori guides. In addition to excavated remains, you'll learn more about the site's importance in the country's social development, as the spot where early European colonisers and Māori first interacted. buriedvillage.co.nz
Wairau Māori Art Gallery
Whangārei's long-awaited Hundertwasser Art Centre is finally open—and along with it, the new Wairau Māori Art Gallery, the first dedicated public Māori Art Gallery in Aotearoa. Focusing on contemporary artwork, Wairau aims to promote and enhance Te Ao Māori and elevate Māori art, artists, and curators.
Its opening show, Puhi Ariki (ending on June 11) explores the symbolic notion of a waka moving Māori arts and artists forward, with ceramics by Wi Taepa, and prints by Ngāi Tūhoe artist Aimee Ratana. hundertwasserartcentre.co.nz
The distinctive Hundertwasser Art Centre in Whangarei is also home to the Wairau Māori Art Gallery. Photo/Murray Brock
Manea Footprints of Kupe
When Manea Footprints of Kupe opened in January 2021, it was a cause for celebration in Hokianga. Finally, there was a museum in New Zealand dedicated to telling the story of the very first Polynesian explorers, including Kupe.
Staffed by local youth, the multi-sensory experience includes a pōwhiri (welcome ceremony) alongside a 4D performance with live actors. Entrance costs $65.00 for adults and $6-$12 for children. maneafootprints.co.nz
Waikato Museum
Come for the waka but stay for the artwork. Hamilton's Waikato Museum is where you'll find Te Winika, a 200-year-old carved waka taua built by Ngāti Tipa of Tuakau, Ngāti Maru of Hauraki and Ngāti Māhanga of the western coastline of the Waikato.
But from now until July 17, it's also where you can see the work of Ngāti Wai and Ngāti Ruanui painter Star Gossage in the He Tāngata The People exhibition. From a wahine viewpoint, Gossage's artwork examines themes of unity, grief, resilience and aroha—and expresses the view that people are bound by wairua, whenua, whakapapa and whānau (spirit, land, ancestry and family). waikatomuseum.co.nz
Year-round, you'll find more than 6000 taonga tuku iho in the Hawke's Bay museum's permanent collection including ancestral carvings, jewellery, and clothing. However, its special exhibits are just as worth travelling for.
From now until September 30 is Waka kōrero Māori, an all-ages exhibit that encourages the whole family to learn the Māori alphabet by pronouncing the names of the kararehe animal treasures on display. Entry is free. mtghawkesbay.com
Hastings City Art Gallery
Starting on June 11 and running until August 28 is Te Pō Uriuri - The deep darkness, an immersive experience that retells the pūrākau (legend) of Uru, the eldest child of Ranginui (sky father) and Papatūānuku (earth mother).
Created by Poutu Puketapu—an Ngāti Porou artist who believes artwork reflecting pūrākau has the ability to act as an umbilical cord to whakapapa—the installation is meant to embody the safe haven that Uru fled to as he withdrew from his whānau. hastingscityartgallery.co.nz
Rakiura Museum Te Puka o Te Waka
Although Stewart Island's museum has existed since the 1960s, its collections are now housed in a new triangular-shaped building, reminiscent of a ship.
Here, you'll find an extensive collection of items and photographs of Rakiura's early history, including Māori settlement, muttonbirding, whaling and boat building. rakiuramuseum.co.nz
