Free museum entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand
Open every day 10am-6pm
(except Christmas Day)
Free museum entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand
In 1907, the Colonial Museum was renamed the Dominion Museum and took on a broader national focus. In 1936, a new building opened in Buckle Street to house the Dominion Museum and new National Art Gallery. It incorporated the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, which sold its land and donated the proceeds to the new organisation.
In 1972, the Dominion Museum became the National Museum.
Summer researchers Lucia Adams and Margo Montes de Oca uncovered more archival history about the influence and curatorial eye that Nancy Adams brought to the museum and specifically the gardens by the old Dominion Museum building in Buckle Street.
In 1907, the Colonial Museum was renamed the Dominion Museum and took on a broader national focus.
The idea of developing a public art gallery in Wellington was gathering support, and the Science and Art Act of 1913 paved the way for a national art gallery in the same building. However, it was only in 1930 that this idea started to become a reality, under the National Gallery and Dominion Museum Act.
A landmark book about four remarkable museum expeditions that contributed to a recovery of Māori society
For the 40th anniversary of Te Maori, Moana Parata talks about how that exhibition and Te Māori: Te Hokinga Mai The Return Home had an impact on her own mahi (work) as Kaitiaki Taonga Collection Manager Humanities at Te Papa Tongarewa.
The Colonial Museum’s first director, Sir James Hector, opened the museum in 1865. It was renamed the Dominion Museum in 1907, and moved to Buckle Street in 1936. It then moved to its current location and became Te Papa Tongarewa in 1998. Discover stories from its past and present as we look closely at the processes and histories held within the buildings.
Learn about From the Past, for Tomorrow and how to use its rich and integrated approaches to teaching and learning.
