• This whāriki was given to the Reverend Jasper Calder by Māori who wanted to recognise his mana or status. The mat could have been used as an altar cloth, given its small size.

  • ​Shoppers walking down Darby Street in 1929 might have come upon an interesting sight in a studio window - a woman sitting, busily weaving at a loom. ​

  • In August 1914, New Zealand readied itself for war. Men were mobilised for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. The home front also mobilised - traditional domestic tasks such as knitting and sewing were suddenly seen as essential wartime work.

  • Although made in Victorian-era London, this sterling silver epergne clearly depicts a New Zealand scene - a Māori man, woman and child, and a British soldier ​underneath a ponga tree​.​​

  • The Land Vertebrate collection at Auckland Museum has more than three thousand bones from mammals, reptiles and birds. But why are bones important?

  • The Mt Tarawera eruption in 1886 is probably the most devastating eruption to occur in Aotearoa New Zealand since Polynesian settlers arrived in the 14th century.

  • The reality of the sea as a First World War battleground is often overlooked. Yet, controlling shorelines and shipping lanes was as critical as achieving success on land.

  • The sight of thousands of German paratroopers filling the Cretan sky signalled the beginning of one of the most dramatic battles of the Second World War.