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Records of the Auckland Museum

Volume 50 (2015)

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Volume 50 (2015)

Edited by J.W. Early and P.F. Pereira
ISSN 2422-8567

Foreword

Advancing Research at Auckland War Memorial Museum

Future Museum, published in 2012, sets out the Trust Board’s vision for the evolutionary development of the Museum. Looking ahead twenty years, Future Museum places the collections, the audiences for them and a Māori dimension – He Korahi Māori – at the core of a strategy that is based on the Museum's legislation, the Auckland War Memorial Museum Act 1996, and aligns with Auckland's plans.

Detail from sampler sewn by Martha Gibbons showing New Zealand and the use of Te Reo placenames. 1784.

Detail from sampler sewn by Martha Gibbons showing New Zealand and the use of Te Reo placenames. 1784.

Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tāmaki Paenga Hira. 2014.1.1.

As inheritors of museum collecting since 1852, we honour the research activities of our predecessors and their role in establishing traditions of scholarly research across many fields. They laid the foundations for many of New Zealand's early international scientific networks and of the multiple understandings of our country's place in the Pacific; they understood the importance of disseminating their insights for others to critique and build on.

As Auckland grows and its population diversifies the Museum intends to match the ambitions and expectations of the people of the city regardless of background or culture. We will continue to invest strategically in research and scholarship, public programmes and digital resources to support, strengthen and sustain the educational value of our broad and internationally-significant collections and taonga.

The collections are primary evidence to answer important research questions about Aotearoa New Zealand's ecology and cultural history. New knowledge is continually derived from them by the Museum's staff and research associates and by external researchers – academics, students and other knowledge seekers. The sum of this activity is providing fresh perspectives on artefacts, taonga and scientific specimens. The information gained is directly helping to advance theory and practice in a range of disciplines and to shape the related works of creative art and literature.

The knowledge value of the collections available for research is increasing steadily. Researchers – whether big 'R' or small 'r' – draw on the wealth of the Museum's collections to advance understandings of the world. The gains are impressive: whether studying significant taonga or artefact assemblages; historic photographs or documentary heritage; identifying new species collected on scientific expeditions; or interpreting or reinterpreting finds from archaeological excavations, the Museum's collections are at the forefront.

Assisted substantially by recent, ongoing investment in digital technologies and practices, the Museum is seeing the first fruits both in terms of the creation of robust digital infrastructure and in the strengthening of the capacities of staff. The release, in June 2015, of close to 1 million collection records online on Collections Online was a highly-significant milestone. That achievement put the Museum among the first rank globally. The step was reinforced by the publication of around eighty Topic Pages highlighting a range of research findings. These tasters were intended to surprise and delight new audiences and to inspire them to undertake their own digital explorations among the treasures cared for by the Museum.

Sharing new thinking with other researchers nationally and internationally through publication is an essential part of the research process. We are pleased to be able to publish scholarly research in our journal, Records of the Auckland Museum, as downloadable files through our website and through J-STOR. Readers are invited to explore both recent and past research and to consider Records of the Auckland Museum as a vehicle for publishing future work undertaken using the collections and documentary heritage of Auckland Museum.

Acknowledging the various digital channels now available, the Museum's collections can reach ever-broader audiences and learners anywhere in the world. I commend the fresh, democratic opportunities that are emerging at last for new research into collections and taonga from widely differing perspectives. These heritage assets are literally priceless, previously inaccessible to most people and, while they have been a source of pride locally, they have remained known in-depth only to a minority.

Our predecessors throughout the past 160 years would be astounded by the reach of the collections they have helped to create; our generation's Future Museum commitment to learning, research and scholarship is the finest way to honour their legacy. 

Roy Clare CBE

Director,
Auckland War Memorial Museum

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  • As inheritors of museum collecting since 1852, we honour the research activities of our predecessors and their role in establishing traditions of scholarly research across many fields. They laid the foundations for many of New Zealand’s early international scientific networks and of the multiple understandings of our country’s place in the Pacific; they understood the importance of disseminating their insights for others to critique and build on.
  • Foreword by Roy Clare
  • As inheritors of museum collecting since 1852, we honour the research activities of our predecessors and their role in establishing traditions of scholarly research across many fields. They laid the foundations for many of New Zealand’s early international scientific networks and of the multiple understandings of our country’s place in the Pacific; they understood the importance of disseminating their insights for others to critique and build on.
  • Last updated on: 1 Oct 2019 | File Size: 901 kB

  • Between 1770 and 1840 Double Hemisphere embroidered maps of the world were made by English and European-encultured women. To the women who made them they represented, for the most part, large, decorative, and cutting-edge works displaying their knowledge of the world and their place in it. The undated sampler attributed to Elizabeth Cook, the widow of Captain James Cook, held in the Australian National Maritime Museum collection, records the cartographic achievements of her late husband’s monumental maritime career in a woman’s accomplished and well-recognised form of artistic expression. By benchmarking this sampler against other extant similar map samplers, connections to the Cook voyages of discovery can be made. A sampler made in 1784 displays the first recorded handcrafted example of Cook-recorded Te Reo in the hand of an English-speaking woman. A sampler made in 1804 displays an embroidered kowhai flower “discovered by Joseph Banks”, beside the stitched New Zealand. With English women immediately assimilating their own newly-gained knowledge into their artistic endeavours, this paper shows evidence of small but profound expressions of women’s art that represent “new discoveries”.
  • "Cook map samplers: women’s Endeavours" by Vivien Caughley
  • Between 1770 and 1840 Double Hemisphere embroidered maps of the world were made by English and European-encultured women. To the women who made them they represented, for the most part, large, decorative, and cutting-edge works displaying their knowledge of the world and their place in it. The undated sampler attributed to Elizabeth Cook, the widow of Captain James Cook, held in the Australian National Maritime Museum collection, records the cartographic achievements of her late husband’s monumental maritime career in a woman’s accomplished and well-recognised form of artistic expression. By benchmarking this sampler against other extant similar map samplers, connections to the Cook voyages of discovery can be made. A sampler made in 1784 displays the first recorded handcrafted example of Cook-recorded Te Reo in the hand of an English-speaking woman. A sampler made in 1804 displays an embroidered kowhai flower “discovered by Joseph Banks”, beside the stitched New Zealand. With English women immediately assimilating their own newly-gained knowledge into their artistic endeavours, this paper shows evidence of small but profound expressions of women’s art that represent “new discoveries”.
  • Last updated on: 16 Jul 2019 | File Size: 1.6 MB

  • A unique potmark was identified on a ceramic vessel (49357) in the Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira. The vessel was acquired by Lt. Col. F. Waite in Egypt during the early twentieth century. Potmarks are found on ceramic vessels from the Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods of Egypt. Previous studies have examined potmarks to identify what they may refer to. The previously unrecognised potmark on 49357 has no direct parallel in existing corpora. The existence of this potmark raises issues regarding the interpretation of potmarks on ceramic vessels and the interpretations that can be drawn from them.
  • "A Predynastic vessel with a potmark in the Auckland War Memorial Museum" by Joshua Emmitt & Jennifer Hellum (University of Auckland)
  • A unique potmark was identified on a ceramic vessel (49357) in the Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira. The vessel was acquired by Lt. Col. F. Waite in Egypt during the early twentieth century. Potmarks are found on ceramic vessels from the Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods of Egypt. Previous studies have examined potmarks to identify what they may refer to. The previously unrecognised potmark on 49357 has no direct parallel in existing corpora. The existence of this potmark raises issues regarding the interpretation of potmarks on ceramic vessels and the interpretations that can be drawn from them.
  • Last updated on: 16 Jul 2019 | File Size: 1.2 MB

  • Examples of shaped and fire-hardened clay objects held in Auckland Museum archaeology collections are described and illustrated. Found in Maori occupation sites from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century, they are mainly from the Auckland area but not exclusively. Several are similar in shape, and have no known purpose or parallels in Maori material culture. They are an interesting use of a pliable natural material, modifed deliberately in some instances by heating.
  • "Clay - a lesser known medium for Māori artefacts" by Louise Furey
  • Examples of shaped and fire-hardened clay objects held in Auckland Museum archaeology collections are described and illustrated. Found in Maori occupation sites from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century, they are mainly from the Auckland area but not exclusively. Several are similar in shape, and have no known purpose or parallels in Maori material culture. They are an interesting use of a pliable natural material, modifed deliberately in some instances by heating.
  • Last updated on: 16 Jul 2019 | File Size: 2 MB

  • We record the intertidal or shallow subtidal (<2–3 m) occurrence of 78 species of ‘sea slug’ from northern North Island of New Zealand. One (Goniodoris n.sp.) is recorded for the frst time. The majority are briefy described, illustrated and their records plotted on maps. Three taxa are probably undescribed new species. All except two (Aphelodoris sp., Trinchesia refexa) of the species have been recorded from along the east coast (warmer water Aupourian Province) but only 44% (34 spp.) have been recorded from the west coast (cooler Cookian Province). The highest diversity of intertidal/shallow water ‘sea slugs’ has been recorded from the Leigh area (47 spp.), Bay of Islands (42 spp.) and Great Barrier Island (38 spp.) refecting the intensity of survey (Leigh) and diversity of habitats on the warmer coast (latter two). Of the harbours, 33 spp. are recorded from the Waitemata, 27 spp. from Parengarenga and 24 spp. from the Manukau, refecting the intensity of survey (Waitemata, Manukau) and unusual warm conditions of far north Parengarenga. Of the ‘sea slugs’ recorded herein, 45% are endemic to New Zealand and nine of these are endemic to northern New Zealand.
  • "Intertidal records of 'sea slugs'" by Margaret S. Morley et al.
  • We record the intertidal or shallow subtidal (<2–3 m) occurrence of 78 species of ‘sea slug’ from northern North Island of New Zealand. One (Goniodoris n.sp.) is recorded for the frst time. The majority are briefy described, illustrated and their records plotted on maps. Three taxa are probably undescribed new species. All except two (Aphelodoris sp., Trinchesia refexa) of the species have been recorded from along the east coast (warmer water Aupourian Province) but only 44% (34 spp.) have been recorded from the west coast (cooler Cookian Province). The highest diversity of intertidal/shallow water ‘sea slugs’ has been recorded from the Leigh area (47 spp.), Bay of Islands (42 spp.) and Great Barrier Island (38 spp.) refecting the intensity of survey (Leigh) and diversity of habitats on the warmer coast (latter two). Of the harbours, 33 spp. are recorded from the Waitemata, 27 spp. from Parengarenga and 24 spp. from the Manukau, refecting the intensity of survey (Waitemata, Manukau) and unusual warm conditions of far north Parengarenga. Of the ‘sea slugs’ recorded herein, 45% are endemic to New Zealand and nine of these are endemic to northern New Zealand.
  • Last updated on: 16 Jul 2019 | File Size: 3.9 MB

  • Graham Turbott, former Director of Auckland War Memorial Museum, died on 12 December 2014 aged 100, severing a long link with the Museum’s past. In his long retirement he retained his memory, sharp thinking and sense of humour, and was always ready to share his knowledge and recollections. He was a help and an inspiration to the current and former Museum staff who kept contact with him. This obituary emphasises Graham’s museum career and Appendix 1 lists his museum-related publications. A more detailed account of his ornithological work is published elsewhere (Gill 2015).
  • Obituary for Evan Graham Turbott M.Sc., Q.S.O. (1914–2014)
  • Graham Turbott, former Director of Auckland War Memorial Museum, died on 12 December 2014 aged 100, severing a long link with the Museum’s past. In his long retirement he retained his memory, sharp thinking and sense of humour, and was always ready to share his knowledge and recollections. He was a help and an inspiration to the current and former Museum staff who kept contact with him. This obituary emphasises Graham’s museum career and Appendix 1 lists his museum-related publications. A more detailed account of his ornithological work is published elsewhere (Gill 2015).
  • Last updated on: 16 Jul 2019 | File Size: 1.1 MB

  • Walter Cernohorsky was born in Brno, in what is currently the Czech Republic, on 30 June 1927 (Macaulay 2015). He lost both parents when he was seven years old and was looked after by his brother (who was 16 years older) and sister-in-law. During the Second World War he had to endure the horrors of the German occupation which included the murder of an uncle, who was an officer in the Czech Army, the requisitioning of the family's hotel and the need to hide female cousins from marauding soldiers. He studied architecture at university, though he would have preferred to run the family's business. As a university student Walter agitated against the Russian-imposed post-war communist regime and this eventually made it unsafe for him to remain in the country. In 1948 he hid on a train and escaped to the West without having time to collect belongings or farewell relatives and friends. He never returned or saw his brother again. Walter spoke Czech, German and English, with an understanding of Russian, and he was employed for a time by the U.S. Army as a translator.
  • Obituary for Walter Oliver Cernohorsky F.L.S. (1927–2014)
  • Walter Cernohorsky was born in Brno, in what is currently the Czech Republic, on 30 June 1927 (Macaulay 2015). He lost both parents when he was seven years old and was looked after by his brother (who was 16 years older) and sister-in-law. During the Second World War he had to endure the horrors of the German occupation which included the murder of an uncle, who was an officer in the Czech Army, the requisitioning of the family's hotel and the need to hide female cousins from marauding soldiers. He studied architecture at university, though he would have preferred to run the family's business. As a university student Walter agitated against the Russian-imposed post-war communist regime and this eventually made it unsafe for him to remain in the country. In 1948 he hid on a train and escaped to the West without having time to collect belongings or farewell relatives and friends. He never returned or saw his brother again. Walter spoke Czech, German and English, with an understanding of Russian, and he was employed for a time by the U.S. Army as a translator.
  • Last updated on: 30 Sep 2019 | File Size: 1 MB

Table of Contents

  • Evan Graham Turbott M.Sc., Q.S.O. – ornithologist, museum director – 1914–2014

    By B.J. Gill, I.G. Thwaites & R.J. Wolfe
    pp. 5–12

    Graham Turbott, former Director of Auckland War Memorial Museum, died on 12 December 2014 aged 100, severing a long link with the Museum’s past.

    Read more

  • Walter Oliver Cernohorsky F.L.S. Surveyor, malacologist – 1927–2014

    By I.G. Thwaites, B.J. Gill & W. Blom
    pp. 13–18

    In February 1969, Cernohorsky took up the position of Malacologist at Auckland Museum. By this time he had become a world authority on several families of tropical Pacific molluscs, particularly the Mitridae and Costellariidae. One of the attractions of Auckland Museum for Walter was the extensive malacological holdings of the museum’s library. From Auckland he undertook numerous field trips to Pacific islands, often funded by private benefactors.

    Read more

  • Cook map samplers: Women's endeavours

    By Vivien Caughley
    pp. 19–31

    Between 1770 and 1840 Double Hemisphere embroidered maps of the world were made by English and European-encultured women. To the women who made them they represented, for the most part, large, decorative, and cutting-edge works displaying their knowledge of the world and their place in it.

    Read more

  • A Predynastic vessel with a potmark in the Auckland War Memorial Museum

    By Joshua Emmitt (University of Auckland) & Jennifer Hellum (University of Auckland)
    pp. 33–37

    Potmarks are found on ceramic vessels from the Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods of Egypt. Previous studies have examined potmarks to identify what they may refer to. The previously unrecognised potmark on 49357 has no direct parallel in existing corpora. A unique potmark was identified on a ceramic vessel (49357) in Auckland Museum. The vessel was acquired by Lt. Col. F. Waite in Egypt during the early twentieth century. The existence of this potmark raises issues regarding the interpretation of potmarks on ceramic vessels and the interpretations that can be drawn from them.

    Read more

  • Clay – a lesser known medium for Māori artefacts

    By Louise Furey
    pp. 39–49

    Examples of shaped and fire-hardened clay objects held in Auckland Museum archaeology collections are described and illustrated. Found in Maori occupation sites from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century, they are mainly from the Auckland area but not exclusively. Several are similar in shape, and have no known purpose or parallels in Maori material culture. They are an interesting use of a pliable natural material, modified deliberately in some instances by heating.

    Read more

  • Intertidal records of 'sea slugs' from northern North Island, New Zealand

    By Margaret S. Morley and Bruce W. Hayward
    pp. 51–93

    We record the intertidal or shallow subtidal (<2–3 m) occurrence of 78 species of ‘sea slug’ from the northern part of the North Island. One (Goniodoris n.sp.) is recorded for the first time. The majority are briefly described, illustrated and their records plotted on maps.

    Read more