“Come Te Papa” Museum For National Cultural Treasures

The most important national gallery in New Zealand is Te Papa Targarewa Museum, located in Wellington on the very southern tip of the North Island, almost midway between Rotorua, Napier, and Taupo to the north and Christchurch and Lake Tekapo on the South Island.

The renowned museum houses the most important collection of taonga, or national treasures, artifacts, and cultural and natural environmental specimens from Pahia and Auckland to Milford Sound, Queenstown, and Te Auna, as well as beyond to the Pacific. The mission of Te Papa Museum is to preserve these treasures and to interpret NZ heritage for local and international audiences.

Located in one of the windiest places on earth, Te Papa Museum is a place for backpackers tramping through surrounding countryside and rugged coastlines to pause and catch their breath, rather than lose it, amidst some of the country’s best theater, dance, flashy cafes, restaurants, and festivals in this cosmopolitan kiwi capital.

Te Papa Museum is considered a gateway, or waharoa, to the essence of New Zealand’s land and people. Free admission makes a visit all the more worthwhile. Fascinating interpretations of art and artifacts are presented through static and interactive permanent and temporary exhibits.

The History of Skin is one such exhibit that demonstrated how artisans created ta mako, or tattoos, on people’s bodies. Interactive exhibits include bungee jumping virtual sheep shearing (complete with virtual sheep’s blood if you do it right),and more. A contemporary interpretation of Maori iconography is another featured presentation.

Te Papa Museum houses six floors of exhibits, cafes, and shops where you can purchase New Zealand gifts. There are also outdoor areas with artificial caves, wetlands, and native bushes. The museum has sometimes been the focus of controversy, starting with concern over its very location, built directly on a major earthquake fault, one of the world’s most active.

The architectural style, reminiscent of the flamboyant Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, also draws critical attention. The museum’s logo was also criticized for outrageous cost of development, although that $300,000 price tag was actually the cost of the complete branding project. Among conferences held there, a 2005 event drew controversy over a stages protest.

But overall, the spectacular history, art, and cultural exhibits are worth the extraordinary visit and are all the reason to “Come Te Papa” on your New Zealand vacation.