Greetings Friends,
What a wonderful day it was! Our inaugural World Day of Friends of Museums celebration at Te Papa on Sunday 11 October brought members together for a special day of friendship and shared enthusiasm for museums and the stories they tell. One of the highlights was a delightful performance from the Faultline Chorus, whose beautiful harmonies filled the Icon Room and created a welcoming atmosphere for the occasion. Members also enjoyed a rare opportunity to venture behind the scenes on a tour of Te Papa's engine rooms. Led by Pete Cunninghame, the tour offered fascinating insights into the workings of New Zealand's national museum and proved to be an unforgettable experience for all who attended. The day also provided an opportunity to recognise the winners of our Photographer in the Museums Competition. Congratulations to Theodore Rothman, Jay Manning, and Iain Sutherland on their outstanding entries. Their photographs captured the creativity, curiosity, and wonder that museums inspire. We were equally delighted to award our Te Papa Press Book Giveaway to Chad Moffit. Congratulations, Chad, and thank you for joining us for the celebrations.
Most importantly, thank you to everyone who attended and helped make our first World Day of Friends of Museums such a success. We look forward to making this annual celebration an even bigger occasion in years to come.
The Friends of Te Papa are proud to be supporting the Wellington City Mission's Star Box Appeal this year. We will have Star Boxes available at two upcoming Soundings Theatre events: Professor James Belich's lecture on 24 October and The Japanese Garden: 100 Years of Eastern Influence on 15 November. The Star Box Appeal helps stock the Wellington City Mission's Christmas Toy Store and Social Supermarket, ensuring families facing hardship can provide both gifts for children and food for the Christmas table. A small donation can make a significant difference to whānau throughout the Wellington region. If you are attending either lecture, we encourage you to bring along a donation and place it in the Star Box located in the theatre foyer. Together, we can help make Christmas brighter for local families.
Photography and creative writing come together in Aperture and Attitude: Writing Through the Lens, presented in association with Verb Wellington. Participants will begin the day exploring Slow Burn | Ahi Tāmau, where Curator of Photography Lissa Mitchell will share the stories behind the exhibition's powerful and thought-provoking images. The exhibition provides an inspiring starting point for the creative process. The programme then moves into a writing workshop led by poet Helen Rickerby, who will guide participants in creating original written works inspired by the photographs and themes encountered throughout the morning. The experience concludes with a specially themed high tea. Numbers are limited to fifteen participants, and Friends members receive a special discount using the promotional code provided by Te Papa. If you enjoy photography, writing, or simply exploring creativity from a new perspective, this promises to be a memorable and rewarding day. Read more here
Friends of Te Papa are warmly invited to the opening celebration of the Wellington Heritage Festival 2026, held in partnership with the Multicultural Council of Wellington at Te Papa on 22 October. This special evening celebrates the rich cultural heritage of Te Upoko-o-te-Ika-a-Māui and the many communities that contribute to Wellington's vibrant identity. Visitors will enjoy a varied programme featuring kapa haka, traditional Chinese lion dance, cultural performances, and an interactive cultural quiz. The event will also officially launch the 2026 Heritage Festival. Read more here
Professor James Belich: Museums, History and the Stories We Tell
Soundings Theatre Saturday 24 October 12pm - 1pm
How do museums shape the way we understand the world and our place within it? In association with the Wellington Heritage Festival, renowned historian James Belich ONZM reflects on the powerful role museums have played in shaping his own thinking as both a New Zealand and global historian. At the heart of his talk is the remarkable story of Zealandia, the largely submerged continent that separated from Gondwana millions of years ago. This lecture is about more than geology or history. It is also a personal reflection on the unique power of museum collections. Belich recalls two formative museum experiences: encountering the towering reconstruction of a moa at the former Dominion Museum and, decades later, discovering an exhibition of Malagasy art at the British Museum. These encounters challenged assumptions and sparked new ways of thinking about the past. Through fascinating stories and personal reflections, Belich demonstrates how museums can inspire curiosity, challenge preconceptions, and transform our understanding of the world. Read more here
The Japanese Garden: 100 Years of Eastern Influence
Soundings Theatre Sunday 15 November 4pm - 5pm
Our fourth lecture presented in association with the Wellington Arts Society invites audiences to explore the enduring influence of Japanese garden design on landscapes around the world. Speaker Amanda Herries brings exceptional expertise to this topic. Japanese gardens have captivated Western audiences for more than a century, offering spaces of balance, beauty, and contemplation. In this fascinating lecture, Amanda explores the principles that underpin Japanese garden design, including serenity, asymmetry, symbolism, and the careful shaping of nature. She traces how these ideas travelled west through art, trade, travel, and plant collecting, influencing landscape designers and gardeners across Europe. Through historical examples and surviving gardens, she examines the ways Japanese aesthetics have been adapted in different cultural contexts. Amanda also asks a fascinating question: can a truly Japanese garden exist outside Japan, or do Western interpretations create something entirely new while preserving the spirit of the original traditions? Read more here
Join Mike Hannah and Scott Langdale for an inspiring exploration of how Te Māra a Tāne Zealandia has transformed Wellington's biodiversity during the past twenty-five years. This presentation tells the remarkable story of the world's first fully fenced urban ecosanctuary and its ambitious 500-year vision to restore a thriving pre-human ecosystem. Learn how native wildlife has returned to Wellington, how groundbreaking conservation programmes have flourished, and how initiatives such as Predator Free Wellington and Capital Kiwi have grown from Zealandia's success. Read more here
Celebrate the beginning of summer with an elegant evening of Art and Champagne at Normanby Fine Wines and Webb's Wellington. Guests will enjoy a private tour of the Into Summer exhibition before sampling eight exceptional Champagnes carefully paired with selected artworks. With places strictly limited, this special pre-Christmas event offers a perfect opportunity to gather with friends and enjoy an unforgettable evening of art and world-class Champagne. Read more here
We look forward to welcoming you to these upcoming events and sharing many more opportunities to connect with Te Papa, with history, and with one another throughout the year.
Rachael Brenton-Rule - Coordinator
(04) 381 7051/ 021 488 787
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Image credit: Dean Hochman from Overland Park, Kansas, U.S., CC BY 2.0