Weapons and military
The History Collection has an extensive array of military material that includes a coat of samurai armour, medals, weapons, and other objects.
Walter C Cook Collection
Over a twenty-five year period, Wellingtonian Walter Cook built up a collection of British and European decorative arts. Most of the pieces (about two hundred in all) were purchased locally. The Walter C Cook Collection of Decorative Arts is a significant gift to Te Papa. Intended to enhance European social and cultural history at the Museum, it adds depth to Te Papa’s collections of international decorative arts. The collection covers the period from 1870 to 1970. It represents a wide diversity of styles, materials, and techniques that reflect changing fashions over that time. Most of the items are ceramics of British origin.
Metalwork and jewellery
The History Collection encompasses some fine examples of early and recent New Zealand silverwork.
Ceramics
The Ceramics Collection comprises nearly 3000 pieces of New Zealand commercial and studio pottery, European commercial ware, as well as some examples from well-known international studio potters such as Hamada and Cardew. The glassware ranges from domestic ware to creations by contemporary New Zealand artists such as Emily Siddell, Emma Camden, Elizabeth McClure, and Liz Sharek.
The International Collection
This collection of some 2000 items includes many artefacts that are not of New Zealand origin and do not fall within the parameters of other collection categories. The material is very diverse and comprises archaeological, historical, and contemporary objects from a wide range of societies such as ancient Egypt, Paleolithic Europe, America, Africa, Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Since the establishment of the Colonial Museum last century, artefacts have been acquired by way of gift, exchange, purchase, and through anthropologists acquiring them during the course of their fieldwork. The collection also reflects the history of the Museum and the value placed by public donors on the Museum as a worthwhile place to care for diverse cultural objects.
The objects in this collection place New Zealand within the context of the wider world. They demonstrate different lifestyles, and, in their diversity, provide a background that helps define our own heritage and our bicultural and multicultural nation.
The collection forms a research resource for the understanding of cultural change. It relates well to the school curriculums and has an increasing use for students of university and polytechnic degree courses. The objects in the collection have a high potential for thematic displays and are a loan resource for other museums.
Stamps - New Zealand Post Collection
The New Zealand Post Collection is the archive of New Zealand Post and its predecessor, the New Zealand Post Office. It was gifted to Te Papa in 1992. In addition to issued stamps, the archive contains original artwork, proofs, dies, and printing plates relating to issues from 1855 to the present day.
Other specialised philatelic collections at Te Papa include the Great Barrier Island Pigeon Post stamps of 1898-1908 and an extensive collection of postal history material from the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s.
New Zealand’s first postage stamps were issued in July 1855, the design adapted from a painting of the young Queen Victoria by the artist A E Chalon. The stamps became known to philatelists as either ‘Chalon Heads’ or ‘Full Face Queens’ (to distinguish them from a later issue with the Queen’s head in profile).
Several denominations, from one penny to one shilling, were issued. As time went on, these were printed in a range of colours and on a variety of papers. However, the basic design remained unchanged for eighteen years, until a new halfpenny stamp was introduced in 1873.
Many stamps from the first issue are now extremely rare. The only complete sheets are held in the New Zealand Post Collection.
Furniture
Te Papa’s Furniture Collection includes examples brought to New Zealand by early immigrants and furniture made in New Zealand in the European tradition using native timbers. Recent acquisitions have included furniture made by contemporary New Zealand artists and designers such as David Trubridge, Diana Firth and Micky Allen, Humphrey Iken, Blair Smith, and James Pickernell.
Textiles and Dress Collection
The History Collection contains over 7000 items of dress and textiles, of both New Zealand and overseas origin. The Dress Collection consists of women’s, men’s, children’s, and infants’ clothing and accessories from the eighteenth century to the present day.
The strength of the collection lies in its nineteenth century women's formal dress and late twentieth century and contemporary New Zealand women's and men's fashion.
The Textiles Collection also encompasses items from the eighteenth century to the present day. The strength of this part of the collection is in nineteenth century printed and woven textiles. The collection is currently being developed in the area of New Zealand printed textiles of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Until about six years ago, the collection was very much a social history collection. Since then, collection development has broadened to include New Zealand fashion up to the present day.
The Textile Collection also includes household textiles, dress accessories such as embroidery and lace, a flag collection, plus other small miscellaneous collections such as dolls, ribbons, and buttons.
Clocks and Watches
Te Papa has some beautiful gold and silver antique pocket watches and antique clocks.
Medical
The Medical Collection has fascinating objects including a ship’s medicine chest from the 1880s, a selection of Mother Mary Aubert’s ‘homeopathic’ remedies that were based on traditional Māori herbal medicine, and equipment from the School Dental Service.
Rail Heritage Collection
Te Papa’s collection of railway models is largely the work of craftsman and railway enthusiast Frank Roberts. Born in 1882, Roberts spent seventeen years as a cleaner, fireman, and driver for the Railways Department.
He and his brother George then became partners in an electrical firm, although much of Frank’s time was spent developing a working ‘garden railway’ at his Epsom, Auckland, home.
Frank built 1:24 scale models of New Zealand locomotives, working not from plans but from photographs, close observation, and his own memories. Together with George’s models of rolling stock, Frank’s locomotives provide an accurate record of New Zealand railways from the 1870s to the 1930s.
Perhaps the highlight of Frank’s modelling career came when he was commissioned to operate a working layout at the 1940 Centennial Exhibition in Wellington. Thousands of visitors saw the model railway, and many considered it the exhibition’s greatest attraction.
In 1950, Frank sold his models to the Railways Department. They were widely exhibited for many years, and Frank was employed to maintain them to museum-display standard. In June 1993, just before it was privatised, New Zealand Rail gifted its collection of 53 models to Te Papa's predecessor.