Introducing: Ours: Treasures from Te Papa

Introducing: Ours: Treasures from Te Papa

Author: RNZ February 8, 2018 Duration: 0:30

Taonga that have shaped our identity. Noelle McCarthy celebrates Te Papa's 20th birthday by talking to 20 New Zealanders about 20 treasures that help tell our nation's story.

On Valentines Day 1998, The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa opened on the Wellington waterfront.

Prime Minister Jim Bolger, who pushed it through despite Treasury and cabinet opposition, later said "We needed a museum that captured who we were as a people, as a nation, as a country". Twenty years on, Noelle McCarthy rummages through the collection to find 20 objects that speak to that sense of nationhood Bolger was so keen to put on display.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details


There's a story held within every object, a quiet history waiting to be told. Ours: Treasures from Te Papa is a series of conversations that bring these stories to life, moving far beyond a simple catalogue of museum pieces. Each episode focuses on a single taonga, a treasure, from the vast collections of Te Papa Tongarewa. What makes this podcast distinct is the pairing of voices: you'll hear from a Te Papa expert who provides the deep historical and cultural context, alongside a New Zealander for whom that particular object holds profound personal significance. The range is wonderfully broad, connecting threads between high art and everyday pop culture, between specimens from the natural world and items from the frontline of the nation's political history. It’s an intimate exploration of how these treasures are not just relics behind glass, but living pieces of identity and memory. Produced by RNZ, the series builds a rich, layered portrait of Aotearoa through the things its people have made, kept, and loved. Tuning in feels less like a history lesson and more like being invited into a series of thoughtful, revealing conversations about what we value and why.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 21

Ours: Treasures from Te Papa
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