COLLECTIONS
SHOWING IN THE GALLERIES
MUSEUM EDUCATION LEOTC PROGRAM
PUBLIC PROGRAMMES & EVENTS
Tui & Tama’s Treasure Trail
Enlarge Pirates and princesses welcome at the Te Awamutu Museum for Children’s Day 7th March 2021! As part of Children’s Day 2021, March 7, the Te Awamutu Museum has programmed several activities around the street block for all the pirates and princesses attending this year’s pantomime – ‘The Pirate and the Princess’. Tui & Tama’s Tamariki Trail is supported by Oranga Tamariki, Children’s Day national coordinators, Countdown and local business Hoops & Scoops. For any children and families waiting for the show can stroll up to the Museum and participate in some free, creative and cool activities like – Pirate and princess face painting, Pirate and princess badge making and, Make a pirate patch or princess crown. Anne Blyth Museum’s and Heritage Director is excited about the opportunity to open to the public, especially for children’s day on the Sunday “The Museum Team is really looking forward to joining the Children’s Day celebrations for the first time this year. The team have some awesome activities planned and are excited to join the other local community services to in celebrating this important day.” The Museum will be open from 9am-1pm Sunday 7th March, with the participation of the New Zealand Fire Service, The New Zealand Police and the FREE children’s day play on the same block. It is set to be loads of fun so if you’re attending the pantomime check out Te Awamutu Museum’s Face Book event posts and come into the Museum to pick up your free treasure map showing you what and where each activity will be on the day. Look out for the free vouchers and... read moreFormal Friday Exhibition
Our latest exhibition is what I would like to call a rapid response show- one that was created on a very short timeline in response to what is happening in the world around us the moment. Formal Friday became a whimsical trend in New Zealand during our response to Covid-19 global pandemic. We’ve heard it all before; we went into lockdown for weeks on end, we were asked to work from home, we socially distanced, we shrunk our social bubbles and started living in our comfy gear. Whether this was all day in active wear, rotating the same pair of trackpants, or refusing to put on “real clothes.” In effort to break up the monotony New Zealand moved from casual Fridays at the office, to Formal Fridays at home. All championed by our very own TV personality Hilary Barry! Wearing Formal wear on Fridays uplifted our spirits, got us looking in our closets for our best glad rags and made Friday meetings on zoom something to look forward to. The movement of #FormalFridays went viral with up to 40,000 tags alone on Instagram and many others taking part across other social media channels. At Te Awamutu Museum we chose to harness this energy to ignite our own textile collection by creating a show that spans from the 1830s until today, and show what Formal Friday has meant to different people over time. Whether this is through the ceremonial outfits, what we once wore as daily attire, our uniforms or our best wears to church on a Sunday. For our attempt at developing and creating a rapid response show and... read moreNew Requisition for the Museum
Our most recent acquisition to the collection is a Whāriki from renowned weaver Kahutoi Te Kanwana, from her exhibition “Te Ohanga Ake” recently held at Te Awamutu Museum. Enlarge Images of whāriki mount made from recycled exhibition stools Typically Whāriki are housed flat or hung up, but due to our limited space it was decided the best plan was to roll, the woven kiekie was tested for its durability and suitability for this method of storage. The first step was to create a core for the whariki to be rolled onto, and we did this by “upcycling” old Museum stools, and covering these in ethafoam to create a deep and sturdy base. The next step was to cover the core in Tyvek to create a barrier between the object and the foam core. Tyvek is used as it is a pH neutral material that offers waterproofing, mitigation from dust, breathable and suitable for most Museum objects. Enlarge Image showing complexity of storing rolled taonga After preparing the base, I used extra Tyvek to roll the Whāriki on to, meaning that every revolution of the Whāriki had a barrier layer, and minimised any friction that may occur between the fibres. The whāirki is maurua (double joined) and required extra padding along the way, ‘tissue sausages’ were added to prevent any lumps or bumps being transferred between the layers. The last touch was to add Tyvek bows to hold it all together. Enlarge Whāriki ready to be stored with taonga collection Megan Denz, Collection Manager 20 SEPTEMBER... read moreRESILIENCE RESISTANCE REMEMBRANCE
Enlarge We have just installed “Resilience Resistance and Remembrance” exhibition on the Front Porch Gallery, just in time for Waikato War commemorations. This exhibition gives an overview to how Aotearoa New Zealand adopted Rā Maumahara, New Zealand Day of Commemorations 28th October, revealing Waipā district’s connection to the Waikato Wars and the local school students that carried the kaupapa vision of change. This year there will be objects from the collection connected to Ngāti Apakura as part of the Resilience Resistance and Remembrance exhibit and in the Tangata Whenua Gallery. Come check it... read moreWAIKATO WARS COMMEMORATIONS FEB-APR 2021
Enlarge Map of Rangiaowhia - Te Awamutu Museum Archives During the coming months there are a number of commemorations of the Waikato Wars in the district of Waipā. February 21st 1864 – British armed forces attacked the peaceful Māori village. February 22nd 1864 – Māori lined up at Hairini to avenge the attack on Rangiaowhia against British armed forces. March 31st – April 2nd 1864 – Battle of O-Rākau, British Crown forces attacked Māori. To discover more about why the British invaded the Waikato, how Māori fought back, the outcomes and relevance to today’s generation of people living in the Waipā at the Museum. Here we delved deep into the lead up and some outcomes of that amazing story. You can also take the Te Ara Wai Journeys mobile tour of the district by staring here at the Museum and go on a self guided tour. All the information is right here at your Museum. Or, take the mobile journey and head to Te Ara Wai Journeys, click... read moreCHRISTMAS HOURS 2020
Our Christmas and New Year hours: Closed, from Wednesday 23rd December 12.00pm Closed from 24th December 2020 to 10th January 2021 Open from Monday 11th January 10.00aam-4.00pm Monday – Friday Open Saturday 10.00am-2.00pm read moreWaitangi Day Workshops 2021
Waitangi Day 2021 6th and 8th February was filled with creative activities held at the Museum. Toi Oriwa offered visitors the opportunity to learn te reo Māori and cultural activities through creative workshops. Tī rākau and Māori designed badges were a great hit as visitors learned the intricacies of designing, singing, and learning more about the significance of Waitangi.
Make Do & Mend Workshops
‘Make Do & Mend’ workshops have been very successful with lots of creative new fashion accessories being created by 
utilising the mantra of recycle, rethink, repurpose and reuse. Connie Takarangi is a first time presenter of workshops here at the Museum and hopefully she will be back.
Just in time for Christmas!
We have a little SALE on at the Museum shop!
Come in and check out the Museum merchandise, Te Ara Wai Journeys merchandise, Tui & Tama merchandise for the kids, books and a whole lot more!
Education Update
Our calender is open, and we are taking bookings for 2021 LEOTC.
We have a range of core social science programmes that are all designed to be student led. Want to add technology, or maybe art, or science? Have a specific local focus? Just ask. Our Te Tiriti O Waitangi session is a great way to start the year with a hands on interactive look at this vital subject. From dress ups, handling objects and taonga, our giant roll out Treaty, to signing their own class treaty with the ink dip pens.
Waipā is home to significant sites of the New Zealand Wars. Our “Ngā Pakanga O Aotearoa” program starts with a session at the Museum, and then the important kōrero continues at the sites. We have created a “causes and consequences” zoom session feturing interviews with local experts, to give three fifferent lenses. This can be added to the program, and is ideal as a post Tour session, in class. Weaving local stories, engaging, inspiring, with hands on learning experiences. If you are a Teacher, we’d love the opportunity to chat about what we can offer your students.
And yes, we are taking bookings now, book via the education tab, where you will also find our core programmes, or email us direct leotc@waipadc.govt.nz
Museum Research Enquiries
Research enquiries and Research Room appointments are closed for the year and will recommence after 11th January 2021.