After being privilegded enough to hear a leading Sports Psychologist speak (Dr. Gary Hermanson) and visit Wellington Cricket today, a few friends and I headed over to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa near the waterfront in Wellington. Upon our entrance, we walked up a set of stairs and were faced with a decision to see a few of the famous Terracotta Warriors of China or delve into the history of New Zealand’s involvement in WWI. The latter was free so the decision amongst us was made rather quickly. Also, I think we were all a bit confused as to why a New Zealand museum had a display of Terracotta warriors, but after some slight research I may have discovered the connection that drew them to Te Papa. An article written by Redmer Yska contained snippets of an interview of the art historian who is responsible for bringing them to Wellington. Te Papa curator Rebecca Rice is a self-proclaimed sinophile (a person with a strong interest in Chinese culture), according to Yska, found herself desiring to bring part of the army to New Zealand after visiting China in 2017. Rice’s reasoning for constructing the exhibit was that the Maori share beliefs surrounding the afterlife and ancestors that align with those held by the Chinese. After discovering this, I can say I feel some regret for not paying the $20 to see the delicately designing and assembled statues. However, the WWI exhibit provided a chance to learn about how this small country impacted such a large war over a hundred years ago.
Giant displays of real soldiers whose writings from the war were being read aloud through speakers were definitely the most captivating pieces of the exhibit. The detail of the larger than life figures was truly impeccable and the stories heard were surreal. Moving through the displays we came across smaller yet intriguing artifacts from soldiers who endured the brutal war. Perhaps my favorite was a small prayer book that saved the life of Private Hone Tahitahi. Seen below, in the bottom right corner of the booklet a Turkish bullet is lodged between the pages. The verse just above translates to “Take courage, It is I. Don’t be afraid.” I have heard stories of occurrences similar to this where a book of coin stopped a bullet in its tracks that would have otherwise been fatal, but to see such a piece of history was an amazing experience. I wish we had taken more time to peruse other areas of Te Papa but were eager to explore the rest of the city in the little time we have left in Wellington. I am entertaining the idea of another trip to the museum before we depart back to the states, however, I feel that we have just begun digging into the rich culture of this beautiful waterfront city.
Blog Entry 12: The Museum
Foreign Adventures-New Zealand 