Waitangi Day and the Australian Museum

The Australian Museum holds around 60,000 ethnographic objects from the Pacific region, of which 955 are of Maori origin. These objects are known to Maori people as taonga Maori (Maori treasures).

The objects featured on this website were used in everyday life at the time of the Waitangi Treaty. They provide insight into the designs, materials and technologies used in the production of Maori material culture during the 1800s. The materials used in the manufacture of objects as well as their use reflected the status of and respect for individuals such as warriors, priests, chiefs and chieftainesses within Maori tribal life.

In February 2004, the Maori objects from the Australian Museum collection were displayed at Bondi Pavilion, Bondi Beach, as part of the NSW Maori community's celebrations of Waitangi Day. The Waitangi Day display was part of an ongoing Australian Museum program to provide communities with access to their cultural and ancestral heritage.

A group of young Maori female performers wearing traditional piu piu (flax garment), Bondi Pavilion. Photo: Y Carrillo-Huffman.

A young Maori girl during a waiata-a-ringa (action song) performance, Bondi Pavilion. Photo: Y Carrillo-Huffman.

Young Maoris during a Haka performance, Bondi Pavilion. Photo: Y Carrillo-Huffman.

A group of Maori performers making a pukana (traditional facial expression) before going on stage, Bondi Pavilion. Photo: Y. Carrillo-Huffman.

All images used with the permission of the Nga Hau E Wha Maori Culture Group, Wollongong.