Tuia – Southern Encounters

When James Cook sailed down the Otago coast in 1770 he observed what he thought to be a barren uninhabited land. This exhibition weaves together taonga, images, maps, and knowledge handed down from ancestors to tell the story of how fifty generations had been living in southern New Zealand when the first explorers from another world visited these shores.

The names of lakes and rivers, mountains, settlements and foodgathering sites remind us that long before Cook claimed Te Waipounamu for Great Britain, this land was the dearest possession of another people.

Closed for Christmas and New Year 24 Dec 2019 - 2 Jan 2020 (last day of 2019 Wednesday 23 December, first day of 2020 Friday 3 Jan).