In order to get a comprehensive impression of the culture and history of New Zealand, a visit to the National Museum is essential. For the interesting tour of the National Museum, you should plan at least 2 hours. Right at the entrance, artistically built ships from the Maori era can be admired.
Rich decorations adorned the ships and huts of the Maori. Works of art several meters high are decorated with masks and faces.
The Maori came to New Zealand across the open sea in small outrigger boats. The display boards provide an interesting overview of the native fauna. The size of the former 24 moa species reached up to three meters. The largest of these ratites, the giant moa Dinornis maximus, most likely only became extinct in the middle of the last century.
When human settlement began with the arrival of the Maori from Polynesia around 900 BC, there were still about 15 species of moa. The New Zealand moa is the only wingless bird that has ever existed. The Giant Moa, one of eleven moa species, is also the largest known bird with a size of 3 meters. Many moa bones and skeletons have been found in caves where the moa had fallen.
The National Museum gives you a comprehensive overview of the culture and way of life of the indigenous people of New Zealand. Original dwellings of the Maori are set up there. This gives you an impression of the way of life of these settlers.
The pictures in the gallery show a Maori with a typical tattoo and an amulet as well as a depiction of the everyday life of the Stone Age natives of New Zealand.
You can also admire the mask of a Maori and also a richly decorated Maori deposit. Today, only a few descendants of the Maori have mastered the art of making these ornaments.
The museum also features a warrior in his primeval chain armor, armed with a sword-like slashing and striking instrument. It could well have served as a model for one of the warriors from the epic “The Lord of the Rings”. In the meantime, word has probably spread worldwide: “Middle-earth” is New Zealand. The museum has a variety of beautiful old masks on display. You can see their origin in the Polynesian cultural area.
A shield (height approx. 1.50 m) probably also comes from the Polynesian region. The edges are decorated with Kaui shells. In the middle under the nose are the weapons (tusks) of a boar (wild boar). What opponent wants to withstand this expression of horror? Next to it rather a coarse mask from a very early time with few decorations, but with a strong expression.
The gallery features beautiful examples of traditional Maori carving. The figures are about 30 cm high. The eyes are covered with tortoiseshell. There is still a recognized New Zealand artist today who has dedicated himself to the production of these pieces of art.
