Highlights
Taonga Pūoro
The Nelson Provincial Museum holds a unique collection of hand made Taonga Puoro, or Māori musical instruments, by local craftsman and practitioner Brian Flintoff.
Richard Nunns Collection of World Musical Instruments
Richard Nunns was an authority on ngā taonga puoro (Māori traditional musical instruments). In 2009, Richard generously donated his collection of world instruments to the Nelson Provincial Museum for teaching and display. Richard Nunns passed away on June 7, 2021. Kua hinga te tōtara i Te Waonui-a-Tāne.
Photos of the 2019 Tasman Fires by Tim King
This collection of digital photos was taken by Tim King in the midst of events during the February 2019 Tasman Fires.
Bernard Vavasour (a sample of 200 from 800+ Photographs)
Despite the emergence of digital photography at the end of the 1990s, retired farmer and nut enthusiast Bernard Vavasour decided instead to buy a Pentax 645N, which at the time was an expensive, premium-quality film camera. Typically, he would set off on a Friday evening and not be seen again for several days. From 1999 to 2008, Vavasour used the high-end medium format camera to photograph some of the Top of the South’s most scenic views in Tasman, Nelson and Marlborough. More than 800 of the late photographer’s images are now available for viewing on the Nelson Provincial Museum.
Chinese in Nelson Tasman
Nelson was home to Aotearoa New Zealand's first naturalised Chinese immigrant, 黃鶴廷 Huang Hoc Ting , known as Wong Ah Poo Hoc Ting and later Appo Hocton. The collection of the Nelson Provincial Museum features photographs of Appo Hocton and his descendants, and other photographs, archives, publications and objects documenting Chinese in Nelson Tasman.