Story: Collecting

Augustus Hamilton collection, Hawke's Bay Philosophical Society, 1880s

Augustus Hamilton collection, Hawke's Bay Philosophical Society, 1880s

Augustus Hamilton, the director of the Colonial Museum in Wellington from 1903 to 1913, developed an important personal collection of Māori and Pacific artefacts and natural history specimens. He was an active member of the Hawke's Bay Philosophical Society when he lived near Napier between 1878 and 1890, and developed the society's museum. This is part of his collection on display in the museum in the late 1880s. Hamilton deposited his entire collection with the Colonial Museum on becoming its director.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, E. R. Williams Collection
Reference: 1/1-025795-G
Photograph by William Williams

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Richard Wolfe, 'Collecting - Early collecting', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/37314/augustus-hamilton-collection-hawkes-bay-philosophical-society-1880s (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Richard Wolfe, published 5 Sep 2013