Kōrero: Museums

This water rail, Rallus aquaticus, from Sardinia, mounted on a kauri base, was acquired by Thomas Cheeseman for Auckland Museum in 1881. Cheeseman sent New Zealand plants and animals, Māori artefacts and kōiwi (human bones) to the Natural History Museum of Florence. In exchange, museum director Enrico Giglioli sent animals and plants from around the world, along with Italian archaeological items, to Auckland. New Zealand's larger museums built up their overseas collections through similar exchanges.