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When Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sailed into Golden Bay on 18 December 1642, he and his crew were greeted by the call of what may have been a pūtātara (shell trumpet). They responded by sounding baroque trumpets. Pūtātara were made from native conch shells, and more rarely exotic triton shells, which occasionally washed up on New Zealand beaches.
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Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Reference: ME003937
Courtesy of Richard Nunns and Bob BickertonPermission of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.