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Story: Life sciences

The Banks and Solander collection at Te Papa

This video shows New Zealand plant specimens collected by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander on the Endeavourvoyage of 1769. The specimens are now held at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Among the collection are the first examples of silver fern or ponga (Cyathea dealbata) and kōwhai (Sophoraspecies) to be collected by Europeans.

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YouTube: tepapamuseum's channel

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How to cite this page

Peter Clayworth, Life sciences – Beginnings, 1769–1900, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/44085/the-banks-and-solander-collection-at-te-papa (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Peter Clayworth, published 27 January 2014.