Paula Legel

Associate Curator, Heritage Publications

Paula Legel

Paula’s role as kaitiaki of published material has responsibility for the development of the Museum’s collections comprising of books and pamphlets, serials and newspapers, maps and plans.

First mooted in 1852 when the Museum was established, formal collecting of publications began in 1868 when the Auckland Institute subscribed to a number of journals considered vital for the research requirements of the Institute membership.

The collections have developed enormously since then, reflecting the research and interests of curatorial staff, members of the Institute and the Auckland community.

Paula has oversight of all materials added to these collections to support current research conducted at the Museum, as a reflection of the communities of Auckland and as creative expressions of contemporary issues and societal movements in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Access to collections is a fundamental principle of Paula’s practice as a curator. Facilitating connections between community and the taonga held at Auckland Museum through opportunities for personal and meaningful interactions where ancestors are met, perhaps for the first time.

Research interests and projects

Paula works collaboratively with colleagues through participation in community engagement programmes and exhibitions such as the Pacific Collections Access Project, Te Aho Mutunga Kore fibre centre and the development of the Mana: Protest in Print exhibition.

She is also interested in provenance and collecting. Researching a range of collections and objects within publications to understand how items have travelled across the globe to Aotearoa New Zealand and the actors determining the arrival of these items in the collections of Tāmaki Paenga Hira. A range of investigations include early feminist activity in Auckland, rare scraps of 11th century music manuscript repurposed in 16th century book binding, and nature prints and printers.

Publications and Exhibitions

EXHIBITION

Mana: Protest in Print

More than just a newspaper, Mana was a beacon of resistance, advocacy, and cultural pride for Māori and Pacific communities in the 1970s. Mana: Protest in Print explores the legacy of the groundbreaking publication which continues to resonate today. Through taonga, photography, and digital interactives, the exhibition amplifies the vision of Mana for a more inclusive and informed society, a message that remains as powerful and relevant now as it was in 1977.

Seeing the connections with a Hiapo lens

Growing collections that connect with the communities of Tāmaki Makaurau is important gahua (work) here at the Museum. Adding items that can provide connection and inspiration relating to akau magafoa (genealogy), vagahau Niue (language) or koloa (cultural objects) is part of an ongoing conversation with community, artists and academics immersed in everything Niuean.

Discovering 'The Homeopathic Echo'

The discovery of a new treasure in the collection is always to be celebrated and when I shelved ‘The Homeopathic Echo’ while undertaking a collection shift, I could hardly believe what I was reading. To find a specialist health magazine published in Auckland as early as 1855 was astonishing.

Tapa as a form of Paper – Dard Hunter’s connection to Tāmaki Paenga Hira

Is Tapa a form of paper? Dard Hunter, preeminent American craft artist papermaker and printer of the twentieth century certainly thought so.

One island, one book, many stories

As part of Rotuma Language Week, the Museum worked closely with Fesaitu Solomone, a member of the museum’s Pacific Advisory Group to hold two Zoom talanoa that focused on Rotuman language and cultural treasures. This blog expands on the discussion in the first talanoa on one of the treasures, Tales of a Lonely Island, held in the Museum Library.

Flora Vitiensis

A "flora" is an exhaustive listing and description of plants with a geographical focus. To celebrate Fiji Language Week, Yumiko Baba (Associate Curator, Botany) and Paula Legel (Associate Curator, Heritage Publications) examine an exquisitely illustrated 19th-century flora.

Mackelvie Collection of books, pamphlets and serials donated by James Tannock Mackelvie, held at Auc

Preliminary research into the books and pamphlets donated by James Tannock Mackelvie to the Auckland Institute (predecessor of Auckland Museum) prior to 1885. Mackelvie was a generous benefactor to Auckland Museum and to the city of Auckland through the Mackelvie Trust Collection.

Herbert Boucher Dobbie, fern enthusiast and nature printer

The fern enthusiast and nature printer Herbert Dobbie pioneered the cyanotype photographic process, wherein dried ferns are placed on glass with sensitised paper beneath and exposed to light.

Don't judge a book by its cover

The late nineteenth century was a time of great change for women in New Zealand, brought on by the tireless advocacy of individuals often juggling complex lives and personal tragedy. One such individual was author Ellen Ellis and in this blog, Paula Legel (Associate Curator, Heritage Publications) details her discovery of Ellis’ rare novel, and the unusual circumstances that drove her to find out more.

Victorian Botanical Nature Printing

The Museum is fortunate to hold two botanical titles featuring nature printing, an unusual process popularized in England in the mid-nineteenth century by a young printer by the name of Henry Bradbury.