Friends Forever - Friends of Tūhura Otago Museum for 100 Years
Ceramics from Persia, an articulated seal pup, a helmet from the 12th century, enough Victorian chairs to fill a ballroom – what do these things have in common? Friends. Whose friends? The friends of Tūhura Otago Museum. Tune in as we share stories and knowledge celebrating the Friends of Tūhura’s 100th anniversary. https://tuhura.nz/your-museum/friends-of-tuhura
Episodes
September 16, 2026 • 26 mins
Rafael Clarke and Nancy Longnecker became Friends of Tūhura relatively recently. Hear about their experiences of being Friends of Tūhura and the value they place on being part of a like-minded community that supports the cultural legend that is Tūhura Otago Museum. Raf and Nancy say for them, a strong motivation for joining the Friends involved contributing to an important cultural institution. Both of them joined the council of th...
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September 9, 2026 • 27 mins
George Bysouth has travelled from the Isle of Mann to Dunedin with a few adventurous stops along the way. These days, if he arrives at work chilled on a Dunedin winter’s day, George warms up quickly on the job. As the gardener at Tūhura Otago Museum, George keeps the Tropical Forest looking marvellous. George describes the symbiosis between his studies in Botany at Otago University and his work in the forest at Tūhura. While ...
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September 2, 2026 • 26 mins
Craig Scott’s journey at Tūhura Otago Museum began as an intern. He is now Head of Exhibitions and Creative Services and shares his experience leading a small, impactful design team. The work ranges widely, from identifying international exhibitions that the museum can bring to Dunedin to planning and producing exhibitions in-house. The design team also produces varied creative elements from marketing material to shop merchan...
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August 26, 2026 • 26 mins
Rafael Clarke, co-host of Friends Forever switches roles for this episode, joining his partner Joëlle den Toom as a guest. Joëlle and Raf are members of the council of the Association of Friends of Tūhura and put their hands up to tackle the Friends’ gargantuan anniversary book project. With research degrees from the University of Otago, they are well placed for this project. Joëlle and Raf talk about their indefatigable work...
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August 19, 2026 • 27 mins
Featured guest Professor Simone Marshall has joined the executive officers of the Association Friends of Tūhura. Simone is no stranger to community cultural collaborations, having worked with Otago Museum to host a medieval family day. She fondly describes her practice of calligraphy. Simone extols the value of ‘doing’ to enhance deeper appreciation of study material and has her students making their own quills as part ...
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August 12, 2026 • 26 mins
What is the value of Friends? Join us in exploring the history of two very old museum Friends’ associations with guests from the Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England – Sarah Burles and Katie Capper-Grundy. While studying at Cambridge over one hundred years ago, Dunedin’s own HD Skinner met Sydney Cockerell, Director of the Fitz and founder of its Friends association. Cockerell and Skinner shared...
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August 5, 2026 • 27 mins
From Cambridge, England, Sarah Burles and Katie Capper-Grundy join us to discuss the Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum. HD Skinner – a curator at the Otago Museum – studied at Cambridge after being wounded in action during World War 1 and evacuated to Britain. At Cambridge, he was inspired by the Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Sydney Cockerell who founded an association of Fitzwilliam Friends. After HD returned to ...
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July 29, 2026 • 26 mins
Christine Wierda brings her experience as a diving coach to her role as manager of Front of House staff at Tūhura Otago Museum. Christine is a people person, which is exactly what is needed to lead a team who are the public face of the museum – those who interact with visitors from around the country and around the world. In this episode of Friends Forever, Christine shares what it’s like to work at the museum and recou...
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July 22, 2026 • 28 mins
Steve Ting is a passionate science communicator and a man of many talents. He’s tackled chain mail, 3-D printing, and photography from pinhole to portraiture. Who better to wax lyrical about science, astronomy and the spectrum of museum education and outreach? From sleepovers to silver science, Steve tells us about education programmes at Tūhura.
This show was broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin - oar.org.nz and made thanks to...
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July 15, 2026 • 27 mins
Toni Teckie grew up in Tuvalu, but has acclimatised to Dunedin’s weather and lived in Ōtepoti for decades. He visited Otago Museum's Pacific Cultures gallery many times over the years, carefully studying the model of a double-hulled waka from Tuvalu at each visit. Toni pointed out that the sail was upside down and now, 24 years later, its display has been corrected. Tūhura has prioritised community engagement, with one outcom...
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July 8, 2026 • 29 mins
Dr. Gerard O’Regan is this episode's featured guest. Gerard is Curator Māori and Pouhere Kaupapa Māori at Tūhura; he shares his whakapapa and recounts his journey that led to expertise in archaeology. A Mana Tūānuku fellowship supports Gerard’s work to study Māori rock art. Gerard and Tūhura will share that knowledge in collaboration with the Canterbury Museum, producing an exhibition that will launch at Tūhura in 2027 ...
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July 1, 2026 • 26 mins
When we discovered that the Friends of Tūhura donated the large glacial erratic boulder at the museum’s original entrance on Great King St, we were curious. What even is a glacial erratic?! We asked Marcus Richards Collections Technician in Natural Sciences at Tūhura who points out that boulders litter our landscapes, and they all have a story to tell. Marcus illuminates where this glacial erratic came from and why it’s...
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June 24, 2026 • 26 mins
Gallery trails are a fun way to put on a detective hat, explore Tūhura’s galleries, and learn about some of the wonderful things on display at the museum. Join us to hear how Cushla McKinney and Jessica Hall have developed gallery trails for both young children and those more fully fledged. Cushla has served the Friends of Tūhura for many years as council member and president. She has had a long-standing goal for the Friends ...
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June 17, 2026 • 25 mins
Jane Gregory, linchpin at Tūhura Museum - What is life without connections between people, groups and institutions? Connections within and for Tūhura are fundamental aims of the delightful administrator, Jane Gregory. As liaison between museum staff and the Association of Friends and organisational linchpin at Tūhura, Jane opens up about her many years serving as an executive assistant in the UK and NZ, bringing us to her role toda...
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June 10, 2026 • 26 mins
As a former president of the Friends of Tūhura and granddaughter of H. D. Skinner, Julie Pearse is well qualified to share the Friends' rich history. With fascinating anecdotes and historical information, Julie enlightens listeners on the highs and lows of the Association of Friends, how it battled membership problems in the 2000s and rose again. She tells tales of her “Pop’s” excavations and the games he would pl...
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June 3, 2026 • 29 mins
Helping communities find their voice is an extremely difficult job; luckily, it’s second nature for Leota Meredith, Pasifika engagement manager at Tūhura. In a time when museums are facing up to their colourful pasts, bringing in the perspectives of the many Pasifika communities in Otago is more important than ever. Leota has been on the frontline, helping the museum transform its Pasifika gallery into a representative and mo...
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May 27, 2026 • 27 mins
Bad handwriting can spark intrigue or rage - a dilemma every archivist and volunteer has experienced. Dr Doug Holborow has decoded and catalogued many instances of illegible scrawls for the Tūhura Archives project. On today’s show, retired periodontist Doug walks our hosts through his storied past with the Friends as well as the process of archiving H. D. Skinner’s correspondence – a tad easier than pulling teeth....
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May 20, 2026 • 26 mins
Volunteers are the backbone of community and creative institutions and Jeanette Leigh has racked up countless hours of tireless work. Why choose which associations to belong to when you can be a life member for most of them? That’s exactly what our guest today did. Jeanette inspires our hosts and audience with stories from her work on the Tūhura Otago Museum archives project, her history with the Friends of Tūhura, and the ci...
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May 13, 2026 • 24 mins
Without donations, charitable cultural institutions struggle to survive. Dr Georgia Ciaran has made it her life’s mission to help keep irreplaceable icons like Tūhura Otago Museum thriving for generations to come. On today’s show, our guest, the head of philanthropy and development at Tūhura, describes how every penny given can leave a lasting legacy. Georgia gives our listeners insight into the impact of philanthropy a...
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May 6, 2026 • 26 mins
Host of Friends Forever and Friends president Nancy Longnecker is in the hotseat, with co-host Rafael and guest host Joëlle quizzing the science communication emerita professor on her long career and dedication to the Friends. Nancy discusses her work on the Friends’ centenary exhibition as well as the million other things she juggles to keep the Association helping Tūhura. A lifetime of helping to better communicate and info...
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