Authored by award-winning historian Jock Phillips, The History of New Zealand in 100 Objects is gripping, inclusive, often revelatory and deeply human. A colourful and characterful retelling of our shared past, relevant to today, particular to all of us.

The sewing kete of an unknown 18th-century Maori woman; the Endeavour cannons that fired on waka in 1769; the bagpipes of an Irish publican Paddy Galvin; the school uniform of Harold Pond, a Napier Tech pupil in the Hawke’s Bay quake; the Biko shields that tried to protect protestors during the Springbok tour in 1981 and so many more – these are items of quiet significance and great personal meaning, taonga carrying stories that together represent a dramatic, full-of-life history for everyday New Zealanders.

• Written by Jock Phillips

Jock Phillips ONZM is a freelance historian based in Wellington, New Zealand. Studying first at Victoria University of Wellington then Harvard, Phillips went on to teach American and New Zealand history at Victoria for 16 years, a time during which he also established the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies.

Available online and in-store at Wellington Museum. Explore our collection of jewellery, taonga, souvenirs, science-themed gifts and more from across Aotearoa New Zealand