The Friends of Tūhura Otago Museum celebrates 100 years, Tūhura Otago Museum, 6 August 2026
The Friends of Tūhura Otago Museum is celebrating a remarkable milestone, marking 100 years of preserving Aotearoa New Zealand’s cultural and scientific heritage. Established in 1926, the Friends is one of Aotearoa’s oldest museum friends associations, with generations of members helping build and protect nationally significant collections through donations, fundraising, conservation, advocacy and thousands of volunteer hours.
To celebrate the centenary, Tūhura Otago Museum will open Friends Forever to the public. The free exhibition has been researched, created and curated by the Friends themselves, celebrating a century of community support and the people whose passion has helped shape one of New Zealand’s leading museums.
Among the exhibition highlights is one of the first objects donated by the Friends, an English lobster-tailed pot helmet purchased following its display in the British Court at the 1925 New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition at Logan Park. The Friends have also selected a few significant objects from the thousands they have donated over the past century, with Museum curators bringing them out of storage for public display.
Over the past 100 years, the Friends have funded important acquisitions, conservation projects, internships, collection care and specialist equipment, while volunteers have dedicated thousands of hours to cataloguing archives, researching collections and preserving stories that form part of New Zealand’s cultural heritage. Their support has helped safeguard everything from Māori taoka and natural history collections to internationally significant objects for future generations.
President of the Friends of Tūhura Otago Museum Nancy Longnecker said the centenary was about recognising the generations of people whose commitment had supported this important cultural institution.
“This centenary is an incredibly proud moment. It celebrates the vision of the people who founded the Friends and every generation since that has helped shape the Museum into what it is today. For 100 years, our members have supported the growth of the collections, cared for taoka, and volunteered countless hours to preserving our country’s history and heritage.
Friends Forever honours that remarkable legacy. We hope it inspires others to join us and become part of the Friends’ next century.”
Head of Exhibitions and Design Craig Scott said reaching a centenary was an extraordinary achievement for any volunteer organisation.
“We are fortunate to have such an active and dedicated Friends Association. One hundred years is a monumental milestone, reflecting a partnership that has strengthened Tūhura for generations.
What makes this exhibition especially meaningful is that it has been researched, created and curated by the Friends themselves, showcasing things they have contributed over the past century, but also their commitment to growing the Association and supporting the Museum for the next 100 years.”