Into the depths we go - delvings into collections management

 

Pharmaceutical bottles from the 107 Wharf Street archaeological dig, Tauranga Museum Collection. 
Photo: Jen Copedo

When someone asks me, “What do you do for work?” I honestly struggle to answer the question in a few words. The role of the Collections team at Tauranga Museum is so varied that it’s near impossible to put into a small cluster of words. 

Last week I was studying up on what a ferroequinologist is (someone who studies/loves trains if you too are interested), and this week I am sorting through archaeological material from the 107 Wharf Street dig from 2018. 

And by sorting, I mean selecting, cleaning, and researching the material for our collection. This work is a crucial aspect of collection management because in understanding the provenance of the object, we can better tell the story it represents. 

There is something thrilling about delving into archaeological material, I find it magical to be able to handle something that was used or touched by someone hundreds of years earlier. I often feel as if I am standing next to those people, with a temporal wall separating us. I have also learnt more about bottle shape and colour than I thought I ever would. For example, did you know that blue bottles often held poisons or medicines? I would hate to think of those two being mixed up. Often the poisons had the embossing “Not to be taken”…but what if you couldn’t read? 

Working behind the scenes at Tauranga Museum is an absolute privilege. I am constantly reminded that the world is so much bigger than my own, and my job gives me the extraordinary opportunity to connect with the past and better understand how our ancestors lived.

Written by Jen Copedo, Collections Lead at Tauranga Heritage Collection