Pacific collections at Perth Museum and Art Gallery

Eve Haddow (Project Curator) and Mark Hall (History Officer at Perth Museum and Art Gallery) examining a unique Māori feather cloak covered in kākāpō (night parrot) feathers

There are around 450 artefacts from the Pacific collected by surgeons, sea captains, travellers and entrepreneurs of Perth. These individuals collected wherever they travelled and sent items back to their home town for study and display.

One of the key collectors was surgeon David Ramsay, who was active in the Pacific throughout the 1820s and 30s. He acquired nearly 40 objects including many items from New Zealand, as well as artefacts from Fiji and the Society Islands. Of particular note from the Ramsay collection are a unique Māori feather cloak.