Extinct and Endangered Birds of New Zealand
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Extinct and Endangered Birds of NZ
The tui and kea are well known and much loved birds of NZ. The birds as portrayed here are derived from former banknotes and are rendered ‘extinct’ as those notes are no longer in currency. The orange tui of the Series 3 and 4 five dollar banknote and blue kea of the ten dollar note become relics of a former time, memories archived, displayed as if in a C19th collectors display case or a museum diorama
My use of nostalgia in this artwork creates an emotional connection for those who recognise the origin of these strangely orange and blue birds. Nostalgia can also be effective in the comparison of past and present, in shifts across time: of personal memory; with shifting cultural historical contexts and perspectives; considerations of the value we place on our fauna and flora as taonga to treasure and preserve; the relationship between ecology and economy; and the changing role of physical banknotes and coins in our society.
The series 3 and 4 bank notes were current between 1967 - 1992 and they will be familiar to those NZers who remember a time when we relied on physical money – paper banknotes and metal coins- in all daily transactions. Currently, in 2024, banknotes could be described as ‘endangered’ -as well as the birds ‘extinct’ -as paper money is dying out giving way to plastic and digital currencies. And they are endangered too as birds spotted on any banknotes are rare in a recession!
I have clear childhood memories of visiting Auckland Museum and I especially loved the dioramas and 3-d exhibits and recreated tableau. It felt like a window back in time or to a place I hadn’t yet visited, an imaginary world with animals which fascinated me. It sparked a curiosity and a sense of wonder in me and that is what it intended to do: to share knowledge about the world and encourage learning, curiosity, adventure, wonder. I can still picture the dioramas and displays (the moa, the polar bear and musk oxen, the albatrosses) and smell the museum as it was then. My sons also loved visiting the museum in turn and I realised how much it had transformed, and continues to evolve.
This bird diorama is reminiscent of C19 display cabinets and early museum dioramas of taxidermy bird specimens. In early European settlement in Aotearoa birds were shot in large numbers in the name of ‘preservation’ and the nascent natural history sciences of the ‘age of discovery’. The bird skins were prized by naturalists and private collectors at that time. There was a sense of wonder and curiosity at the flora and fauna taken back to England as it differed from what was known in Europe. The birds were set in contrived settings amongst real grasses and branches with a painted background.The idea of shooting animals to preserve them for posterity, before they all disappear, differs greatly to our contemporary view of conservation – where we aim to prevent extinction and promote biodiversity. In this way these dioramas highlight shifts in social historical contexts. All museum displays are necessarily created in a context of time and place and come with a particular view of the world.The fact that these birds were considered newly ‘discovered’ by European explorers and settlers, named and classified, itself speaks to the attitude of the colonisers in Aotearoa at the time. So the collectors boxes, cabinets of curiosity and museum dioramas can tell us stories of our past, both the good and bad, explicitly and also unintentionally.
This series of paintings revisits a theme I first explored in 2010. I created a cardboard diorama featuring a kereru and piwakawaka from the Series 4 banknotes and this work won a Merit Award at the 2010 NZ Painting and Printmaking Award. The artist statement reads:“This bird diorama reflects on personal memory and cultural historical contexts.It is reminiscent of nineteenth century display cabinets of trophy birds, shot in large numbers in the name of 'preservation'. The 'skins' were prized by naturalists and private collectors at that time. I have used images of the former New Zealand bank note birds. As these notes are no longer in currency, and so the birds are 'extinct'.Using cardboard is a reference to the constructed nature of the early dioramas and the artist's childhood memories; school project cardboard shoe box dioramas and the wonders of the nature study table.”
I am choosing to paint the birds in unnatural colours – the tui is bright orange- to faithfully recreate the etchings from the banknotes and also as a nod to the painted, contrived nature of the early dioramas. In the intervening 14 years, 2010-2024, there has been a marked shift in the role of banknotes and physical money which has added another layer of meaning to these works, rendering the birds ‘endangered’.There have also been changes to the attitudes and approach of museums and their display of dioramas, use of bones and specimens, and understanding of ownership of relics, artefacts and taonga.
We archive our experiences in memory; remnants of days, feelings, experiences become preserved as if specimens in a butterfly collection, a museum bird diorama. I realise that my work is coming full circle in some ways and I intend to continue utilising the diorama case and natural history collections in my work.
My intention is also, and more simply, to celebrate our wonderful flora and fauna. I am now living in a small house overlooking an estuary, connected to the tides and the weather, in a garden full of birds and insects- and loving it. The birds are part of my daily life and it feels natural that they are a focus in my current practice.
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If you would like to read further about the history of banknote design in New Zealand I include the following article from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
A litmus test for society: Reserve Bank decimal note designs 1967–2017
by Matthew Wright
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