Free museum entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand

Anzacs of Aotearoa New Zealand

ANZAC refers to the soldiers from Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia who served in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) during the First World War and were initially formed in 1915 to participate in the Gallipoli invasion. Over 100,000 New Zealanders served in World War I, with more than 18,000 losing their lives and around 41,000 listed as injured. Later, over 140,000 New Zealanders would serve overseas in the Second World War, with around 11,900 losing their lives.

Anzac Day is held annually on April 25 as a national day of remembrance to commemorate those who served and those who died in all international wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations.

  • A red poppy made of plastic and fabric

    The significance of the Anzac poppy

    The Anzac poppy is the most powerful symbol relating to the impact of war in Aotearoa New Zealand society and is usually worn the day before and on Anzac Day, 25 April, and can also be seen at major commemorative events, military funerals, war graves and cemeteries in Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world.

  • A child look at the food soldiers would have eaten at Gallipoli

    Gallipoli: The Scale of our War

    Primary, Secondary

    Explore our exhibition Gallipoli: The Scale of our War and the stories of those who witnessed the campaign from the front lines.

    Please note: Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War is temporarily closed from 21 July to 12 September for essential maintenance and upgrades. It will open to the public again on Saturday 13 September. 

    Education visit

  • A gold battalion medal with a tag that says New Zealand Pioneer Battalion.

    Were there Pacific Islanders at Gallipoli in 1915?

    New Zealand recruited men from its colonies and the wider Pacific to fight in both world wars. In the First World War, men from the Cook Islands and Niue enlisted in the New Zealand (Maori) Pioneer Battalion. They were joined by recruits from Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (Kiribati and Tuvalu).

  • Five men lined up and looking at the camera. Some of them have amputated limbs.

    The after care of disabled soldiers

    World War I saw the mutilation of men’s bodies on an unprecedented scale: around 1,000 New Zealand servicemen had limbs amputated due to the horrendous effects of shellfire and ‘gas gangrene’. We have a collection of 28 exhibition prints showing limbless men attending the workshops and other facilities at Oatlands Park.

  • (Temporarily closed) Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War

    This ground-breaking exhibition tells the story of the Gallipoli campaign in World War I through the eyes and words of eight ordinary New Zealanders who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances.

    Temporarily closed

    Temporarily closed. Reopening Sat 13 September

    Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga

  • A gold-coloured badge that says the words New Zealand

    Watch: Tales from Te Papa – World War I Letters from the Front

    Twelve thousand New Zealand soldiers died in World War I. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in remembering the soldiers who lost their lives so far from home. The mementoes of one soldier represent those who were not able to leave anything behind to tell of where, when and how they died.

  • A poster commemorating Armistice Day

    Armistice 1918

    An armistice (truce) between Germany and the Allies was signed in France on 11 November 1918 (although the First World War did not officially end until June 1919 when the Treaty of Versailles was signed). This occurred on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

  • A poster of a ship being blown up by a submarine and the words "Lest we regret...don't talk!"

    Second World War posters

    War posters were flashes of intense colour in towns and cities throughout New Zealand during the Second World War (1939-45).

  • A draughts board on a piece of material. There is text on it referring to soldiers serving overseas.

    Everyday reminders of World War I

    There are many types of artefacts related to the First World War besides the uniforms of servicemen, their medals, and military hardware. World War I also influenced the objects that New Zealanders made or used in their day-to-day lives, and exchanged as gifts. Te Papa holds a range of examples of these types of items in its collections.

  • New Zealand Pioneer Battalion Badge and features the face of a Maori warrior wearing a solid necklace that joins the tips of two ferns. Crossed over in the centre is an axe and a pickaxe. "NZ" (an abbreviation of New Zealand) appears below the warrior’s n

    Cook Island Company Badge 1916

    This is a metal badge made for troops of the Cook Islands Company of the New Zealand army in the First World War. It is modelled after the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion Badge and features the face of a Maori warrior wearing a solid necklace that joins the tips of two ferns.

  • Poster of a man in an army uniform standing in a field of poppies with the words  "If ye break faith - we shall not sleep

    Tuhinga: First World War posters at Te Papa

    This paper by Curator New Zealand Histories and Cultures Stephanie Gibson examines a collection of international First World War posters held by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa), in terms of its provenance, reception and display at the end of, and in the years immediately after, the First World War (1914–19).

  • Several soldiers in uniform posing for the camera next to a tent.

    Online Cenotaph’s searchable database

    A national initiative, Online Cenotaph is a biographical database that allows researchers, enthusiasts, and veterans and their families to explore, contribute to, and share the records and stories of those who served for Aotearoa New Zealand. This link goes to the Auckland Museum website.