In 1916, a group of New Zealanders arrived in France—not to fight above ground, but below it. In this episode, we uncover the story of the Arras Tunnellers, the first of our people on the Western Front, and their extraordinary war, fought in the darkness, beneath the trenches.

Once a global seabird stronghold, Tīkapa Moana – the Hauraki Gulf – is now sounding the alarm. In this episode, we explore how seabirds, the storytellers of the sea, reveal the growing pressures on our ocean and what their decline means for the future of Aotearoa’s marine life.

This episode explores the story of the Ah Chee market garden and how Chinese families like theirs shaped the land and communities of early Aotearoa, while navigating laws and attitudes designed to exclude them.

The history of sport in New Zealand, isn’t all black and white. In this episode of The Amp, we put netball front and centre; tracing its journey from makeshift hoops to packed arenas. We chat with players, historians, and experts to settle the score on over a hundred years of netball in Aotearoa, and what makes it so much more than just a game.

When you think of the word diva – a few big names might come to mind. But in this episode, we dare our kaimahi to go into the archives and find us a forgotten diva. Someone who may not be a household name, but stood their ground, owned their talents, and left a lasting legacy—whether or not the world was watching.

In this episode of The Amp, we uncover the big secrets hidden in small change. Come with us into the collections as we look at rare coins and clever counterfeits, and learn what they can tell us about ancient economies, shifting political power, and the everyday lives of the people who spent them.

What do toilet doors, a ticket stub, and a choir gown have in common? They’re all clues to Aotearoa’s music legacy. Our curators collect more than just the hits - sometimes it’s the stuff you don’t see on stage that brings the history to life. In this episode of The Amp, we reveal the unexpected items that help us preserve the spirit of the NZ Music scene.

As Auckland’s War Memorial Museum, Anzac Day is our most important day of the year. In this episode, find out how we get ready to welcome thousands and thousands of visitors for the Dawn Service, and what it means to us to continue this time-honoured tradition.

Archaeology, prehistoric megabirds, and lasers. In this episode of The Amp, the ancient past meets the technology of the future, as we explore the world of 3D in all its Museum forms.

Ever wondered how Wikipedia works? Who edits it, and where does all the information come from? In this episode of The Amp, we’re lifting the lid on Wikipedia. Learn how the Museum has partnered with Wikipedia to get information out of our stores and onto the internet – where anyone can learn from it for free, wherever they are in the world.

In this episode, we look at how the Museum got its Egypt collection and focus on a fascinating story of an Egyptian woman with a long-term case of mistaken identity. We learn about the three main ways that museums like ours acquired Egyptian taonga: through purchases, subscriptions and donations, and what it was like for New Zealand’s soldiers to be stationed in Egypt during both World Wars.

This episode of The Amp takes a magnifying glass to the Museum’s entomology collections and explores the histories of some of the thousands and thousands of insects behind the Museum’s walls. We also look at how collecting practices have changed, what it’s like to discover a new species, and the entomological research we do a little closer to home.

This episode features an interview with Perth duo, Alex Towler and Jackson Harvey, the creators of RELICS: A New World Rises. They talk about the exhibition, their LEGO® journey and the power of creative problem solving. Go behind the scenes of their creative journey and find out how they took the humble LEGO® brick to new heights.

This episode of the Amp takes listeners for a night out at the Orange Ballroom on Newton Road, a vibrant, iconic venue where people would meet, dance and fall in love. We look at how Māori and Pasifika migration to Auckland’s inner-city suburbs helped shape the mid-century music scene. We also dive into one of the incredible stories from our Tāmaki Herenga Waka Stories of Auckland gallery and get to know Bill Sevesi and one of his band mates, rhythm guitar player, Buddy Wilson – now in his 80s!

This episode of The Amp podcast explores the life and work of Sir Gilbert Archey, who ran Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum from 1924 to 1964. This year marks 100 years since Gilbert took up the helm at Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum, so we thought it was fitting to launch our new podcast with an episode about him.  It delves into his role as a Monuments Man during World War 2, tasked with protecting cultural and historical artefacts. The episode also highlights the importance of preserving art and cultural heritage during times of war, as well as Gilbert's contributions to Māori research and his role in the development of Auckland Museum.

Welcome to the Amp, the new podcast from Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum, which amplifies the incredible stories from our collectoins, our mahi and our place in the Pacific.