Exhibition: Meet the Russians at Picton Heritage & Whaling Museum

That was such a privilege to be invited by the Picton Heritage Museum and the Picton Historical Society to talk at the opening of the exhibition dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the Russian expedition visit to Queen Charlotte Sound.

I was honoured to meet the descendants of the Māori tribes whose ancestors interacted with the Russians. I was also deeply touched by the friendly atmosphere and hard work of all local volunteers who put together this wonderful exhibition. He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata!

Due to popular demand, the exhibition of the Russian Antarctic Expedition of 1819-1821, will remain open until June 2021.⁠ Don’t miss out: https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2021/meet-the-russians2/picton
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The exhibit explores the encounter in 1820 between Russian Antarctic explorers and Maori in Totaranui/Queen Charlotte Sound, and the gifts which were exchanged.⁠
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The exhibit also has on show large models of the Russian sailing ships ‘Mirny’ and ‘Vostok’ which circumnavigated the globe and the Antarctic continent, visited Queen Charlotte Sound, and whose crew discovered and mapped new lands unknown to Europeans.