File:Reward Poster (12091257076).jpg

On 1st February 1866, a robbery took place at the Colonial Museum in Thorndon. The Colonial Museum opened in 1865 and was the first incarnation of New Zealand’s national museum. It was originally located in a small wooden building on Museum Street behind Parliament, near where the Beehive is today. It became the Dominion Museum in 1907 and shifted to new premises on Buckle Street in 1936. In 1972 it was renamed the National Museum, then in 1998 it became Museum Of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) and relocated to its current site on Wellington’s waterfront.

The burglary of 1st February was reported by the Evening Post the next day, which commented that ‘from the lone position of the building, and its unprotected state, without a caretaker on the premises or any guard whatever, the wonder is it remained so long without being pillaged’. Up to £200 worth of artefacts were stolen, and a list of the items was published in this reward poster which offered a reward of £100 for information leading to the conviction of the burglars. Items on the list give an insight into the eclectic nature of the museum’s collection at the time:

Half of small Opera Glass Massive Gold Ring – with lock of Napoleon’s hair Polished Pebble from the Isle of Wight Chinese Lady’s Brooch 2 Hei Tikis of Greenstone

The culprit was soon identified. James Young was jailed on 12 February for breaking into a Wellington hotel, and while in custody he told a fellow prisoner that he was responsible for the Museum robbery and where he had hidden the stolen items. The prisoner then notified a jailkeeper, and together they went to the place identified by Young and retrieved the items. Both men received reward money, and the prisoner received a free pardon. Young was a compulsive burglar, and stated in his subsequent trial that ‘he had committed many robberies and was a very wicked man’ (Evening Post, 3 March 1866). Young was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for the robbery.

This record is from the series of General Inwards Correspondence to the Colonial Secretary. The Colonial Secretary’s Office was the forerunner of the Department of Internal Affairs.

Archives Reference: ACGO 8333 IA1 3449/84 1867/1257 View the complete record on Archway: www.archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=21583252

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