Claudia Orange is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington. Prior to this for some years she was responsible for the museum’s collections, and then its research across its five major collections areas – Art, History, Pacific, Matauranga M?ori and Natural Environment.
As General Editor of the multi-volume Dictionary of New Zealand Biography (1990 – 2003), she saw it on-line in 2002, also serving as Chief Historian at the Department of Internal Affairs (1997-2000).
She was awarded the OBE in 1993, received the University of Auckland’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1997, and in 2009 received the honour of Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
She has published widely on New Zealand history, on race relations and on the Treaty of Waitangi, her most recent publications being new editions of her award-winning book The Treaty of Waitangi (2011) and The Story of a Treaty (2013).
As an expert on the Treaty’s history, from its 1840 beginnings to the present, she was part of the small team that created the exhibition in the new Waitangi museum, which opened in February 2016. She has also worked with the Archives New Zealand exhibition at National Library which profiles three major Archives objects – the 1835 Declaration of Independence, the Treaty and the 1993 Women’s petition for the vote. Her research continues on the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand’s history to the present, and on the Waitangi Trust property itself. She worked with the Wellington firm Workshope on a new exhibition for the Waitangi Treaty House which opened in October 2017, and is at present combining with a small team to develop a Strategic Plan for the Waitangi estate.
Log in to view