Before cloth, there was tapa, or barkcloth, which was made from the inner bark of various trees in the Pacific. This versatile and often beautiful material was used for many purposes, ranging from wrapping babies and bodies, to clothing and room partitions, to being gifted or exchanged at important ceremonial occasions and in performances by Polynesian people.

The National Library holds numerous hidden tapa ‘treasures' – some that have rarely seen the light of day since Cook’s epic Pacific voyages. This lecture will examine the European ‘discovery’ of tapa cloth from the 17th century, its depiction in art and in Cook’s published accounts, and its path into the Library’s collections via the remarkable collector and benefactor Sir Rex Nan Kivell.

About the speaker

Nat Williams has worked at the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of SA, and most recently for over two decades at the National Library, Canberra. First as Director of Exhibitions, where he developed the unprecedented 'Treasures from the World’s Great Libraries’ exhibition in 2001, and the ‘Handwritten: ten centuries of manuscript treasures from Staatsbibliothek, Berlin' and 'Mapping our World’ exhibitions and also the National Library’s Treasures Gallery. Nat left the NLA in June 2020 after being the inaugural Treasures Curator for seven years. He is currently developing an exhibition of ’treasures’ for the SA Museum which will open in April this year and writing a biography of collector extraordinaire Sir Rex Nan Kivell (1898-1977).

Where: The David Roche Foundation House Museum

241 Melbourne Street, North Adelaide, South Australia 5006

Limited parking available onsite

When: 6:00 PM Wednesday 17 February 2021

Cost: $25 (including a glass of wine on arrival)

Numbers limited due to COVID-19 restricitions. Book early to avoid disappointment.