Acclimatisers and the antiquities trade in the late nineteenth century

James Tannock Mackelvie sent many items to Auckland in the late nineteenth century, amongst which were objects of archaeological provenance. Auckland at the time was home to fledgling societies such as the Auckland Acclimatisation Society and the Auckland Institute, and the membership of these societies frequently overlapped. The overlap in these interests in Mackelvie’s case resulted in him frequenting the town of Hyères on the French Riviera later in life, a famous acclimatisation area. There, he made connections with other acclimatisers who also had a background in antiquities and could obtain material through them to send to Auckland. This antiquities trade, as well as broader acclimatisation activities, was in the context of the colonisation of Aotearoa, New Zealand, by colonial settlers and played a part in the colonisation process. Here, the collection history of material from the Swiss Lakes and Roman pottery from Hyères is outlined and discussed in the context of colonial Auckland and the antiquities trade in the nineteenth-century.