Bilum (string bag)

This is a bilum (string bag) from Papua New Guinea. It is a type of bag made using a looping technique. Bilums are used by men and women to carry yams, taro and other food stuffs and sometimes even babies.

A Nurse in the Pacific

This bilum once belonged to Wendy Smith, a nurse who worked for the Red Cross movement in New Zealand and overseas for about 21 years. She began working in the Pacific region in 1979, and was in Tonga when Tropical Cyclone Isaac devastated the Ha'apai group of islands in 1982. The cyclone, killed six people, and left 45,000 homeless. Wendy along with colleagues offered several hundred family packages to those devastated by the cyclone.

Aquisition History

This bilum is part of a small collection of objects associated with Wendy's career that she gifted to Te Papa in 2010.