Badges: wear your heart on your sleeve
A DigitalNZ Story by squiggle_top
Wearing your heart on your sleeve
Wearing a badge can be a way to demonstrate your support for a movement, your political stance, to share your identity, or to give the world a chuckle at your sense of humour. Enjoy this selection of badges from different eras.
tiny activisim
Te Papa Tongarewa curator, Steph Gibson, shares one of her favourite objects in the museum's collection and explains to power of badges as tiny activism. The book, Tiny Statements: A social history of Aotearoa New Zealand in badges, by Steph Gibson and Claire Regnault showcases Te Papa Tongarewa's badge collection, about the words and symbols that people have worn.
Watch Steph Gibson talk about the history of badges and their activist meaning.
Tiny activism: the power of badges
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Social movements
![Image: Badges [Social movements]](https://images.digitalnz.org/15HmgN1ylHxSbO18Jp7ubESJNeI=/368x0/https%3A%2F%2Fcollection.waikatomuseum.org.nz%2Frecords%2Fimages%2Flarge%2F2767%2F7a601fb936c71ebd416d898db340d509e4b81e05.jpg "Badges [Social movements]")
Badges of gay and lesbian rights, women's rights and the union
Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato
Badge, 'Support Safe Legal Abortion'
Wellington Museum
Badge – Abortion, A Woman's Right To Choose
Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato
Keep your laws off my body badge
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Anti-nuclear movement
Throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, badges in support of the anti-nuclear movement were made and worn in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific.
Anti-nuclear badge
This badge was produced by Peacelink, the magazine of the Peace Movement in New Zealand
Museums Victoria
Badge, Greenpeace.
Wellington Museum
Stop French Testing
Badge made for NZ campaign opposing the extensive programme of French nuclear testing in the Pacific area.
Museums Victoria
Badge - Nuclear Free, circa 1979
Museums Victoria
Badge - Ban Nuclear Warships, circa 1966-1971
Museums Victoria
Campaign for Nuclear Disarment (CND), aka the peace symbol, badges
Bombs Away
'BOMBS AWAY' in white on black ground with Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament symbol (peace sign) inside letter 'O'
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira
CND and Anarchy badge
Interlinked white Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and anarchy symbols on purple ground.
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira
Peace movements
Badge, "Women For Peace"
Charlotte Museum
badge, protest
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira
Badge, "Another Woman for Peace"
Charlotte Museum
Using images and words to convey your message
Badge, "No to Saturday Opening"
Charlotte Museum
Badge, "Bread Not Bombs"
Charlotte Museum
Badge, "Fight Racism"
Charlotte Museum
Badge, "One Earth"
Charlotte Museum
Badge, "NO Smelter"
Charlotte Museum
Badge, "Save our Post Office"
Charlotte Museum
Sharing the love for a favourite ferry
The Lynx - Interislander Ferry
The Lynx was Interislander's fast ferry service introduced in 1994 and operated for 11 years.
Wellington Museum
Badge
Wellington Museum
Story revised and updated January 2025, and new badges added June 2025.