New Zealand’s most prized national taonga is a step closer to having a new home as construction on a building of national significance in Wellington gets under way today.
Internal Affairs Minister, Jan Tinetti attended a sod turning event at the Aitken Street site this morning.
“This new building will provide a state-of-the-art archives repository and specialist facilities for Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga Archives New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa National Library of New Zealand and Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision,” Ms Tinetti said.
“This will be a place where our nation’s taonga can be safe, a destination for children and whānau and where New Zealanders can better reconnect with their stories and heritage.”
Funding of $46.6 million in operating spending over four years and $146 million in capital was allocated in Budget 2020 to proceed with the Archives development, the design for the National Library alterations and the purchase of land and design for a new shared storage facility in Taitoko Levin.
“Taranaki Whānui Te Āti Awa representatives have worked in partnership to co-design this building with a te ao Māori world view, connecting the building to the celebrated kainga (home) of Pipitea, the ancestral home of hapū of Te Āti Awa.”
“Archives New Zealand has never had a national purpose-built facility before. We can say with confidence that best practice standards have been applied to this specialist building.
“It’s our aspiration that staff and visitors will feel a sense of pride and place when they walk through the doors, knowing that our nation’s taonga and people are being well cared for,” the Minister said.
