December 01, 2021
Ngāi Tahu partners with crown to preserve past
A project in which Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu stores its historical records and documents in Archives New Zealand’s new archive facility in Ōtautahi has won the Māori Crown relationships tohu at the Te Hāpai Hapori Spirit of Service Awards.
Tā Tipene O’Regan, the chair of Ngāi Tahu archive governance group Te Pae o Kōrako, says the iwi has accumulated a huge volume of paper and other records since it formed its archive in 1978.
He says the partnership shows the importance of that collection not just to the iwi but to its treaty partner.
“Our name is up there as co-occupants of the building on the notice in front of it and we have formed a deep relationship with them and that has attracted a whole lot of admiration from different parts of the government systems as well as with our own people,” Tā Tipene says.
The partnership means the iwi will be able to take advantage of advances in archiving systems and technology while retaining control of the material.