Te Rua opens in Whanganui-a-Tara

Tari

9 months ago

nā Anahera Morehu, Chief Archivist, Archives New Zealand

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatanga o ngā hau e whā, tēnā koutou

He hōnore tēnei ki a Te Pouhuaki māua ko Poumanaaki, ka whakatuwhera ai te whare hou, hei tiaki, hei manaaki ngā tūpuna, ngā taonga rānei. He mihi hoki ki te hau kāinga, ā, ko Te Āti Awa Taranaki Whānui i tō rātou mahi rangatira rawa. He mihi hoki ki te katoa o Te Rua Mahara me Te Puna Mātauranga, nā te hono pai o tātou katoa. He waka eke noa tātou.

It was a memorable and moving occasion reaching the milestone of opening the new building, Te Rua, in Whanganui-a-Tara on Rātū 8 o Hōngongoi 2025. I think about my Te Tari Taiwhenua colleague Polly Martin who said it had been 15 years since initial discussions on the need to move from the former premises for Te Rua Mahara in Wellington because the Mulgrave St facility would not meet our future aspirations in caring for the nation’s memory.

Polly Martin and Dale Cousens

Following the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, whenua at nearby Aitken St became available and government agreed to help fund the new build in partnership between Te Tari Taiwhenua and development partner Dexus. Many people within Whanganui-a-Tara watched as a total of 36 base isolators, the largest in Aotearoa, went into the foundations of Te Rua , through to watching it grow, and now open for the movement of tūpuna and kaimahi from one building to the new.

Taranaki Whānui Te Āti Awa representatives and design agency, Tihei, worked alongside Warren & Mahoney architects to bring a te ao Māori world view to the design, connecting the building to the whenua it sits on and acknowledging the tangata whenua that lived here before.

Te Puha Rikiriki o Te Āti Awa Taranaki Whānuia

Below the Whakatauākī

Ngā Poi Manu

Te Rua is connected to Te Puna, the National Library Molesworth Street building, by the two-level link bridge Te Hono, which allows for separated, easy and safe movement between buildings and the wider heritage campus Te Kahu.

Poumanaaki and Te Pouhuaki below the whakatauākī of Te Rua with designer Rangi Kipa and hau kāinga Kura Moeahu

We acknowledge tikanga as key for the way we care for tūpuna or taonga within Te Rua and Te Puna. One of those was moving some of these tūpuna early so they can keep the whare warm to welcome the rest of their friends into their new spaces. It’s another example of the different ways that Archives Library New Zealand engages with cultural practice and implement it in a relevant and beneficial way for the people, the tūpuna, and the space. There are some really lovely architectural components within Te Rua that have great significance. These range from the names given to Te Rua and Te Puna and the heritage campus spaces surrounding it, and the different areas or rooms that acknowledge tangata whenua.

Again, I want to thank the wonderful work of Warren and Mahoney and Rangi Kipa of Tihei in co-designing this beautiful structure. I don’t know how they did it, but my hat is off to their collective genius in using these structures to highlight the connection of tangata whenua to te taiao.

Looking at Te Rua from Te Maara (Mulgrave St)

Through a new organisational structure, Te Rua and Te Puna are joined side by side as a waka hourua to navigate our future. To sail with confidence, and to make the most of opportunities on the horizon, this strategic strengthening of the institutions will meet changing customer expectations, the ebb and flow of economic tides, and the changing nature of our collections.

The new building, and wider campus, provide the perfect foundations for us to look ahead with confidence.

Footage of the whakatuwheratanga of Te Rua can be found here: Official Blessing of Te Rua – YouTube

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