Tāhuhu
Welcome to Te Ara Tahi Tāhuhu.
What is Tāhuhu: Preserving the Nation’s Memory?
Tāhuhu: Preserving the Nation’s Memory is a programme that includes the upgrade and construction of modern, purpose-built facilities designed to ensure New Zealand’s recorded and documentary heritage is preserved and protected across Archives NZ, National Library and Ngā Taonga.
Tāhuhu will enable greater collaboration across these three institutions via shared services such as reading rooms, conservation laboratories and digitisation suites, specialist repositories and processing areas.
Te Tiriti and Māori Partnerships
The Tāhuhu Programme is guided by the principles of Tiriti o Waitangi – partnership, participation and protection. These underpin the relationship between the Māori and Crown. The Tāhuhu Programme will engage with mana whenua and iwi Māori as we transform, strengthen and future-proof Aotearoa New Zealand’s documentary heritage and taonga.
What is happening?
Tāhuhu is a multi-year programme of work that encompasses the heritage campus to enable closer collaboration across the institutions and better access to collections.
Heke Rua Archives (HRA) - A new purpose-built Archives building to protect taonga, provide shared specialist facilities for best practice conservation and digitisation at scale. Construction of this impressive 9-storey (10 level) new building is underway across the road from the current Archives Wellington building.
Heke Puna Library (HPL) - Design of National Library alterations for a heritage campus to enable closer collaboration across the institutions and better access to collections. The current focus of this project is on the enabling structure for the two-level bridge that will link the new Archives building to the current National Library building.
Kia Rite - Aligned with the Heke Rua Archives project is Kia Rite. Kia Rite is preparing the collections and holdings within the Archives Wellington building for their eventual relocation into the new Archives building. This involves audits of a colossal 380,000 boxes, or 80km of linear shelf space and ensuring holdings meet relocation requirements.
Two additional property projects within this workstream are:
Regional Shared Repository (RSR) - Developed Design has been completed for a proposed new shared facility in Taitoko Levin. This is being considered along with other options to provide the additional storage capacity the institutions require to exit current substandard facilities and meet their statutory requirements for collecting.
Wairere House (WHE) - This offsite storage facility for the National Library in Whanganui is at the end of its economic life. To continue to safeguard the Alexander Turnbull Library collections they are being relocated to suitable repository spaces.
National Property Strategy
This involves developing a strategy to ensure property assets are aligned to and support Institutions to effectively carry out their role and responsibilities. This will ensure that there are plans in place to ensure property is fit for purpose, resilient and has scheduled maintenance, upgrades and life cycle replacements signalled.
How is Tāhuhu connected to Te Ara Tahi?
Tāhuhu is part of the Te Ara Tahi which offers an exciting opportunity for Archives NZ, National Library and Ngā Taonga to transform their services to New Zealanders and share knowledge and capability.
Who is involved?
The Tāhuhu team is led by Rob Stevens, Director Tāhuhu, with dedicated teams for each of the projects. Within these teams are representatives from National Library, Archives NZ and Ngā Taonga. Tāhuhu kaimahi also work closely with the three other Te Ara Tahi workstreams.
Contact us
If you have any questions, suggestions or feedback for the Tāhuhu Programme team, please email communications.tāhuhu@dia.govt.nz.