Part of the museum is dedicated to a Whare Maumahara ('House of Memories') where people can remember veterans of the Māori Battalion. Photo / supplied
Part of the museum is dedicated to a Whare Maumahara ('House of Memories') where people can remember veterans of the Māori Battalion. Photo / supplied
A new museum at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds dedicated to Māori who served New Zealand in times of conflict has won a top architecture award.
Te Rau Aroha Museum of the Price of Citizenship, which opened in February 2020, was one of the winners in the public architecture category atthe 2021 Auckland Architecture Awards. The award also recognises the adjoining Tahuaroa Function Centre.
Both were designed by HB Architecture of Whangārei, which has a long-standing relationship with the Treaty Grounds.
The firm also designed Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi, completed the visitors' centre originally designed by acclaimed Māori architect John Scott, and designed the toilet block which won the small project category of the same awards in 2010.
The museum and function centre are located on the upper Treaty Grounds, partly concealed in bush and opposite Te Whare Rūnanga (the carved meeting house).
VC recipient Willie Apiata, Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy and Māori Battalion veteran Robert 'Bom' Gillies open the new museum in February 2020. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Treaty Grounds chief executive Greg McManus said he felt proud of the award.
''We wanted the building to blend quietly into the landscape and bush but, at the same time, be a substantial tribute to the Māori men and women who have served in the New Zealand Armed Forces. It was quite a challenge to our architects but they pulled it off beautifully. This award is testament to their vision and creativity," he said.
The museum is divided into three galleries and uses state-of-the-art technology to help bring its stories to life.
View from the museum entrance to the Treaty Grounds flagpole. Photo / supplied
The first gallery tells the story of Māori commitment to the armed forces with exhibitions on the New Zealand Wars and the South African War, with a strong focus on the Pioneer Battalion of World War I and the 28th Māori Battalion of World War II.
The second gallery is dedicated to the Māori Battalion's A Company, most of whom hailed from Northland, while the third gallery is a contemplative Whare Maumahara (house of memories) for visitors and descendants.
The museum includes a function centre called Tahuaroa. Photo / supplied
Tahuaroa, at the rear of the museum, has its own entrance, wraparound decking and contemporary design.
The museum was funded by the Provincial Growth Fund and was part of the 2017 coalition agreement between NZ First and Labour.
"Te Rau Aroha" was the name of the Māori Battalion canteen truck funded by donations from schoolchildren, while "The Price of Citizenship'" refers to a speech by Sir Apirana Ngata to soldiers of the Māori Battalion as they prepared to leave for Europe and North Africa in 1940.
