Nau mai ki te pānui
o Ngā Taonga
Welcome to our newsletter

Manawatia a Matariki! In this issue we share our annual Matariki compilation and blog. We are also pleased to present recently preserved footage made by Rudall and Ramai Hayward in 1970s Albania, and we look ahead to the coming 75^th anniversary of New Zealand’s involvement in the Korean War through a selection of repatriated footage.

Matariki mā Puanga

E whakahīhī ana a Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision i te kohinga taonga nei a Matariki Kanohi Iti.

He whakaaturanga tēnei nō roto mai i te kohinga whānui a Ngā Taonga, hei whakamārama i te hiranga o ngā whetū o Matariki, o Puanga anō hoki hei tohu i te tau hou o te iwi Māori.

Tēnā, mātaki te kohinga nei i te paetukutuku o Ngā Taonga, waihoki, i ngā whare pukapuka, i ngā whare taonga, i ngā whare toi huri noa i te motu.

Ānei hoki te tuhinga hei taunaki i te kohinga nei.

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision is proud to share Matariki Kanohi Iti, our original programme about Matariki.

Matariki Kanohi Iti is a compilation of items from our collection, which help explain the significance of the stars’ influence on the coming year. The national theme of Matariki this year is Matariki mā Puanga; Puanga is the star used to mark the new year by iwi for whom Matariki is not readily visible.

As well as being available to view online, Matariki Kanohi Iti is also playing in select libraries, museums and galleries all over the country for the next few weeks. You can also read a blog about the items that we selected for inclusion, with programme notes, at the links below. 

Hinemoa in Albania

In 1971, Rudall and Ramai Hayward travelled to Albania, where they began work on a documentary about an expatriate Māori family living in the capital under communism. The Haywards had previously made travelogues, including Inside Red China, that positively depicted life in communist countries. Hinemoa in Albania was never finished, but some of the footage was deposited with Ngā Taonga, giving us some interesting glimpses into the film that might have been.

Korean war footage

A few weeks from now, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH) will commemorate the 75^th anniversary of New Zealand’s involvement in the Korean War (1950 – 1953). A formal ceremony of remembrance will be held at the Pukeahu National War Memorial in Wellington.

In 2020, Ngā Taonga repatriated a set of films made in Korea to the Korean Film Archive (KOFA), where they now form part of the national memory. The films included amateur footage shot by New Zealand soldiers during their service, as well as pre-war footage of Korean traditions. In this blog post, we talk about the KOFA films in particular and the wider practice of returning certain films to their countries of origin when requested. You can also watch the footage yourself.

News briefs

• Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH) lays out some of the results for our sector of the recent Budget.

• MCH is seeking public feedback on its draft Long-term Insights Briefing until Sunday 6 July. 

• For New Zealand Music Month, we shared a few beloved records and music videos from the collection:

IMAGE DETAILS:

1. Matariki hero image by Ngā Taonga

2. Screengrab from Hinamoa in Albania, ref. F46927

3. Korean children.1953. National Library Tiaki reference number PA1-f-115-2429