We are New Zealand’s audiovisual archive. Our purpose is to hold our nation’s audiovisual heritage in safe keeping and make it widely accessible.

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision is a charitable trust. We care for an ever-growing collection of films, radio, television, sound recordings, props and documents spanning 120 years of Aotearoa New Zealand’s sound and moving image history.

We are committed to the principles of Te Tiriti O Waitangi. We actively develop relationships with whānau, hapū, iwi and Māori organisations to ensure appropriate long-term care of and access to sound and moving image taonga.

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Our Work | Ā Mātou Mahi

We collect and catalogue film reels, video tapes, sound records, props and documents and store them in climate controlled vaults. Our experts work against time to preserve original nitrate film, television broadcast tapes and sound recordings, before they degrade.  We digitally preserve audiovisual material to ensure that it stands the test of time for future generations.

We facilitate access to the collection for researchers, the media industry, the museum sector and anyone who wants to discover the audiovisual stories of the past. We manage rights and clearance processes so that images and sound from the archive can be re-used and shared wherever possible.

You can attend public screenings and festivals at venues around the country. We provide education materials for school and community groups.

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The Collection | Ngā Kohinga

We care for a diverse collection of nearly 800,000 items, dating back to 1895. The collection includes film and television, sound and radio recordings, as well as video games, posters, artefacts and documents sourced from:

• The New Zealand Film Archive, Ngā Kaitiaki O Ngā Taonga Whitiāhua
• The Sound Archives, Ngā Taonga Kōrero
• The Radio New Zealand Archive 
• The Television New Zealand Archive
• The NZ Broadcasting Service Mobile Unit collection
• The Taonga Māori collection
• Many other diverse collections including oral histories, home movies, and experimental works

History and Operation | Ngā Hītori me Ngā Whakahaerenga

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision is the operating name for the New Zealand Archive of Film, Television and Sound, Ngā Taonga Whitiāhua Me Ngā Taonga Kōrero.

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision was formed by the amalgamation of the New Zealand Film Archive Ngā Kaitiaki O Ngā Taonga Whitiāhua, Sound Archives Ngā Taonga Kōrero, and the Television New Zealand Archive between 2012 and 2014.

We’re an independent charitable trust, governed by a Board of Trustees and funded by Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and other generous supporters including The Lottery Grants Board and Te Māngai Pāho.

Our national office is located in central Wellington. We also have a branch in Avalon, Lower Hutt but this is primarily a preservation facility and visits are only by special arrangement.

Involvement with other organisations

Ngā Taonga is involved in Tāhuhu, alongside Archives New Zealand and the National Library of New Zealand. We are also part of the National Archives and Library Institutions review.

Our name and logo

Our name represents a continuity between past and present. It draws from the names of the organisations that came together to form this new integrated archive.

Our logo, along with its Takarangi double spiral, evokes a waka huia – a box for storing a person’s most prized possessions – whilst also visually echoing various types of sound and vision: an eye, an ear, a film reel, transmission waves, or a record spinning.

Learn how to pronounce our name:

Our national office is located in central Wellington. We also have other office in Lower Hutt.

Te Kāmata Kura

Nō te te ata o te 10 o Whiringa-ā-nuku 2019 ka mau i a Ngā Taonga tētahi kōhatu manea nā te tohunga whakairo, nā Bernard Makoare. I mahia mai te manea nei i te wheua paraoa, i te kauri o te riu o Kaihū ki Kaipara, i te matā hoki i ahu mai i te pari o Maunganui, me te kura hei tohu i te waka huia nei. I pupuri ngā waka huia i ngā tino taonga o mua, pēnei i te huruhuru huia, ā ka kīia he pātaka tūturu. I uia a Bernard i runga kāmera mō ngā whakahoahoatanga, te take me te kaupapa o Te Kāmata Kura.

On the morning of 10 October 2019 Ngā Taonga was given a manea stone created by tohunga whakairo Bernard Makoare. Te Kāmata Kura is an artistic expression of a waka huia made of whalebone, kauri from Kaihū Valley near Kaipara, and obsidian from Maunganui Bluff, with the red colour representing a waka huia. They were used to hold the most treasured possessions and can be likened to a jewellery box. Our video interviews Bernard and he gives background on the design, purpose and kaupapa of Te Kāmata Kura.

Learn more about our Te Kāmata Kura: