Archives New Zealand is the official guardian of New Zealand's heritage documents. We gather, store and protect an extremely wide range of material. Our holdings include the originals of the Treaty of Waitangi, government files and records, maps, paintings, photos and film.
Archives New Zealand's two main roles are
to ensure governments' activities are recorded and the records are kept permanently; and
to provide access to these records.
Many different people and organisations use the materials held at Archives New Zealand. They document rights and entitlements and provide evidence of government activity. The materials also record history and document the relationship between Māori and the Crown. The archives are often used to research Treaty of Waitangi claims or trace whakapapa and ancestry.