22 May 2015

Archives New Zealand to rebuild Christchurch facility

The Budget confirms $6.1 million in operating funding over the next four years and $13 million of capital funding from the Future Investment Fund to rebuild Archives New Zealand’s Christchurch facility in Wigram, Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne says.

Construction is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2016.

“The Archives project is good news for the people of Christchurch and a clear signal of the Government’s intent to keep the Christchurch rebuild on-track,” Mr Dunne says.

“Since the 2011 earthquake, Archives users and staff have had to put up with significant disruptions due to damage sustained by the current Peterborough Street building and surrounding land.

“The new purpose-built facility at Wigram will ensure that the important material that Christchurch Archives has been entrusted with will be preserved in state-of-the-art premises for the next thirty years, including important archives and records relating to the earthquakes themselves.”

The location chosen is a Crown-owned, New Zealand Defence Force site that will be developed by the Department of Internal Affairs.

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, New Zealand’s national audio visual archive, will tenant some of the space along with other prospective tenants from the cultural and heritage sector. Archives New Zealand will work closely with Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority and Christchurch Central Development Unit to ensure construction is co-ordinated with other Christchurch re-build work.

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