Ngāti Awa Research and Archives Trust was created from the need to preserve, store and utilise the numerous research and historical documents which had been compiled to support Ngati Awa’s Waitangi Tribunal Raupatu research.
Research began some twenty-five years ago in the 1980s, led by Sir Sidney Mead, with the assistance of many other dedicated individuals. After several years the team of researchers collected a significant amount of supporting documentation uniquely linked to Ngati Awa. Manuscripts, private collections, photographs and whakapapa provided a rich and colourful history of the tribes past.
There was a concerted effort made to establish a centre to store the myriad of research related documents, and at the same time make them accessible to Ngāti Awa descendants and those interested from the wider community. Consequently, Ngāti Awa Research and Archives Trust was formed in 1994. Their premises are now located at Ngāti Awa House, 4-10 Louvain Street, Whakatāne.
The Trust’s primary responsibility is to act as a repository for tribal archives, including historic and contemporary records. It is also responsible for tribal registrations of ngā uri o Ngāti Awa which exceeds 18,000 registered members. This interface between the Ngāti Awa Research and Archives and its people provides a unique opportunity to interact, collaborate and build relationships with whanau and hapu members. In addition to archive management, in the last decade Ngāti Awa Research and Archives Trust has initiated and co-ordinated many successful research projects. Several of the recent reports have been made into publications and are immensely popular where extra copies were printed and have been requested by book distributors and libraries.
Ngāti Awa Research and Archives Trust and Ngāti Awa Whakapapa Committee work together and share the same members.