Matapihi – opening the window onto NZ's heritage

MEDIA RELEASE For immediate release 13 September 2004

Matapihi – opening the window onto New Zealand’s heritage

From art to architecture, birds to battalions, the many faces of our people and the many features of our land – explore them all through www.matapihi.org.nz, a new window onto our nation online today.

“Matapihi provides access to around 50,000 images, sounds and objects that are all about us. They’re made in New Zealand or created or collected by New Zealanders,” says Penny Carnaby, National Librarian and Chief Executive of the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mâtauranga o Aotearoa.

“It puts our heritage at your fingertips, wherever you are and whatever time you choose to check it out. It’s easy to use and free to access online from anywhere.

“Search for ‘kiwi’, for example, and you can listen to its call, zoom in and rotate a 3-d view and look at photos, art works and scientific drawings – even a skeleton.”

Matapihi gives people one-stop access to the digital collections of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tâmaki, Auckland City Libraries, Christchurch City Libraries and Otago Museum.

“This extends the reach of our online collection even further,” says Otago Museum director, Shimrath Paul. “Matapihi will be great for research or schoolwork – or for just taking a look through resources that help us tell the stories of our nation’s identity, culture and heritage.”

"We're proud to be part of Matapihi," says Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tâmaki director Chris Saines. "By working together, we've given New Zealanders and the world a new way into our country's history, arts, people, nature and society."

“Matapihi is a collaborative project of the National Digital Forum – museums, archives, art galleries, educational institutions, libraries and government departments working together to enhance access to New Zealand’s digital culture and heritage,” says Penny Carnaby.

“Matapihi’s been built to grow as new partners come on board, so there’s lots more still to come. It’s an exciting step towards achieving the government’s vision for New Zealand to be ‘a world leader at using information and technology to realise economic, social and cultural goals’, as set out in the Draft Digital Strategy.”

The National Library has developed Matapihi in collaboration with Alexander Turnbull Library, Archives New Zealand, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tâmaki, Auckland City Libraries, Christchurch City Libraries, New Zealand Film Archive, Otago Museum and Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand.

Connect to Matapihi

http://www.matapihi.org.nz

ENDS

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