This month, Te Arawhata celebrated its third birthday – an opportunity to reflect on how far the Museum has come since opening in 2023.
As we often say in our introductions to guided visits, Te Arawhata is a special place.
It remains the one-and-only museum dedicated to New Zealand, yet situated beyond the shores of Aotearoa.
It’s immersive and emotional exhibition designed by Wētā Workshop sets it apart from other experiences on the Western Front.
It was established with private donations from dozens of New Zealanders who valued the importance of remembrance.
My team strives to honour the special nature of Te Arawhata, and I am pleased with the growth of our visitation and our range of events over this third year of the Museum’s existence. We are seeing greater numbers of New Zealanders than ever before, while our local visitation continues to increase.
A key reason behind this growth is our active participation in the local community, particularly with schools. This commitment was on show early this month during the visit of Fiona Taylor, our second Rosaria Campbell Award for Excellence in French Teaching laureate.
Fiona’s week in Le Quesnoy was action-packed, with four visits to local schools designed to offer moments of cultural exchange and develop links between fiona and the New Zealand teaching community, and local teachers.
New pen-pal programmes and collaborative teaching resources are just some of the outcomes from Fiona’s residence at Te Arawhata.
Thank you again to Fiona, Language Circle, the French Embassy in New Zealand, the Campbell family and our local partners for your continued support in this special award in memory of Rosaria, Te Arawhata’s first project manager.
Next month, Le Quesnoy will commemorate 108 years since its liberation by New Zealand soldiers and the start of this remarkable friendship. I hope to see you at Te Arawhata for our 4 November programme, or some other time in this fourth year of the Museum!
Ngā mihi nui,
Elizabeth Wratislav