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Celebrate He Tohu's birthday!

It’s He Tohu’s first birthday!

Come join us for whānau day festivities and celebrate New Zealand at the National Library.

He Tohu is a permanent exhibition of 3 iconic constitutional documents that shape Aotearoa New Zealand.

• 1835 He Whakaputanga — Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand
• 1840 Te Tiriti o Waitangi — Treaty of Waitangi
• 1893 Women's Suffrage Petition — Te Petihana Whakamana Pōti Wahine

Entertainment, arts and craft

Enjoy contemporary music in Te Reo, hip hop, kapa haka, Pasifika music, storytelling and 3-D printing plus lots more. Be creative with arts and craft spaces for all ages.

Watch and enjoy in the performance space

10:00am to 10:10am — Kapa Haka

10:15am to 10:35am — Taita College Barbershop

10:40am to 11:00am — Feisty Feckin' Full Time Feminists.
Expect a roller-coaster ride through the politics of equal pay, discrimination, harassment and reproductive rights, with lashings of fighting spirit.

11:05am to 11:25am — Ngā Manukura — Te Wananga o Aotearoa.
Kapa Haka

11:30am to 12:00pm — Ariana Tikao and Alistair Fraser (Taonga Puoro).
A blend of ethereal vocals and Taonga Puoro. Be prepared to be transported to another realm, like being bundled up in a feather cloak of sound.

12:00pm to 12:40pm — Sianne Dougherty (Kai Tahu, Tuwharetoa).
Expect spine tingling moments filled with RnB, Soul with a mix of Māori, English. A voice not to be missed. An acoustic set with Noel Woods on beats, Neha Gate on Guitar.

12:45pm to 1:05pm — Projekt Team Dance Collective.
Hip Hop choreography and battle.

1:15pm to 1:35pm — Prima Volta.
Opera, jazz and pop in Italian, French, Maori and Samoan performed by Katherine Winitana, Masunu Tuua and Lj Crichton.

1:40pm to 1:50pm — Extreme Dance Kids.
Hip hop

1:55pm to 2:30pm — Whitireia Performing Arts Dance

Listen in the story space

10:00am to 10:30am — Maui stories with Watene

10:30am to 11:15am — Timotimo storytelling extravaganza

11:30am to 12:00pm — Pacifica storytelling with Sia Figiel

12:30pm to 1:00pm — Maui stories with Watene

2:00pm to 2:30pm — Maui stories with Watene

Create in the art space

• make an origami camellia to celebrate Suffrage 125
• have a moko painted
• craft your own poi or Ei katu (Cook Island head piece)
• make a badge or a placard with your own protest or positivity message
• get dressed up and have your photo taken with your message in our photobooth
• create and decorate a waka huia to keep your precious taonga in
• create a cool recycled 3D object
• help us make a giant collage of a famous painting of the first Treaty signing!

Interesting talks and He Tohu tours

Learn about the 3 documents that shaped Aotearoa in our speaker series or take a tour of He Tohu in either Te Reo or English throughout the day.

Hear these fantastic speakers 

10:10am to 10:20am — Treaty 101 with Peter Adds

10:30am to 10:50am — People of the Treaty, Treaty biographies with Claudia Orange

11:00am to 11:40am — Stories of the Suffragists and Digital NZ ‘stories demonstration with Stefanie Lash / Thomasin Sleigh

11:55am to 12:20pm — Conservation 101 with Vicki-Anne Heikell

1:00pm to 1:20pm — How far have we really come? Women in 2018 with Vanisa Dhiru

1:35pm to 1:45pm — Māoritanga: A Thing of The Heart with Nadine Anne Hura 

2:00 to 2:20pm — Making Change! Contemporary Political action with Laura O’Connell Rapira, ActionStation

He Tohu tours

10:30am to 11:00am — He Tohu tour (English)

11:30am to 12:00am — He Tohu tour (English)

11:45am to 12:15pm — He Tohu tour (Te Reo)

12:30pm to 1:00pm — He Tohu tour (English)

1:00pm to 1:30pm — He Tohu tour (Te Reo)

More about the He Tohu exhibition

Expect the unexpected at the Alexander Turnbull Library

Get up-close and personal with some surprising (and spooky) treasures related to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Women's Suffrage Petition from the collections of the Alexander Turnbull Library

Our other great exhibitions

While you’re here visit the Topp Twins and Islands in Time exhibitions and have some Kiwi kai.

Free events with something for everyone

There’ll be something for everyone! Can’t wait to celebrate with you.

Events are all free and will be in the amazing Te Ahumairangi space on the ground floor of the National Library and upstairs at the Alexander Turnbull Library.