Source: Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
August 24
A documentary heritage collection that spans 123 years and reflects the lives of a prominent Kaipara family, has received formal recognition from UNESCO New Zealand (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).
The Coates Family of Ruatuna – a collection that was the focus of a joint nomination by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (HNZPT) and the Kauri Museum at Matakohe – has been inscribed into the Aotearoa Memory of the World Register. Both organisations are joint custodians of the collection and are delighted by the recent addition.
“The collection is unique in New Zealand and includes letters and personal papers, substantial runs of diaries, farm ledgers, accounts and stock books, photographs – including 88 glass plate negatives – photography albums, sketch books; you name it,” says Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Director Regional Services, Pam Bain.
“The papers centre around the Coates family who farmed at Ruatuna for 123 years. They show the development of farming and livestock breeding, interaction with tangata whenua, the work of women in both running and owning the farm, the family’s role in the community and the role locality played in shaping the interests and character of Gordon Coates, our first elected New Zealand-born Prime Minister.”
Gordon’s childhood growing up at historic Ruatuna – today cared for by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga – was a formative influence on his life.
Coates’ early social, sporting and military experiences, farming responsibilities, work in local politics and his awareness of Māori land issues influenced his approach to national politics. Known to be a pragmatist who got things done, he also developed close personal ties with Sir Āprirana Ngata and Te Puea Hērangi and set up a commission to investigate the confiscation of Māori land after the wars of the 1860s.
“The collection includes many items associated with Gordon Coates both at Ruatuna and the Kauri Museum, with both coming together to tell the full story,” says Pam.
One of the oldest items in the collection includes a letter written by James Patten, the great-grandfather of first-generation settler Eleanor Coates. Patten was a doctor travelling with Cook on HMS Resolution. The collection also includes an English translation of the Quran printed in 1688.
In addition the collection comprises documents relating to Ada Coates – farmer, landowner, breeder of pedigree stock, horsewoman and tireless worker in her brother’s electorate office; and who bought the homestead and farm block from the estate of her mother, Eleanor.
Joy Aickin – Ada’s niece – carried on the mantle of community service and farming at Ruatuna until her death in 2000.
The Coates Family of Ruatuna is a rich collection of over 3500 items documenting 123 years of family, farming and community – as well as the family’s personal triumphs and calamities.
“The Coates Family of Ruatuna collection is nationally significant, but its power comes from being rooted in place,” says Kauri Museum Chair Hinurewa te Hau.
“Preserving this collection protects the memory of Kaipara and gives people a way to understand the people, experiences and changes that have shaped this community over time. Our histories and stories give us a sense of place and belonging, and we are delighted to see this collection recognised through the Aotearoa Memory of the World Register.”
The Aotearoa Memory of the World Register includes 59 inscriptions of nationally and internationally important documentary heritage collections in New Zealand including Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Women’s Suffrage Petition and the first book published in te reo Māori.
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga has two other inscriptions in the Aotearoa Memory of the World Register – the Kerikeri Mission Te Reo slates and the Clendon Papers.