About Us
He Kōrero o Hokianga – The Story of Us
The Hokianga Historical Society was founded by historian and district high school teacher Jean Irvine in 1965. At that time, it was based in Rāwene. Jean Irvine was a prolific researcher and writer and published some significant histories including Township of Rāwene and Historic Hokianga, both of which are much sought after today. In keeping with Jean’s original whakaaro we adhere to the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi – The Treaty of Waitangi.
In 1973 a branch of the HHS was formed at Ōmāpere and for many years it operated from temporary premises, until in 1988 the HHS and the Hokianga Tourism Association combined to form the Hokianga Information Centre and Museum, however the space was limited and most of the archives were kept in storage which created problems with access to the files. In 1993 we became the Hokianga Historical Society Incorporated (NZBN:9429042646044) and we are registered with the Charities Commission (CC32572) and are part of Museums Aotearoa, Te Paerangi administered by Te Papa Tongarewa. We are grateful for their oversight.
In 2012 the HHS signed a lease with the Opononi Area School who kindly let us have some of their grounds off 14 Waianga Place for a bespoke museum and archives centre. Our relationship with the school extends beyond this, and over the years we have worked closely with staff from both the junior and senior schools on various projects including history, science and maths. The dissemination of historical information about Hokianga is a priority for us.
The museum is run by a very dedicated team of volunteers. It is open for three days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from 10am-2pm. The oversight of the Hokianga Historical Society is conducted by an elected board made up of four office holders and three general members. There are no paid staff members. Our patron, Paul White is the Kaumatua Whakapapa for Ngāi Tūpoto Marae (Motukaraka). We have just over a hundred members based all over New Zealand, and across the world, who have an interest in Hokianga history.
The Society has a large collection of family files covering many Hokianga whānau, and part of our work is conducting research on behalf of the families and organisations who need assistance with whakapapa/genealogical information. This is done either in person or online by three voluntary researchers. We are completely reliant on subscriptions, grants and door-donations to fund our organisation and keep us operating.
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