Donate objects to the National Army Museum

Since the 1970s, people have been entrusting their tangible history of service in the New Zealand Army to the National Army Museum Te Mata Toa (NAM). The museum’s collection is almost entirely comprised of donations from service people and their families. The collection includes small arms, artillery, textiles, social history, heraldry, vehicles, archives and books.

To make a donation offer, fill out the Collection Donation Offer form on the National Army Museum website.

Fill out the donation form on the National Army Museum website(external link)

Every month, the Collections Acquisitions Committee meets to assess all donation offers received since the previous meeting. They assess the donation offers against a number of criteria outlined in our Collections Policy, including relevance, condition of the object, storage space, the level of staff care required, whether a representative sample of the object is already in the collection, and the likelihood of including it in an exhibition in the next 10 years. 

If the museum accepts the donation, a donation receipt is filled out and signed by the donor. This form acknowledges the transfer of ownership to NAM. The object is assigned a unique number, photographed, and the condition is reported. This information, along with the information provided by the donor, is recorded in our collection management system. Once the object has been appropriately packed, it is assigned a storage location.

"The people, their stories, and their memories are an honour for us to care for, and if we can help families retain that connection, then we’re doing our jobs."

The museum does not accept everything it is offered. Sometimes a donation would be more relevant in the Air Force Museum of New Zealand or the National Museum of the Royal New Zealand Navy. These donation offers are usually made when members of the same family served in different branches of the New Zealand Defence Force. When this happens, donors can either approach those museums themselves or NAM can do it on their behalf.

If you would like to access collections that your family has donated, contact the museum. They strive to make the collection accessible to as many people as possible. Some items are on display in the galleries, but most of the collection is stored in secure facilities. 

Contact the National Army Museum(external link)

Image credit: A recent donation to the collection. Five years of letters home written by 67116 Lance Corporal Alan Whitnell Auton during and after his service in the Second World War. The donor kindly sorted each year's letters into their own boxes. Pictured are LCpl Auton's letters from Papakura in 1941, with his last letter home before deployment to the Middle East identified.