He Tohu is a small but historically meaningful exhibition inside the main entrance to the National Library on Molesworth Street, Wellington. It contains three of the most important documents in the constitutional development of NZ Aotearoa: the Treaty of Waitangi (Tiriti o Waitangi), the Declaration of Independence of 1835 (He Whakaputanga) and one of the several Women’s Suffrage Petitions of the early 1890s. The name He Tohu means “the signs” and refers to the signatures and marks of those who signed documents, adding their mana and bringing them into being.
As you enter the building, you will see a large foyer. You can check at reception, but the small environmentally protected He Tohu room is towards the back behind exquisite wood panelling. If you are a kiwi with 4 generations before you, you can ask if your great …. great grandmother signed the petition! The documents are the original declaration, the especially tatty original of the treaty signed at Waitangi, and the longest of the suffragette petitions.
Suffragette petitions were a feature of early 1890 politics, but suffragette leader Kate Sheppard described this 1893 petition as “a monster”. The particular instance on display has around 20,000 signatures, with several smaller ones totalling nearly 32,000. This was around 25% of all women at the time. At the time, NZ had a bicameral parliament, and the women’s right to vote passed easily in the lower house. The upper house had previously blocked similar legislation, but this time, only one vote divided the sides. Then Prime Minister Richard Seddon attempted to manipulate the outcome, but this upset two other members who retaliated by voting for women’s right to vote. NZ was the first country in the world, and 65% of women voted in the election of 1893.
After you have visited the display room, check out the other works of art in the foyer. The works include a large wall panel depicting the Māori myth of the separation of Ranginui from Ppapatūānuku that burst first light on the world and led to a wellspring of knowledge.
The National Library is also of interest. It was formed in 1965 by combining several official NZ library services. In 1987, these services were consolidated in the new National Library Molesworth Street building. The building's design is Brutalist, and the sloping blocks facade resembles Boston City Hall and Birmingham Central Library. It is located near the centre of the Government Precinct and opposite the cathedral.
