Auckland War Memorial Museum Trust Board appoints new Chair and Deputy Chair

Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum Trust Board has appointed a new Chair and Deputy Chair.

Professor Richard Bedford CNZM, QSO, FRSNZ has been appointed as Chair of the Auckland War Memorial Museum Trust Board. He has had a distinguished academic career for which he holds titles of Emeritus Professor at the University of Waikato and at the Auckland University of Technology.  He has recently completed a three-year term as of President of the Royal Society Te Apārangi. With wide-ranging experience chairing national governance groups and funding assessment panels, Professor Bedford's expertise will enhance the Board's connections with the tertiary education sector and research funding agencies.

Professor Richard Bedford says, “Tāmaki Paenga Hira is a public institution that is much-loved by Aucklanders, as both the war memorial of the Auckland Province and as an encyclopaedic museum.  It is a real privilege to have an opportunity to chair the Auckland War Memorial Museum’s Trust Board.”

Rachael Tuwhangai takes on the role of Deputy Chair. Rachael is a descendant of the Tainui Waka, Waikato-Maniapoto and Ngati Tamaoho. She is Co-Director of MAPSS (Māori and Pasifika Support Services) which focuses on improving social outcomes for indigenous peoples. She is a former academic of the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education; Education Manager of the Auckland South Corrections Facility, and a former Secondary School Teacher. Rachael’s governance experience includes the Boards of Education New Zealand, The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA), Manukau Institute of Technology, Voyce: Whakarongo mai, Variety Children’s Charity,  Auckland Community Law Center, Man Alive Charitable Trust, COMET Auckland and more recently the Maniapoto Maori Trust Board, and Te Nehenehenui Trust.

Rachael Tuwhangai says, “I look forward to working closely with our Museum partners and the wider community in the role of Deputy Chair. It is truly an honour to be appointed, and with the Museums’ strong educational focus, I know that our Museum team will continue to achieve great things for and with the people of Tāmaki Makaurau.”

The Auckland Museum Trust Board is a ten-member Board, with five members appointed by Auckland Council, four by Auckland Museum Institute (AMI) and one by the Museum’s Taumata-ā-Iwi.