This project has involved the digitisation and categorisation of a diverse range of tāonga from the 28 Māori Battalion, D Company veterans and their families, including videoed interviews, handwritten and typed letters and other documents, and photographs of people, places and personal objects. These have been assembled together in a dynamic, searchable database that can be edited, and has made the tāonga easily accessible for research and education.
Technology was also used to successfully collect information. The researchers were mobile and visited the homes of people interested in donating personal information. This made it easier for kaumātua and kuia to be involved, and importantly, meant the original tāonga never left the care of the owners and was not put at risk through transport.