New Zealand defence minister Jonathan Coleman has announced the official opening of the new medal repository at the National Army Museum in Waiouru on the North Island.

The new repository has been designed to allow the secure public display of medals held by the museum, having previously been contained within locked drawers accessible only to staff.

It is hoped that the Medal Repository will now enable visitors to remember the 33,000 servicemen and women who lost their lives while serving in the country's Armed Forces.

The opening means that at least 90 per cent of the museum's Heraldry Collection is now on show at any one time, while also displaying all medals made available to New Zealanders.

Click here for more information on the opening of the Medal Repository at New Zealand's National Army Museum.