Hands-on History at the Archives
Visiting Archives New Zealand is “hands-on history” for students from Wairarapa College, says their history teacher Helen Sproat.
Mrs Sproat and 25 of her year 12 history students researched World War One personnel records at Archives New Zealand’s Wellington office, today, as part of an internal assessment for their NCEA.
Each student was studying a soldier who died during the war. All of the soldiers were from the Wairarapa and their names are on the Masterton cenotaph.
The students looked at details such as what the soldiers did before enlisting, what bigger campaigns they took part in, and what happened to them during the war and how they died.
Mrs Sproat said many of the students were “moved” by the human side of the records they saw and thought it unfair that several of the soldiers who survived the battlefields died of the flu on the way home.
She said coming to Archives New Zealand is a wonderful link to have with the past.
“It’s fantastic that rural students get to see these primary resources which give them great insight into the lives of New Zealanders who lived in those times.”
This is the second year Mrs Sproat’s class has visited the archives. They were accompanied by Neil Francis from Wairarapa Archives in Masterton.
For the group making the journey from Masterton to Wellington by train meant getting up early and according to them all it was well worth the effort.
Future Perfect: Digital Continuity Conference 2010
The future is here! Future Perfect: Digital Continuity Conference 2010
The draft programme is now available.
Registrations for the Southern Hemisphere's Premier Digital Preservation Event are now open.
To register or just to find out more visit our website at: http://bit.ly/6a59YE
When
Monday 3 - Wednesday 5 May 2010,
Where
Wellington Convention Centre, Wellington, New Zealand
Treaty of Waitangi on display at Archives New Zealand in Wellington
Saved from fire, rats and water damage the original 1840 Treaty of Waitangi is on view this Waitangi Day, 6 February at Archives New Zealand National Office in Wellington.
“Te Tiriti o Waitangi came into the care of Archives New Zealand in 1981 and we are opening on Waitangi Day this year to give people the opportunity to see the Treaty on this special day,” said Greg Goulding, Acting Chief Executive Archives New Zealand.
“Regarded as the founding document of modern New Zealand the Treaty is on display in the Constitution Room with other documents which depict this country’s growth from colony to nation,” he said.
“Many people don’t realise the Treaty is a collection of nine documents, seven on paper and two on parchment. Together they represent an agreement drawn up between representatives of the British Crown on the one hand and representatives of Māori, iwi, and hapu on the other.
“Te Tiriti o Waitangi is named after the place in the Bay of Islands where it was first signed on 6 February 1840. In the following months it was also signed in a number of other locations around the country making up the nine documents we hold.
“Saved from the fire that burnt the government offices in Official Bay, Auckland in 1841, the documents were held until 1865 in an iron safe in the Colonial Secretary’s office, first in Auckland and then in Wellington.
“They went into storage in 1877 and when they were rediscovered in 1911 by Dr Thomas Hocken in the Wellington Government Buildings they were found damaged by water and rodents. Restoration work was carried out and they were placed in the care of the Department of Internal Affairs before coming to the National Archive in 1981.
“As the official guardian of this country’s public records Archives New Zealand collects, stores and protects a range of material including important heritage documents. All the Treaty documents were moved into the specially constructed Constitution Room in 1990 where they are on permanent display.
“In 2000 the Treaty was listed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. In 2010 we are also 170 years on from when the Treaty was first signed.”
Entry to Archives New Zealand, 10 Mulgrave Street, Thorndon, Wellington, is free and the Treaty will be on display on Waitangi Day from 10.00am until 4.00pm with talks throughout the day.
More information about the Treaty of Waitangi and future viewing hours can be found at: www.archives.govt.nz
Active a2b – a first for Archives New Zealand
The first person to take part in the Greater Wellington Regional Council’s 2010 Active a2b programme was Archives New Zealand’s Diana Coop, Manager Preservation Services.
On Friday 8 January Ms Coop (pictured above, front) biked to Archives New Zealand’s Wellington National Office in Thorndon, Wellington, from central Ngaio with biking buddy Claire Pascoe, Wellington Regional Council’s coordinator of the a2b programme.
The ride took only 13 minutes which Ms Coop attributes to the conditions: “easy, downhill and on a good day with no wind”.
Ms Coop got her bike at the beginning of 2009, but has only been riding seriously on the weekends.
“I’ve never ridden to work before, but now have the incentive to keep it up on sunny days,” she says. “The ride was pleasant with not too much traffic, which is good because I didn’t want to come down Ngaio Gorge.
“Now I would do it again – thanks to the support of my bike buddy Claire Pascoe, who gave me some handy tips, and the a2b programme.”
Archives New Zealand signed-up for the Active a2b programme, recognising the benefits of having active and healthy employees. The initiative provides tools and support to get fit and healthy at little cost.
Active a2b is a health and wellbeing programme run by Greater Wellington encouraging employees in Wellington workplaces to walk or cycle to work. The initiative, running to March 2010, aims to transform the trip to work into something valuable.
More information about Active a2b is available on the Greater Wellington Regional Council’s website at: www.gw.govt.nz
Celebrating the partnership with Taranaki iwi
Archives New Zealand and Taranaki iwi have celebrated the completion of the 12 month Taranaki Reo Revitalisation project with a ceremony held at Archives New Zealand’s Wellington office on Friday 11 December.
The department and Te Reo o Taranaki Charitable Trust began working together on the project in January 2009. Contributing to the Taranaki Reo Strategy the project provides access to important records, written in te reo Taranaki from 1860 to 1900. Relating to nga iwi o Taranaki the records are held in Archives New Zealand’s Wellington office.
Archives New Zealand’s Acting Chief Executive Greg Goulding welcomed the 40-strong group of representatives from Taranaki iwi. He congratulated them on the success of the project, made possible by the expertise, good will and hard work of all concerned.
“The vision of this project will make these valuable tāonga available to future generations,” he said.
Hemi Sundgren, Chairman of Te Reo o Taranaki, was overwhelmed by the quantity and content of the documents he has seen so far.
"It is only through a positive working relationship with Archives New Zealand that we have been able to access a wealth of relevant information pertaining to all our iwi in Taranaki," he said.
During the ceremony Archives New Zealand handed over the digital images of the archives to the Trust and both parties signed the partnership document.
Te Reo o Taranaki Trust iwi researcher Neavin Broughton has been based at Archives New Zealand’s Wellington office for the duration of the project. He has worked with departmental staff to identify the records and produce digital images for future use by Te Reo o Taranaki.
During the project over 250,000 files have been researched, 50,000 files have been accessed and 1,000 digital images have been taken.
The project is one of several partnerships between Archives New Zealand and iwi, including Ngāi Tahu, Tainui and Tūhoe, which have produced digital material relating to their individual requests.
Pictured below: Taranaki iwi at the ceremony; and Archives New Zealand's Kaumatua Ihai Biddle, Acting Chief Executive Greg Goulding and Government Recordkeeping Acting Group Manager John Roberts during the celebration ceremony at Archives New Zealand's Wellington Office.
Introduction to archives Training Courses
Introduction to archives Training Courses
A two-day Introduction to Archives training course is being offered by Archives New Zealand, Te Rua Mahara o Te Kāwanatanga in Dunedin (8-9 Feb 2010) and Christchurch (11-12 Feb 2010).
This course is for people who work in Archives museums, libraries, businesses, community, Māori and iwi groups who want to learn more about the care and management of archives.
The course topics are:
Day One
- Introduction: What are records and archives?
- Definitions, context, terminology
- Collecting: Policy, issues, methods
- To Keep or not to keep: Appraisal criteria and procedures
- Accessioning: Current holdings and new acquisitions
Day Two
- Revisit first day session concepts
- Arrangement and description: Key concepts
- Arrangement and description: Practical session continued
- Reference and access
- Sources and resources
- Storage, Preservation, Conservation
- Microfilming, electronic media
- The Community Archive online archival management system
- Question and answer session - Evaluation
Enquiries:
Kylie Ngaropo, Community Archivist, Archives New Zealand
Download the registration forms here in word format:
Introduction to archives Training Course Dunedin 8 – 9 February 2010
Introduction to archives Training Course Christchurch 11 – 12 February 2010
New Zealand Shipping Lists digitised
The dedication and commitment of two volunteers, Bill and Glenys Chadderton, has resulted in the digitisation of all the Shipping Lists held by Archives New Zealand.
In November the Chaddertons, representing FamilySearch the largest genealogical organisation in the world, completed the job of digitising some 270,000 Shipping List pages.
The couple have spent nearly 15 months away from their home in Kihikihi to digitise the records which from early next year will be available online to people worldwide. Having the documents online means anyone with an interest in people immigrating to New Zealand can do their research from their own homes.
Digitising the lists had been an opportunity to see the history of New Zealand revealed and they particularly enjoyed finding out information about their own families, the pair said. There were some sad stories, some touching ones and some exciting ones.
The pair acknowledged departmental staff for their support and gave special thanks to conservator Steve Williams who also gave up his own time to prepare the lists for digitisation.
Acting Chief Executive Greg Goulding said the significance of the project will be its impact of those outside Archives New Zealand. He thanked the couple for their generosity of spirit saying they had provided the department with a platform for providing access to these valuable archives.
Until the mid 1970s, most people living in New Zealand were either born here or arrived by ship so the records are of particularly significance and value. Some eight million names appear on the shipping lists which span 132 years from 1840 to 1972. The lists record the names and details of people who came to New Zealand on assisted passages.
Currently the lists are being transcribed and indexed by a pool of 2000,000 volunteers worldwide. From early next year they will start to be available on both the FamilySearch and Archives New Zealand websites.
National Library Moving to Archives New Zealand
The relocation details of the National Library’s Wellington building, including to Archives New Zealand, have just been publicly released. The following link at www.natlib.govt.nz/building provides detailed information about the redevelopment, collection access and questions and answers.
The National Library is also rolling out a communications plan that includes media advertising, letters to key stakeholders, and an information flyer, which will be available next week in the Wellington office.
Welcome to Archives New Zealand’s new website
Archives New Zealand’s new website has several improvements aimed to make it easier and quicker for you to find information.
We have organised the site based on how people search for information, which should make it easier for you to navigate through the site to find what you need. For example to find out how to look after your archives you would go to ‘Advice on Records and Archiving’. This section has resources to help you create and maintain your records and archives as well as tools to help you manage your information.
Our online services can now be accessed directly from the homepage. We’ve also added an area where you can go directly to information useful to the type of work or research you are doing. If you are a teacher, this link would take you directly to resources for schools or, if you are a family historian, to information on accessing genealogical records.
We’ve also installed a new search engine which will return results quicker and more accurately than before.
We will continue to review the site and look at ways we can make it easier for you to use as well as improve the services we offer online.
All Blacks line up in NZDF files
The military details of some former All Blacks who died in World War One are contained in the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel records now available on Archives New Zealand’s online search engine Archway.
Thirteen former All Blacks were killed in World War One — four of them within a fortnight in June 1917 when the New Zealand Division took part in the assault on the Messines ridge.
The most famous former All Black to lose his life during the war was Dave Gallaher, who captained the All Black Originals on their 1905-06 tour of Britain, France and North America. Gallaher was mortally wounded during the attack on Gravenstafel Spur and died a few hours later. He is buried at Nine Elms Cemetery, Poperinge, Belgium.
The Gallaher Shield, awarded to the winner of Auckland’s premier club competition since 1922 and the Dave Gallaher Cup, awarded to the winner of the first rugby test between New Zealand and France in each calendar year since 2000, were both named in his honour.
The personnel records contain such information as next of kin, a summary of the date of enlistment, embarkation and discharge dates and length of service spent at home and overseas. They also record an individual’s postings to military units as well as promotions, medal entitlements, decorations and any gratuity payments made to them or their families after the war. Marriage and children’s details are also often recorded.
Archives Support Assistant (ASA) Norm Gough is in charge of the daily process of digitising the files. He says there are approximately 4600 of the 128,000 files now online.
“This has been a good learning curve for the staff involved in the project. It’s been a great effort and we have had good feedback. It means the department will provide a much improved customer service for people wanting to access these files,” said Norm.
To view NZDF personnel records go to Archway and enter ‘digitised record (surname)’ into the search function.
The NZDF personnel records available to view on Archway are for the following former All Blacks:
Albert Downing died 8 August 1915 at Gallipoli, aged 29 (26 matches for the All Blacks)
Henry Dewar, died 19 August 1915 at Gallipoli, aged 31 (16 matches for the All Blacks)
Frank Wilson, died 19 September 1916 at Somme, aged 31 (2 matches for the All Blacks)
Robert Black, died 21 September 1916 at Somme, aged 23 (6 matches for the All Blacks)
George Sellars, died 7 June 1917, at Messines, aged 31 (15 matches for the All Blacks)
James Baird, died 7 June 1917, in France aged 23 (1 match for the All Blacks)
Reginald Taylor, died 20 June 1917, at Messines, aged 28 (2 matches for the All Blacks)
James McNeece, died 21 June 1917, at Messines, aged 31 (11 matches for the All Blacks)
Dave Gallaher, died 4 October 1917, at Passchendaele, aged 43 (36 matches for the All Blacks)
‘Jum’ Turtill, died 9 April 1918, in France, aged 38 (1 match for the All Blacks)
Eric Harper, died 30 April 1918, in Palestine, aged 40 (11 matches for the All Blacks)
Ernest Dodd, died 11 September 1918, in France, aged 38 (3 matches for the All Blacks)
Alex Ridland, died 5 November 1918, in France, aged 36 (6 matches for the All Blacks)