Community Archives Newsletter February 2010
Welcome to the February newsletter from The Community Archives team at Archives New Zealand. In this second edition we want to update you on any upcoming events, and share with you the exciting activities that are happening across the community.
Happy New Year to you all.
Archives New Zealand celebrates 170 years of the Treaty of Waitangi
Archives New Zealand’s Auckland Regional Archivist Mark Stoddart, Archivist Wendy Goldsmith and the department’s Kaumātua Ihaia Biddle travelled to Waitangi to display Archives New Zealand’s archival holdings at the 170 year celebration in Paihia from 4-6 February.
Over 500 visitors were welcomed to the stall ranging from 8 to 80 years old.
“Many were interested in preserving marae, whanau and other community records. The funding guide and Managing and Preserving Community Archives booklet were very popular, as were the Treaty of Waitangi posters which were of great interest to children or their parents for school projects,” Mark said.
Archivist Wendy Goldsmith sets up display
Archives New Zealand holds a wealth of information which reflects New Zealand’s history. The Waitangi celebration was a time to share treasures with people and raise greater awareness that The Treaty of Waitangi is held at Archives New Zealand’s National Office, 10 Mulgrave Street, Thorndon, Wellington. Visitors are welcome to view the Treaty of Waitangi which is on public display, free of charge on weekdays from 9am to 5.00pm.
The Community Archive Website – Site Update
The Community Archive, previously known as the National Register of Archives and Manuscripts (NRAM) is a free online management tool for community archives. It acknowledges the many records of long-term historical value held in community archives and the huge contribution, often voluntary, to manage significant part of New Zealand’s history.
New features are being incorporated into the system this year. The most recent includes the ability to add descriptions of people, families and organisations based on the International Council on Archives standard – ISAAR (CPF).
The Community Archive Website
If you are a contributor on the old NRAM site and have not yet logged onto the new site or would like to become a contributor, please go to the website on www.thecommunityarchive.org.nz and click on Join as a new contributor. In both cases, this will enable you to become active and use the site. Check the website for more information and new release updates.
Introduction to Archives Courses in the South Island 2010
Archives New Zealand held two Introduction to Archives Training Courses in the South Island in the month of February. The first was held at the Hocken Library in Dunedin on 8-9 February and the second at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu in Christchurch on 11-12 February. Both courses were delivered by Rosemary Collier to provide an overview for community groups of the basic concepts of archiving.
“This course was much more than I expected. As someone who is very new at archiving I am leaving this course a little more confident in going back to Rehua Marae to look at the work waiting for me,” said one course participant.
Future courses are planned to be delivered in Whanganui and in Nelson in April, dates to be confirmed, and in Kaitaia and the Bay of Plenty in May. More information, will be posted on our website at www.archives.govt.nz
Karori and Makara Cemeteries Data Project – Seeking Volunteers
In March 2009, a team of three staff from the Wellington City Councils Cemeteries Team commenced a data capture project to digitally record all of the headstones in the Karori & Makara Cemeteries. The purpose of the project is to retain information on the headstones for future generations.
Data capture project in action
Over 21 weeks, the team had recorded 32,288 headstones across both the Makara and Karori Cemeteries.
All the headstones in the Makara Cemetery and about 30 percent of Karori Cemetery have been collected. One challenge with Karori Cemetery is the old hard-to-read headstones and hilly terrain.
The images have been put onto the Wellington City Councils website.
Volunteers are now being sought to help them to complete the data capture in the Karori Cemetery. While the work is not technically difficult, it will be physically demanding as dictated by the terrain. For further details, please contact Jeff Paris on 04 476 6101.
The Bank of New Zealand Archive is on the Move.
It has been a busy few months for the Bank of New Zealand Museum and Archive staff. In June 2009, the BNZ Museum moved to new premises at Harbour Quay, 60 Waterloo Quay opposite the Railway Station. The big project now is the relocation of the BNZ Archive which will be moving to off site premises with Recall in Grenada, Wellington.
”There is much work to be done by the end of March. One of the main focuses is to make sure that what we have in the collection is relevant to BNZ or banking with unnecessary duplication removed,” says Barbara Allen, Manager, BNZ Museum and Archive.
Staff see the relocation as a positive opportunity to ensure they have a fully described account of the collection on a database, and to enable all images of the artefacts, posters and photographs to become more accessible to the public. We wish Barbara and her staff all the very best in preparing for their relocation.
The New Zealand Theatre Archive
The New Zealand Theatre Archive Trust exists to promote the preservation of theatre archives. NZTA is not a repository of archives, but encourages theatre groups to deposit their archives in existing repositories, or to ensure that they are properly preserved by their creators.
The Trust’s has compiled a database of theatre archives. Currently, thanks to a grant from NZ Lottery Grants Board, this database is being brought up-to-date, with a view to placing it on the NZTA website (www2.vuw.ac/nzta). A part-time worker is carrying out this work. NZTA has also published a manual Caring for your Theatre Archives which is available at a cost of $15.00.
For more information and to connect with NZTA please email them on care. about. Please email at nzta@vuw.ac.nz.