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How the artworks were acquired

Among the 7 million archives held in the repositories at Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga Archives New Zealand is the original artwork created for the School Publications, including the ‘School Journal’. This digitised collection highlights the work of 8 artists, but the wider archive includes an impressive number of artists and creators.

The School Publications themselves are held at the National Library alongside other materials published in Aotearoa New Zealand. However, the artworks — original records generated in the process of creating the School Publications — are held by us.

Archives NZ is the eventual home of a selection of high-value government records. This collection, which includes a variety of hand-crafted illustrations, photographs and designs, provides a unique window into the history of education in New Zealand across the decades.  

Since the early 2000s, we have received multiple transfers of education artworks dating from the 1940s through to the 21st century. Other than the artwork that has been produced since the most recent transfer, we potentially hold all the artwork that the Ministry of Education is aware of having ever been created. 

The artworks for the School Publications were historically stored at the Ministry of Education, as well as at Learning Media — the company that published the journals from the early 1990s until 2012.

The Ministry of Education has a long history in New Zealand, dating back to 1877 when the Department of Education was established. Over the years, the Department of Education underwent several transformations before becoming a Ministry in 1989, reflecting changes in the government's approach to education policy and administration.

Often transfers arrive at Archives NZ when there is a change in government — moments that are synonymous with reorganisation and reprioritisation. The promotion to Ministry was a key example of a governmental shift. This kind of evolution provides opportunities for those in the government agency to look at the kinds of records they're responsible for and determine whether they should be sent to us. This process is called disposal. 

Another significant change in the history of these records was the closure of Learning Media in 2012. Learning Media was a former government-owned — and later state-operated — publisher of educational materials. Many of these artworks were originally held by Learning Media. In 2013, Learning Media’s records, including artworks, became property of the Ministry of Education.

When Learning Media was being disestablished, there was an ‘emergency mission’ from Archives NZ and the Ministry of Education to locate the remaining artworks. Following changes to the closure date and just in time for Christmas, archivists undertook a quick transfer process to ensure the safety of these original records. This process was very different to the standard transfer, which involves a lot of planning, discussion and lead-in time. 

However, the Ministry of Education was determined to get the artworks safely to us as they recognised their priceless value and cultural significance. So, despite a rushed rescue mission, the records themselves were treated with high importance and respect during a challenging time of change. 

Learning Media had done previous work to ready the artwork for archival storage and this had been continued by those at the Ministry, prior to their transfer in 2013. Archivists worked closely with the Ministry of Education to ensure that everything was managed appropriately to get the material into our care. The artwork that had not yet been processed at the time of transfer was sent to the Ministry before being forwarded to us a few years later. This was a collaborative process of preparation with the artworks at the centre of the operation.

To ensure the preservation of these artworks, the Ministry of Education worked with us to transfer them to secure and climate-controlled facilities. The transfer process involved careful handling and packaging of each artwork to ensure its safe transportation. Importantly, the 2 organisations worked together to establish exactly what was there and where it was within the collection. 

Archives acquire and describe what they hold in a different way to museums. There is a unique responsibility to maintain the original context of the collection. This includes information about how the records were created, the whakapapa of the organisation and how the records were used. The full context is retained, not just on an item level but as a collective group of records. The School Publications themselves are the end product — and a record in themselves — but the information about every activity carried out by the government agency and everything used to create the Publications also needs to be maintained. 

At Archives NZ, we expect each government agency to keep this information so that once the records arrive as archives, they are able to be made accessible in order to be fully understood. Rather than the items existing as isolated records, archives celebrate the full picture and the relationship between individual records. They also acknowledge the relationship between the collection of records and the agency itself. It is important to preserve context about the government agency, what their function is, how they carry out those functions and how those functions generate records. 

Once the records are received, the work doesn’t stop. After the completion of the transfer there is a significant documentation process for these records within the walls of Archives NZ. Trained staff conduct large scale assessments of the material before ensuring their proper storage and preservation. This process is ongoing for these artworks to this day.

In this case, a document was created about the Ministry of Education. This includes an agency description, what its history is, how and why it was created and information about its functions and activities. This also includes predecessor agencies (for example, Learning Media) and how the function of creating the School Publications was inherited. 

The other focus is the creation of a Series Documentation. This defines how the artworks were created and arranged. In this instance, the recordkeeping system that was used for the artworks in order to access and understand them — arranged by artist, publication and so on — and how they link to other records (for example other artist files). 

For many of the School Publications, a lot of the artwork is listed by the artist’s name which makes it possible to access if you know the artist you are interested in researching. There is also the option to access the information from the opposite direction, via the ‘School Journal’s at the National Library. There is a symbiotic relationship between the information held at the Library and Archives NZ, which helps keep information accessible. 

The other way to access these records is through the series, using the keywords ‘school journal’. This will list all the items in the series, which can then be refined. While the listing information received from Learning Media during transfer was not complete, we've been working to ensure they're discoverable. We rely on the accuracy of the information received from the government agency to ensure the records are discoverable in the long term.

The artworks themselves are varied and vast. The collection includes tens of thousands of records. The most recent transfer contained around 5,000 folders which encompassed an unquantifiable number of individual artworks. Some artworks involve ink, charcoal and gouache, while others are pencil on paper. There are pen and felt tip creations, photography and a wonderful range of other media included within the folders. 

This collection holds a real significance within the world of government archives. The creation of the School Publications and specifically the artworks themselves is a bespoke function of government, unlike most bureaucratic activities. Standard government records usually consist of text and files — document-based collections that reflect usual government practice. These artworks are unique in their creativity in this context and represent the unusual opportunity these artists had to make a living directly from the government. The ‘School Journal’ in particular is an iconic feature of Aotearoa New Zealand’s culture and these artworks are precious mementos of this prolific output. 

The artists range from extremely well-known (Dick Frizzell, Rita Angus, Cliff Whiting) to anonymous and lesser-known names. While the content is rich and diverse there are a startling number of cats and birds amongst the hand drawn images collated in the files. Artworks depicting animals and nature transcend the fickle trends of the zeitgeist. There is something comforting about the cats, that are as popular with grandchildren today as they were when their own grandparents were young enough to read the Journal themselves. These illustrations, photographs and paintings contribute to our wider collection of art — from stamp drawings to railway artworks. The artwork at Archives NZ is one of the largest collections of New Zealand artists in the country. 

Other than public exhibitions, it's currently impossible to tell how often the artworks are accessed by members of the public. While a niche research topic, there is a collective memory of the Journals and the accompanying artwork in Aotearoa New Zealand, shared by everyone who went through their schooling here.

This collection holds a special place in the national consciousness and its existence proves the importance of proper recordkeeping, ensuring the artworks live on as long as they may last. 

The decision for something to change from a record (with a business use) to an archive, is a lengthy one that isn’t taken lightly. Now these artefacts of popular culture can enjoy an eternal retirement in the impressive and echoing repositories of Archives New Zealand. They lay alongside other memories from across these islands, safely sleeping in sealed storage boxes, waiting to be remembered.