Preambles
Archives New Zealand
Canterbury Museum
Macmillan Brown Library
Archives New Zealand
Archives New Zealand holds non-current records of central government in the Canterbury and West Coast regions - agriculture, conservation, defence, education, forestry, health, justice, land, mining, police, post office, public works, railways, scientific and industrial research, trade and industry, transport and valuation.
Of particular importance are the archives of the Canterbury Provincial Government (1853-77), and the Canterbury Association (1848-53). Additionally we hold records from the Secondary Schools Council, the Canterbury Education Board, the North Canterbury Hospital Board, and the Canterbury Area Health Board (and its successors).
We also hold the archives of several local government agencies:
- Christchurch City Council and its predecessor boroughs and counties in Greater Christchurch (c.1850-1993), including the archives of various municipal power boards;
- Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury) archives, which include those of 13 local authorities including the Lyttelton Harbour Board and North Canterbury Catchment Board;
- Banks Peninsula District Council and its predecessor boroughs and counties, such as Lyttelton Borough Council.
The following are only a few examples of the types of archives which might provide the basis for research.
Canterbury Museum Manuscripts and Archives Collection
The Canterbury Museum has collected and preserved collections of documents since it opened in 1870. In the nineteenth century, the documents in the collection tended to be from overseas, such as parchment deeds. By the turn of the century, the collection started to include documents relating to the settlement of Canterbury by immigration, reflecting the changing perception that history was not just back in the “old country”.
Consequently the scope of the Canterbury Manuscripts Collection is wide-ranging, from personal papers, letters and diaries, to records of organisations and societies and dates from the 1840s to the present day.
Complementary and related collections within the Museum include the photographic collection (about 650, 000 items), art collection, map collection, ephemera collection, and book collection.
The Manuscripts Collection (or items in the related collections), can be seen in the Canterbury Museum’s Documentary Research Centre, open Monday-Friday, 1.00-4.30 pm, closed public holidays and weekends. It is on Level 3 in the Canterbury Museum.
Detailed collection inventories are only available in the Documentary Research Centre, as they have not been created electronically, but the catalogue for the collection has been included on The Community Archive.
For more information, or to arrange an meeting to discuss your research project, please contact the Curator of Manuscripts at the museum, or email
info@canterburymuseum.com
Telephone 366 5000, Canterbury Museum, Rolleston Avenue, Christchurch 8001
Macmillan Brown Library
The Macmillan Brown Library holds a collection of over 2500 linear metres of archives.
Broadly speaking, this is split into three main areas:
The first, and largest, is the donated collection. As the name suggests this consists of donated archival material from the local Canterbury community. The Macmillan Brown Library, where the archives are based, has been collecting donated archives from the public for over 25 years. The Library is very strong in the records of political parties, groups active in social change (e.g. HART and the NZ Nuclear Free Peacemaking Association), literary papers (such as the Bethel papers and Keri Hulme’s original manuscript of the Bone People), Trade Union records and personal and family papers.
The second major aspect of the collection is the archives of Te Runanga o Ngāi Tahu. Ngāi Tahu deposited a significant quantity of archives with the University some years ago. In late 2001 Nelson Tainui was appointed Ngāi Tahu Tribal archivist. Nelson is based at the Macmillan Brown Library and we work in partnership with him to care for the Ngāi Tahu archives. They are integrated into the physical and intellectual infrastructure of the broader collections but remain the property and responsibility of Ngāi Tahu.
The third aspect of the collection is the University of Canterbury Archives. In the middle of 2002 the Macmillan Brown Library became the official repository for the University ’s corporate archives. This collection includes a extensive run of inwards correspondence from 1872 to the mid 1950s. This correspondence not only reflects the work and activities of Canterbury College but contains information on the whole of the Canterbury community during that era.
In addition to the archives and manuscripts collection we have over 100,000 architectural drawings, 50,000 photographs of various types and a variety of art works. We are also building a significant oral history archive, largely based on work done by students and academics at University of Canterbury.