Objects moving in, and on!

A look at how new objects join the collection at Canterbury Museum
Erna Tidy, Canterbury Museum Associate Registrar.

Over the last year, there have been many exciting changes to our work lives at Canterbury Museum.

We’ve moved the Museum and staff to temporary new premises in Hornby and in the process some of us have moved desks multiple times. But some things haven’t changed completely.

New objects still join the collection, going through all the rigorous checks that transform them into a Museum treasure.

So, how does an object become part of the collection?

Take object 2023.10.1. It is a postcard showing George Fairbairn, who was born in Kirwee, Canterbury and served on the Western Front in World War One. It was generously donated to the Museum by his son, who is also called George Fairbairn.

A postcard featuring Lance Corporal George Fairbairn. Wrigglesworth & Binns photograph, Canterbury Museum 2023.10.1

This postcard was brought into the Museum in September 2022 and promptly placed into the Documentation and New Arrivals records system with the Object Receipt (OR) number 5003. At this stage – with the Mammoth Museum Move well underway – the OR was a vital way for us to keep track of the object.

In December, the object was moved with others from Level 2 to Level 5 to make way for the SHIFT: Urban Art Takeover exhibition. Three months later, we created a record for the postcard on our collections database, Vernon, as part of the process for bringing the object into the collection. The postcard was on the move again in early March 2023, heading to our temporary storage space in Hornby with the rest of the Documentation and New Arrivals store.

The postcard officially became part of the collection at a meeting of the Museum’s Collections Development and Management Team on 16 March 2023. At the meeting, the postcard received its unique accession number – 2023.10.1 –  allowing us to track it more precisely.

Canterbury Museum Associate Registrar Erna Tidy with postcards and photographs from World War One donated by a Christchurch family.

But the postcard’s journey was not over yet! At the end of June, the postcard, along with other new arrivals, was moved to brand new storage shelving.

Here, we prepared the postcard for cataloguing. Our hero was measured, photographed and packed on 24 July. The finalised record was checked shortly after.

Finally, the postcard was put away in the Documentary History store in a lovely acid free box amongst its peers. It was confirmed, or verified, as being labelled, locatable, and safe and sound on 2 August 2023.

Since the mammoth move began in earnest in September 2022, around 600 objects have travelled the same journey, transforming from an everyday object in our Documentation and New Arrival store, to a Museum collection item with a number and its background story.

This rigorous process not only makes sure that the object is kept safe, but also that its story is never lost.

This object and its record is the first of many to be fully checked and verified in our new home, and shows how we’ve all worked together to ensure that even the most unobtrusive new entrant never fell through the cracks during the Mammoth Museum Move.

Reposted with permission from https://www.canterburymuseum.com/explore/our-stories/an-object-becomes-part-of-the-collection. This is part two of a two-part series. To read more about George Fairbairn’s World War One experiences, read part one.

Active Archives event recap

On the 28th of February we held a very successful ‘Active Archives’ event in conjunction with the regional branches of National Digital Forum (NDF) and the Archives & Records Association of NZ (ARANZ). With a group of around 50 people we came from all parts of the GLAM sector and included participants from local and central government, tertiary and secondary education, volunteer groups, museums, and the private sector. It was a wonderful chance to hear some truly interesting presentations, engage with the Canterbury Disaster Salvage Team, network with each other and have a moment to think outside of our everyday boxes!

The day began with presentations by Canterbury Disaster Salvage Team (CDST) members Joanna Condon (Archives NZ), Lydia Baxendell (University of Canterbury) and retiring member Lynn Campbell. It was a good chance to reflect on the work of the CDST since it began in the 1980’s and to gather feedback from our community as the team moves into the future. As well as the survey results (sent to Cantage members a few weeks ago) we broke into workshop groups and ran through a series of disaster related questions and brainstorming on what support our community would like to see from the CDST group in coming days.

The CDST also presented founding member and conservator Lynn Campbell with a special trophy and flowers to thank her for all of her hard work over her years. Many of our institutions have benefited from her help and guidance.

Left to right: CDST members Joanna Condon, Lynn Campbell, Julie Sowby, Lydia Baxendell.

After lunch we reflected on the UNESCO Memory of the World project – presented by Caroline Etherington and Jo Condon from Archives NZ and Erin Kimber, from University of Canterbury. They shared recent Canterbury nominations, inscriptions to the register from their own institutions and their experience of the process. The Canterbury Provincial Government papers inscribed on the register were shared in an earlier Cantage blog post but further details of all collections on the NZ register, including the three held by the Macmillan Library (Armson Collins architectural drawings, Tokyo War Crimes collection and Ursula Bethall collection) can be seen at: https://unescomow.nz/new-zealand-register

The afternoon continued with a discussion on the ethics of the colourisation of black & white photos led by Matthew O’Sullican (Keeper of Photographs, Air Force Museum of New Zealand). The conversation raised all kinds of questions and gave lots of food for thought around not only colourisation but the rise of AI, copyright and how we will deal with collection challenges of the future.

The last session of the day was led by Jonathan Hunt from Catalyst on Linked Data. This included an exercise where we broke into groups and managed to successfully publish some linked data ourselves on NZ artists. It was a technical exercise that pulled some of us out of our comfort zone but again allowed us to broaden our thinking on different aspects of access and metadata outside of our day to day experiences.

Thanks to everyone who helped organise this joint event (Helen Thomas and Matthew O’Sullivan from NDF, Evan Greensides from ARANZ and Joanna Condon from Archives NZ), to the Cantage committee for helping on the day and to all of our presenters. Keep an eye out for our next event and come and join us!

Canterbury Provincial Government Archives inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register

Last year, on the 24 November, archivists from the Ōtautahi Christchurch Regional Office of Archives New Zealand officially celebrated the inscription of the Canterbury Provincial Government Archives to the UNESCO Aotearoa New Zealand Memory of the World Register!

Arguably the largest and most comprehensive provincial government archives that remain, the Canterbury Provincial Government Archives are a rich resource for research, documenting the provincial government’s administration in many areas such as immigration, public works (including railways), education and social welfare.

Sketch showing storm damage to Camp Bay Quarantine Barracks – 1865 [CAAR 19946 ICPW 705/1870 R8418486]

We can hear a wide range of voices within them — from domestic servants to aspiring merchants and the landed gentry. Documents and letters in te reo Māori provide unique insight into the interaction between tangata whenua and the provincial government.

Visit our website to read more about the archives, and check out some of the digitised record

View the Canterbury Provincial Government archives on the UNESCO Memory of the World New Zealand register

Plan of proposed township on the Halswell River – 1858 [CAAR 20410 CP594/d22 R26299938]

If you wish to know more about having taonga inscribed, staff from Archives New Zealand and Macmillan Brown Library, University of Canterbury are giving a talk about the Memory of the World Register and the inscription process on Wednesday 28 February at the Christchurch City Council Civic Offices on Hereford Street.

This is part of the event ‘Active Archives’ and includes a series of talks relating to the heritage and GLAMR sector in the Canterbury region and is a collaboration between NDF, ARANZ and Cantage.

Click here for details and to RSVP to this event.

Highlight on Cheviot Museum

by Kate Nichol

Cheviot Museum is a small community owned Museum, operated with volunteers, and located in the Hurunui District. The Museum holds a substantial amount of local memorabilia and has comprehensive displays including a diorama of the discovery of a large number of moa bones in a swamp East of Cheviot. Much family and local history has been documented and there is a large collection of photographs available for viewing, some dating back to early settlement days.

Cheviot was first put on the map by William ‘Ready Money’ Robinson who established the “The Cheviot Hills Estate” in the mid-1800’s. The estate was bought by the Minister of Lands John McKenzie between 1892 and 1893 and then broken into 54 farms and the township of ‘McKenzie’ which a short time later changed to the name ‘Cheviot’. The Cheviot County Council was formed in 1895.

Our area of interest covers from the Conway to the Hurunui Bridge, from the Gore Bay coastline to the Kaiwara Hills to the west.

We began as a Historical Records Society and in 1978 we opened a purpose-built museum with funds donated by the Community.

Our museum comprises of 4 display rooms, an archives room, an office, and a work room.

Some of the history of our district revolves around Maori history as our bays were used as a feeding ground for when Maori travelled between Akaroa to Kaikoura or to the West Coast.

We have had a number of interesting people in our district including:

• Prime Ministers (George Forbes and Sir Sidney Holland)
• Prominent politician and landowner Andrew Rutherford  
• John Sinclair (1843-1928) – a very gifted man of his time, an artist, photographer, engineer, cartographer and carpenter.
• The group of Cheviot women who won sections in the Land Ballot of 1893 (an amazing feat for those days).

Then we have our military woman and men:

• Captain Charles Upham, VC & Bar.
• Commander David Bush, D.S.C. R.N.
• Squadron Leader Desmond J. Scott, D.S.O. O.B.E. D.F.C. & Bar.
• Lieutenant (A) C.T. White D.S.C. R.N.Z.V.R.
• Captain Ethel Keys – Wells, Junior Commander A.T.S. O.B.E.

We have many treasures and over 5000 photos, history on our first settlers here in Cheviot, school histories (we once had 8 schools in our district), and the history of many shops and boarding houses.

Copies of photographs and family histories are available at a nominal charge.

Our opening hours are:

Sunday 12:00pm – 3:00pm

Tuesday 12:00pm – 3:00pm

Wednesday 10:00am – 3:00pm

Friday 10:00pm – 3:00pm

Contact details: Kate 021 440 614 or cheviotmuseum@amuri.net

Nurses’ Memorial Chapel

By Wendy Maddocks

The museum is located inside the Nurses’ Memorial Chapel on Riccarton Avenue Christchurch.

The chapel was constructed in 1927 to commemorate the Christchurch Hospital nurses who lost their lives in WW1 and the subsequent influenza epidemic of 1918 (https://www.cnmc.org.nz/). It is believed to be the only chapel built solely to commemorate nurses who have lost their lives in war. The chapel was built using publicly raised money and it was initially integrated into the main hospital building. The building is architecturally significant with a late Gothic Revival structure and Arts & Crafts Movement-inspired interior that incorporates significant works of art, including stained glass windows by Veronica Whall, with the inside made from beautiful timber and a parquet flooring. The stained-glass windows feature different aspects of nursing history and are especially beautiful when the light comes through. My favourite window is of Hester Maclean who was the Matron in Chief of the NZ Army Nursing Service (NZANS)in WW1, and she was an absolutely powerhouse advocating for NZ nurses to be there and supporting them.

The chapel is also the home of the standard of the Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps. The building is extra special as it was nearly lost forever in the Canterbury earthquakes in 2011, which destroyed hundreds of buildings in Christchurch. Structurally the chapel was damaged but miraculously the stained windows were not. The Christchurch City Council funded a $2 million restoration and strengthening project. This included repair of the parquet flooring, which was removed and reinstalled piece by piece. As you walk into the chapel now the aroma of the wood and the special floor polish used to keep the precious parquet flooring in top condition greets you.

Stretching up the chapel aisle is a custom-made carpet which represents the blue of Aegean sea, and the nurses who lost their lives when their transport ship (Marquette) was torpedoed off Salonika on 23 October 1915. As a volunteer I have hand swept this carpet and it truly is a privilege to take time to do this. Every part of the chapel has historical significance as each stained-glass window tells a story and around the walls are plaques commemorating nurses and others associated with Christchurch hospital.

The chapel can be visited on a Wednesday and at weekends from 1-3pm, where volunteers are happy to point out things of interest. It is also possible to just sit quietly in a pew for personal reflection. It can also be used by arrangement for services and functions.

Held within the chapel, in a vestry room at the back is the small museum, which predominantly contains documents and artefacts relating to the WW1 nurses. The main catalogue is online: https://ehive.com/collections/200188/nurses-memorial-chapel-museum-christchurch-nz

Only a portion of the collection is on display at any time due to space constraints, and every item is carefully catalogued and stored and is accessible to researchers by appointment. Some favourite items are the nurses’ instruments given to Sister Vousden by Florence Nightingale in 1890, a wooden handle of a rescue flare carried by a NZ medical orderly on the Marquette as it sunk, and the watch of one of medical orderlies which is stopped at the exact time the Marquette was struck. A particular favourite item of mine is the burial register from the Influenza epidemic which has been digitised and is available to view online. The book makes for sombre reading as whole families are recorded, along with sides notes like “no one present at burial”. It is a poignant and timely reminder of the impact of a pandemic.

The museum is run by a small committee of volunteers and there is a clear collection policy at https://www.cnmc.org.nz/the-chapel/museum/

A lot of work has gone into ensuring moisture control, light protection and pest control measures are implemented to protect the precious taonga (treasures held within). The museum also contains a record of all nurses who completed their training at Christchurch hospital, and a very recent addition is a detailed file with information of all Christchurch trained nurses who served in WW1.

The museum is open at the same time the chapel is. If a visitor or researcher is looking for something in particular, we recommend contacting us in advance so someone can be there to help you with what you need. Go online to https://www.cnmc.org.nz/contact/ and mark your query “For attention – Museum committee”. Documents can be photographed and there are gloves for handling. No items can be removed from the museum.

Outside the chapel is a lovely memorial garden with many plants donated in memory of past nurses. There is also a memorial in memory of the hundreds of animals (mainly mules and horses) who drowned when the Marquette was sunk. The garden is just delightful in spring, full of daffodils and blossom, however summer is also wonderful where either air is full of roses. There are nice places to sit in the garden.

Practical Information

The museum and chapel is free to visit however donations are always welcome to help with the preservation of the building and its treasures. There is also a small stand where blank gift cards and a book about the chapel are for sale. Payment is via cash or eftpos. Stiletto and high heeled shoes are not permitted on the parquet flooring.

The chapel is situated next to the hospital however parking is difficult. It is on main bus routes and buses do stop nearby frequently. There is parking nearby in the hospital grounds (costs money), or you may be lucky to find a park along the busy avenue. The chapel is opposite the North Hagley park which is popular in summer and parking there is also limited. The chapel is a short walk from the Avon river, the heart of Christchurch. Please check the website for details on accessibility considerations.

Facebook: Nurses’ Memorial Chapel

Instagram: nurses.memorial.chapel.museum

Contact: friendsofthechapelnz@gmail.com

Wendy Maddocks is a Nurse Academic/Amateur Historian and museum committee volunteer.

She lives in Christchurch NZ and works at the University of Canterbury (Faculty of Health). Nursing history is a passion. She is currently researching the health of NZ nurses who served in WW1 and has travelled to the battle fields of Western Front & visited UK sites of WW1 NZ hospitals. She is planning at trip to Egypt in the near future to visit other sites of interest to the WW1 Nurse where they cared for thousands of soldiers.

X (formerly twitter)@dr_wendym_RN
Email: wendy.maddocks@canterbury.ac.nz

A Day in the Life of a CCC Archivist: It’s Not Glamorous but it’s Interesting!

Who said being an Archivist was glamorous?  Probably no one, but the latest adventure of Christchurch City Council Archivists Annabel Armstrong-Clarke and Sarah Tester proves that it’s certainly interesting!

A couple of months ago we were contacted by staff working to clear areas of the Pages Road Council site. They told us about some items of interest from what had been removed from Our City (the Old Municipal Council) after the 2011 earthquakes, including several historic Council artefacts.

We visited Pages Road and were surprised to find all sorts of archives and artefacts, including material relating to exhibitions held by Our City, a seal from the Christchurch Drainage Board and a white marble plaque listing the former Mayors of Christchurch, sadly broken into several pieces.

Everything at the site was filthy, made worse by a lot of pigeon poo! The site was so dirty in fact that the CCC Health and Safety team advised us to wear PPE, especially a mask.

We tackled the boxed archive records first. We made the decision to move the material out first and do a throughout appraisal later due to the working conditions at the site. We had no idea what pests might be lurking inside the boxes, so we needed to get it all properly fumigated before we moved it into the Archives Vault at Iron Mountain.

The Christchurch Art Gallery came to our rescue with their dedicated fumigation space. Once fumigation was complete, we drove in convoy to Iron Mountain and spent most of a day going through all the boxes and doing an initial sort. The material is now safely boxed and awaiting listing.

The real challenge, however, was what to do with the larger bulky material as we don’t have proper artifact storage and generally don’t accept them into the collection. One of the items was a seal from the Christchurch Drainage Board. The seal is extremely heavy and came with a table complete with plaques. We don’t have space for a large table but we do hold all of the other Council seals used prior to the 1989 amalgamation so we decided to take this seal to complete the set. CityCare agreed to move the seal for us to Iron Mountain – it took two guys a lot of effort to move it a short distance!

As for the table, Annabel got her drill out and removed the plaques so we could keep them alongside the seal as part of the collection.

The biggest challenge was what to do with the broken marble Mayors plaque. The pieces were stacked on two pallets with pieces of old carpet between them. They, like everything else, were dirty and some had pigeon droppings on them.

We decided that the best way to capture a record of these was to get them professionally photographed. The photographer for the Art Gallery, John Collie, agreed to come out and do this for us. So together, alongside some very helpful and hard working CityCare guys, we pieced the plaque back together to be photographed.

It wasn’t until we had put it all together that we realised a piece was missing. It was such a shame to discover it wasn’t complete but we were pleased to see that it was just some of the cornering detail rather than any of the names.

John worked his magic and photoshopped the missing piece into place, so we now have a photograph that captures close to what it would have looked like originally:

We will also retain the photographs of how it looks now as that’s an important part of capturing its history and status, particularly as the future of the pieces remains uncertain.

It’s been quite an adventure, proving that you never know what is going to happen next when working in Archives! And it was also another great collaborative exercise – a big thanks Nikki Hamilton (CCC Project Manager), Gareth Wright (CCC Heritage Unit), Carla Pike and John Collie from the Christchurch Art Gallery, and Bruce & Gary from CityCare.

Sarah Tester

Christchurch City Council Archivist

Introducing Waimakariri Heritage

Waimakariri Libraries recently launched their new site, Waimakariri Heritage.

This is a  permanent digital archive, which includes books, audio and video files, over 450 images, and an interactive map of the area. This project has been in the works for the past year, and the Waimakariri Libraries team have been working hard to get content onto the platform. 

Image: The Kairaki Camping Ground, 1968.

Waimakariri Heritage is a place to preserve memories and share them with the community. The Waimakariri Libraries team is looking forward to connecting with different groups in the community who want to learn about the area’s history and have memories to share. We are also excited about the potential for students and schools in the area to use the platform as part of the Aotearoa New Zealand Histories curriculum and would encourage student contributions. North Canterbury has a unique history, and the site will enhance connections to our past, present and future.

We are adding new stories and collections all the time and you can also contribute your own memories and comments by registering with the website. We would love your help to identify and name people and places in some of the images in the collection. You will also be able to share your stories – this can be a written memory, oral history or photographs of people, places, events etc. We would love to hear about life in the past and life today!

For further information please email library.heritage@wmk.govt.nz or phone (03) 311 8901.

Upcoming Event: The Canterbury Bibliotheca

Learn about the origins of some of Canterbury’s libraries and reading rooms. Damian Cairns, who cares for rare books and special collections in the Macmillan Brown Library, will share some gems from the University of Canterbury collection and explain the pivotal role The Canterbury Association, and its supporters, had in establishing libraries in Canterbury.

Items will be on display during the talk and if numbers / time permits there will be an opportunity for a tour of the stacks at the Macmillan Brown Library.

Where: University of Canterbury, Undercroft 101 (Beneath the Central Library on the Ilam Campus)

When: 2pm, Thursday November 2, 2023

RSVP: Please rsvp to cantage@gmail.com by 30th October

Parking: Paid parking is available on campus for visitors. Parking options and location of Library on map below.

The Lubeck Bible (1494) Gifted to the Canterbury Association by Arthur Philip Perceval.

Library (Puaka-James Hight) is circled and paid parking options marked.

Exploring the past through Canterbury Stories

Are you tired of the present? Want to meander down memory lane? Interested in doing some research? Or perhaps just to remind yourself what Christchurch looked like before the earthquakes.

Canterbury Stories has over 70,000 digital heritage items for you to explore from home! These include photographs, negatives, maps, videos and archival items relating to Canterbury from the 1850s to the 2020s covering a wide variety of topics.

If you find an item that you can provide more information for or memories about, you can do this. You can add comments and stories so that we all know more about what took place. You just need to create an account and be logged in.

You can also create your own mini collection by gathering items in to a set. You can then share the set with friends and family. To do this, you will need to create an account and be logged in. Come up with a name for your set then search or browse the collections or explore the existing sets to gather the items you want. You can create multiple sets and your set can have up to 450 images, so have fun exploring and gathering! See the Canterbury Stories Contribute page for more information on how to create a set.

Gail and Maeve
Digital Content Team
Christchurch City Libraries

View more images on Canterbury Stories

Highlights of the Rangiora Museum Tour

Thank you to everyone who came out to Rangiora Museum on the 15th August for the first Cantage event since our 2023 reset! It was great to see so many people – and from such a range of organisations so thank you for the support and enthusiasm for the group starting again. We did discuss ideas for of what would be useful for future workshops, events and tours – and announced our next event on 2^nd November at the MacMillan Brown Library at University of Canterbury, details to follow closer to the time.

We had a wonderful presentation from some members of the Rangiora Museum Committee – and a big thank you to John, David and Angela for presenting. It was a really interesting overview of the collection, their family and local history resources (including photos and archives), how they deal with potential accessions and donations, and the research materials specific to their area, such as the Horrell land ownership resource.

David and John gave us an insight into their photo collection which totals around 30,000 images. The collection now includes a new accession – the actual camera local photographer John Miles Verrall used, which has now been donated by his family along with further glass plates. John Miles Verrall farmed at Swannanoa from 1893-1913. He was also an MP and a photographer who was very active in the district, specialising in rural photography. His large glass plate slide collection was already part of the Musuem collection so the camera was an absolute bonus. The Museum now holds more than 5,000 glass plate negatives from Verrall, Charles Jennings and others.

We also had a view into the highlights of their textile collection from Angela – which was fascinating and dates back to the early 1800’s. Angela talked about the challenges of storage and preservation as well as a few highlights including the wedding dress that was featured on TVNZ last year! Also the fabulous knitted outfits from the 1940’s, currently on display, that had been passed to the Museum after being donated to a local second shop.

We then moved on to a tour of the museum and a big thank you to the kind members who provided the lovely morning tea.

To all our members who couldn’t make it the Rangiora Museum is well worth a visit if you are in the area. Opening hours are on their website and they also have an active Facebook page. Any enquiries or questions can be sent to: rangioraearlyrecords@xtra.co.nz.

Thanks once again to Cantage Committee member Sally O’Connell for organising the event, and to the Rangiora Museum for hosting.