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.

Public talk : Rewi Alley Collection, Canterbury Museum

Rewi Alley and a Bronze bust of Alley by Francis A. Shurrock (1887-1977), exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1939. The original bronze cast was lost in enemy action on the way to New Zealand during World War Two. The present bust was recast and donated to Canterbury Museum in 1958 by a group of Alleys’ friends, including Shurrock. It was exhibited at the opening of the Hall of Oriental Art.

New Zealand’s largest collection of Chinese artefacts is now accessible online.

A website documenting and describing the 1,378 objects in the Rewi Alley Collection at Canterbury Museum has been developed by researchers in the first stage of a three-year Marsden-funded project.

Dr Bullen will give a free public talk about Rewi Alley and the Canterbury Museum Collection at 10.15 am to 11.30 am on Tuesday 3 May 2016 at Canterbury Museum.

New Zealand’s largest collection of Chinese artefacts is now available for the public to view in its entirety for the first time.

A website documenting and describing the 1,378 objects in the Rewi Alley Collection at Canterbury Museum has been developed by researchers in the first stage of a three-year Marsden-funded project.

Dr Richard Bullen (University of Canterbury and Canterbury Museum Research Fellow) and Associate Professor James Beattie (University of Waikato) are investigating the scope of the Alley Collection, why and how it developed and whether the gifting and display of artefacts encouraged favourable perceptions of a ‘New China’ in New Zealand during the Cold War.

Springfield-born Alley visited China in 1927 out of curiosity. He stayed for the rest of his life, only occasionally returning to New Zealand. He donated his first objects to Canterbury Museum in 1932. In 1956 then Canterbury Museum Director Roger Duff visited China and brought back a large collection from Alley. Alley brought more objects during trips to New Zealand in the 1960s and 1970s but more often relied on an extensive social network of New Zealanders visiting China to deliver objects to Duff on their return home.

Dr Bullen says, “The website brings together, in one publicly accessible place, a unique collection spanning 5,000 years of Chinese art and culture. Many of the objects are very old and very rare and we’ve discovered some surprises, for example a painting by important twentieth century Chinese painter Li Keran.”

Saluting the Sacrifice

The Parish of Opawa- St Martins is pleased to be able to host ” Saluting the Sacrifice” in which four speakers will talk on aspects of the First World War.

Sarah Murray ( Curator of Human History at the Canterbury Museum) will speak on “Remnants of War; legacies of World War One through the Collections of the Canterbury Museum”, Simon Moody ( Research Office at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand) will speak on “New Zealanders and the War in the Air 1914-18”, Warren Lidstone’s ( Head of History, Christ’s College) talk is entitled “Then and Now” Jane Teal ( Archivist Christ’s College) will speak about Anglican Chaplains.

Where: St Mark’s Hall Opawa Rd, entrance from Vincent Place

When: Thursday 2nd October 2014 7.00pm-9.15pm

Cost: Gold coin koha

Please email the parish office opawastmartins@clear.net.nz if you plan to attend, for catering purposes.

Beyond the Cordon – the Red Zones through the eyes of the New Zealand Police Photographers

Canterbury Museum in collaboration with the New Zealand Police, proudly presents Beyond the Cordon – the Red Zones through the eyes of the New Zealand Police Photographers.

Canterbury Police Acting District Commander Superintendent Andy McGregor says the exhibition captures a unique perspective on this significant event in New Zealand history.

“Our Police photographers were an integral part of the emergency response, but also found themselves in a privileged position to be able to capture these remarkable images,” he says.

“This exhibition is a great opportunity for the work of Police photographers to gain wider recognition, and also to present in pictures the story of the outstanding emergency services response to the quake.”

Museum Director Anthony Wright says the exhibition features remarkable imagery of devastation, rescue and recovery following the 22 February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, the largest emergency response ever seen in New Zealand, including some images which have never before been on public display.

Access to Canterbury Museum research collections

Pre-booked access to Canterbury Museum’s collections will now be available on the third Monday of every month. This access will be provided on a ‘first in, first served’ basis. As bookings are likely to fill up fast, we ask that contact be made well in advance. This approach has been trialled over the last three months and the feedback we have received has been overwhelmingly positive.

If you would like to arrange access to the Museum’s collections please email your specific request to info@canterburymuseum.com or telephone the Museum on 03 366 5000

Please note that while we will endeavour to provide access to collections as requested, there may be some items that are unable to be retrieved at this time. These include much of the material previously held in the Documentary Research Centre, including pictorial file prints and portraits.

25 July 2013
Canterbury Museum

Canterbury Museum’s new website

Canterbury Museum has launched a new website. Visitors to canterburymuseum.com will discover a site with a modern and easy to navigate interface that allows the Museum’s exhibitions and events to be more effectively promoted.

Information about the Museum’s Documentary Research Centre can be found under Collections and Research where you can also download forms to order images from the collections. Recent acquisitions are profiled on the site and the Museum’s collecting themes are explained.

The new site also includes a floor plan, latest news, and information to help teachers and community groups plan their visit. The enhancement of the website is an ongoing project, more features and areas of information will be added on a regular basis, so be sure to keep coming back to see what’s new.

Te Hokinga Mai Exhibition at Robert McDougall Gallery

Ngaī Tahu Whānui, people of Te Waipounamu (South Island), and Canterbury Museum are proud to present Te Hokinga Mai.

The return home of the Te Papa developed exhibition Mō Tātou: The Ngāi Tahu Whānui Exhibition is celebrated with the complementary exhibition Mō Kā Uri: Taonga from Canterbury Museum. Mō Kā Uri showcases Canterbury Museum‟s rich collection of Ngāi Tahu taonga alongside contemporary artwork by leading Ngāi Tahu artists.

Many of the artefacts on display as part of Mō Kā Uri are being exhibited for the first time.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Mark Solomon says the exhibition is a celebration of Ngāi Tahu culture, both past and present, with a focus on Waitaha (the Canterbury region) and Tai Poutini (the West Coast).

“More than a million people have seen part of the exhibition and now it is time to share Te Hokinga Mai, which is especially for the people of Canterbury and the West Coast. It tells the stories of our history, celebrates our contemporary artists and looks forward to our future.”

Canterbury Museum Director Anthony Wright says Te Hokinga Mai is the biggest cultural exhibit of Ngāi Tahu arts ever and with the addition of Mō Kā Uri, is considerably larger than the Te Papa exhibition.

“For the first time, more than 200 objects of cultural importance spanning more than 600 years of Southern Māori tradition and lifestyle will be on display,” Anthony Wright says.

The name Te Hokinga Mai (“the return home‟) pays homage to the Te Māori exhibition, and celebrates the 25th anniversary of this iconic exhibition‟s return home after its successful tour of the United States. The Robert McDougall Gallery was the first venue to show Te Māori on its return to Aotearoa.

Te Hokinga Mai

Featuring
Mō Tātou: The Ngāi Tahu Whānui Exhibition
Mō Kā Uri: Taonga from Canterbury Museum
20 February – 20 June 2010

Banks’ Florilegium on display

Plate 432, Clianthus puniceus, Banks' Florilegium, reproduced courtesy of Macmillan Brown Library, University of Canterbury, New Zealand

As part of the Christchurch Festival of Flowers, Macmillan Brown Library has provided a rare opportunity to view Banks’ Florilegium.  This magnificent set of prints  come from the copperplate engravings of plants collected by Joseph Banks on Captain Cook’s Endeavour voyage.  were donated to the  University of Canterbury by the late artist William Sutton and are part of the Macmillan Brown Library collection .

The 2009 Festival of Flowers, in partnership with the Canterbury Museum, will provide a rare opportunity to view a selection of copperplate engravings of plants collected by Joseph Banks on Captain James Cook’s 1769-1771 voyage on the H.M.S. Endeavour. The copperplate engravings, usually held at the Macmillan Brown Library at the University of Canterbury, were gifted to the library by painter William Sutton.

The 20th Anniversary of the Festival of Flowers will be the first time Set 6 of 100 has been publicly exhibited. The exhibition will also feature Landcare Research’s oldest plant samples collected by Banks and Solander during Captain Cook’s first voyage.

Banks’ Florilegium, curated by Melinda Johnston, will provide locals and visitors to the city an opportunity to delve further into the method, botanical accuracy and history of the Florilegium collection in the one-of-a-kind surroundings of the Robert McDougall Gallery at the Canterbury Museum. The Gallery will also be the venue for lectures provided by UC Community Education on a range of topics related to the exhibition.

Out of the Darkroom

Dr Alfred Charles Barker (1819-1873)

Canterbury Museum was recently gifted a significant collection relating to Dr Alfred Charles Barker (1819-1873) who was ship’s surgeon on board the Charlotte Jane, but is better known for his remarkable photography.

The collection includes photographs of family and Canterbury scenes, diaries on board the Charlotte Jane and correspondence between various family members. The Barker children’s letters to their uncle Matthias during the 1860s provide an engaging record of childhood in colonial Canterbury. Letters from Alfred’s son Samuel Delabere Barker’s describe a perilous journey in Africa during the 1870s, his shaky handwriting showing the effects of malaria.

An exhibition titled Out of the Darkroom: Dr A.C. Barker, Photographer and Family Man will open at the Museum on 4 April 2009, showcasing items from the new collection. Public tours of the exhibition will run as part of Archives Week in May. These will be held in the Visitor Lounge on 6 May, 10.00am and 11.30am and 12 May, 6.00 – 7.00pm. Free admission, bookings are essential: phone 366 9429 ext 817 or email discovery@canterburymuseum.com.

Upcoming Event

Cantage and Aoraki LIANZA are teaming up to bring you a tour of Christ’s College Library and the Canterbury Museum Documentary Research Centre. This presents a unique opportunity to have a behind the scenes peek at two very interesting organisations.

When – Wednesday 18 February

Time – Canterbury Museum Documentary Research Centre tour starts at 4.30, Christ’s College Library tour starts at 5.30.

The tour is free, and you can come along to both places, or just one. Meet outside the main entrance on Rolleston Avenue.

Please register your interest with me erin.kimber@canterbury.ac.nz or jane.mordecai@tvnz.co.nz