ARCHIFACT S

Bulletin of the Archives and Records Association of New Zealand

1987/1 Archlfacts is the official bulletin of the Archives and Records Association of New Zealand Incorporated. It continues the bulletin of the same title, previously published by the Archives Committee of the New Zealand Library Association, 9 issues of which appeared between April 1974 and October 1976. The successor "new series" contained 24 issues (nos. 4 S 5, 7 S S were combined) with consecutive pagination from February 1977 to December 1982. From March 1983, issues of the bulletin are numbered sequentially within the year of publication, with the pagination commencing afresh with each issue. Currently, ArchifactS is published quarterly, at the end of March, June, September and December.

Subscriptions to ArchifactS are through membership of the Association at the current rates. Copies of individual issues are available at NZ $6-00 per copy, plus postage. Reprints of issues 1974-76 are available at $7-50 per copy.

The membership year begins with the June issue and ends with the March issue.

Enquiries concerning the content of ArchifactS (including advertising), non-receipt of an issue (or receipt of an imperfect copy), and requests for back or single issues, should be addressed to the Editor.

All members (and others) are welcome to submit articles, short notices, letters, etc. to the Editor. Copy deadline is the 15th of the month preceding publication (i.e., 15 May for the June issue, etc.). Book reviews should be sent directly to the Reviews Editor; details of accessions directly to the Accessions Co-ordinator.

EDITOR: Cathy Marr, P.O. Box 11-553, Manners Street, Wellington.

EDITORIAL BOARD : Nicola Frean, National Archives, P.O. Box 5148, Wei 1ington.

Ken Scadden, National Archives, P.O. Box 6148, Wellington.

Jane Tucker, National Archives, P.O. Box 6148, Wei 1ington.

Michael Hoare, 58 Beauchamp Street, Linden, Wei 1ington.

Hugh Price, 53 Glasgow Street, Kelburn, Wellington.

REVIEWS EDITOR: Richard Greenaway, 1 Snell Place, Dal 1ington, Christchurch 6.

ACCESSIONS CO-ORDINATOR Bruce Ralston, Manuscripts Section, Alexander Turnbull Library, P.O. Box 12-349, Wei 1ington.

Copyright for articles &c. in Archifacts rests with authors and the Association. Permission to reproduce should be sought, in writing, from the Editor. ISSN 0303-7940 CONTENTS EDITORIAL 1

NOTICE OF PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE 2

COUNCIL NOTES 2

RECORDS GROUP 2

LOCAL BODY ARCHIVES AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT - THE AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL EXPERIENCE - THE FIRST SIX MONTHS Bruce Symondson 3

A MAORI PERSPECTIVE ON ARCHIVAL WORK Buddy Mikaere 9

GENEALOGICAL CONFERENCE IN WELLINGTON Bruce Ra-|Ston 10

ARCHIVES OF THE NEW ZEALAND RAILWAY AND LOCOMOTIVE SOCIETY

INCORPORATED R- J- Meyer n

THE DAIRY RECORDS COLLECTION IN MASSEY UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Sheryl Morgan 14

MASSEY UNIVERSITY GATHERS ITS ARCHIVES Keith Carwel1-Cooke 15

BRANCH REPORTS - Auckland 17 - Canterbury/Westland (and Conference Progress Report) 17 - Central Districts 18 - Otago/Southland 18 9 - Wei 1ington 1

ACCESSIONS 20

ANALECTA 23

CYCLONE RELIEF IN THE COOK ISLANDS Ken Scadden 25

BOOK REVIEWS James Belich. The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian interpretation of racial conflict (Eric PawSOn) 26 Tauiwi; racism and ethnicity in New Zealand,

edited by P. Spoonley and others. (Buddy Mikaere) 28

Angela Bailara. Proud to be white? Ά survey of pakeha prejudice in New Zealand (Kay Sanderson) 29 Barry Gustafson. The first 50 years: a history of the New Zealand National Party (Michael Cullen) 30

John McLeod. Myth and reality; the New Zealand soldier in world war il (Jim Sullivan) 31

A OBJECTS OF THE ASSOCIATION

1. TO FOSTER the care, preservation, and proper use of archives and records, both public and private, and their effective administration. 2. TO AROUSE public awareness of the importance of archives and records and in all matters affecting their preservation and use, and to co-operate or affiliate with any other bodies in New Zealand or elsewhere with like objects.

3. TO PROMOTE the training of archivists, records keepers, curators, librarians and others by the dissemination of specialised knowledge and by encouraging the provision of adequate training in the administration and conservation of archives and records.

4. TO ENCOURAGE research into problems connected with the use, administration and conservation of archives and records, and to promote the publication of the results of this research.

5. TO PROMOTE the standing of archives institutions.

6. TO ADVISE and support the establishment of archives services throughout New Zealand.

7. TO PUBLISH a bulletin at least once a year and other publications in furtherance of these objects.

MEMBERSHIP Membership of the Association is open to any individual or institution interested in fostering the objects of the Association. Subscription rates for 1987 are:

within New Zealand $NZ 19-00* ...... c $NZ 28-00 t,nr,c

overseas $NZ 24-00 ^^duals $NZ 32_00 mstitutions Overseas members who wish airmail dispatch of notices and bulletins will need to advise their requirements. The additional fee will depend on current postal charges.

Applications to join the Association, membership renewals and correspondence on related matters should be addressed to:

The Membership Secretary ARANZ P.O. Box 11-553 Manners Street Wellington NEW ZEALAND

*For two individuals living at the same address (within New Zealand) a joint membership is available at $NZ 22-00 per year which entitles both people to full voting rights at meetings, but provides only one copy of each issue of ArchifactS.

Β 1987/1 March 1987

ARCHIFACT S

Bulletin of the Archives and Records Association of New Zealand

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW9

In English nursery-rhyme mythology, such a question was once put to 'Mary Mary quite contrary' and, upon reflection, it is a question which ARANZ now in its eleventh year of archival cultivation might well pose to itself Many members will recall the archives retrospect at the tenth anniversary conference last August in Wellington when Ian Wards fruitfully reflected on a decade of work in his opening address

Few will deny that, although sometimes 'quite contrary' and thus controversial, ARANZ has made a noteworthy contribution to the users', professionals' and interested lay-person's public debate on archival and related matters m this country

Not all in the garden is rosy We still lack a worthy Archives Act The cold winds of economic austerity seem to threaten our heritage of specialist collections and collectors At the same time the user may have to pay even more dearly to view or consult archives, newspapers, manuscripts, maps, rare books, art, films and even microfilms

Nevertheless, ARANZ and its causes continue to strengthen and grow Membership is up in over two years by some 200, and an active new branch has been formed in the Central Districts of the North Island New opportunities are rapidly developing in the field of records and information management, and in response to this, a new group has formed within ARANZ to meet this interest Users continue to display an increasing awareness of our archival treasures The New Zealand Film Archive reported for 1986 one of its most active years of accessionings, screenings and preservation vet In general there has never been such an interest in things archival and developments in information management as now

The moral is, perhaps, that patience and eternal vigilance are the greatest virtues for all gardeners ARANZ and associated organisations must practise the same for as long as it takes to ensure that we leave an inheritance worthy of Aotearoa's future

* * * 2

NOTICE OF PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE Following the AGM resolution of August 1986, the Council of ARANZ hereby gives notice that it will move to amend the Constitution as below at the next Annual General Meeting in Christchurch, 1987

Clause 8 'The members of the Council shall be the President, 2 Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Editor, Membership secretary and seven Councillors The Council except for the Editor and Membership secretary shall be elected at its Annual General Meeting for a term of one year [continue to end of clause unchanged] '

Clause 9 'The Editor and Membership secretary shall be appointed by the Council and

Shall be members Of the Council ex-officio '

(Proposed changes m italics)

COUNCIL NOTES

The last Council meeting was held on 13 February 1987 The editor's report was tabled and the proposed editorial board approved It was agreed that quotations would be sought for the production of Archifacts

The issue of spokespersons and committees was raised and it was agreed that the policy committee would prepare an option paper with recommendations for the next meeting

Progress was reported on Archives legislation, and on planning for the 1987 Conference in Christchurch Branch reports were received from Canterbury/West!and, Wellington and Central districts Finance and membership reports and a final report on the 1986 Conference were tabled The next meeting will be held on 1 May 1987

RECORDS GROUP The second meeting of the newly formed iRecords Group was held on Monday evening, 9 March, at the Conference Room, Police National Headquarters Thirty people attended the meeting, chaired by Alison Fraser It was decided to continue to hold meetings on Monday evenings from 5 15pm and to join the membership of the Archives and Records Association of New Zealand Suggestions from those attending will be used to plan a programme of meetings for the coming year Chris Burns from the State Services Commission addressed the meeting on the topic of 'The Acton Report - eight months on' Chris spoke to the recommendations of the report and explained what action the Commis- sion has taken on them A lively session of questions and discussion followed, includ- ing further questions about the Commission and and its likely role and in particular, the issue of training Rosemary Collier also spoke on the International Records Management Council and further volunteers were added to the committee organising future meetings

Anyone interested in finding out more or having their name on the mailing list should contact Alison Fraser - 5 Pimble Avenue Karon, phone Wellington 764565 3

LOCAL BODY ARCHIVES AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT - THE AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL EXPERIENCE - THE FIRST SIX MONTHS

The appointment of new staff responsible for archives and records management within Auckland City Council was probably inevitable The timing of the appointment, and the specific responsibilities of the position created were, however, the result of pres- sures, needs and events in three areas - the archival background, the managerial back- ground, and the administrative structure within Council \

The background

The centennial history (1) made clear to many the volume and value of older Council records, but, as has frequently been true, the writing of a centennial history did not in itself result in the creation of an archival function The "manuscript tradition" of the New Zealand Room of the Auckland Public Library meant that, as pressure on accommodation mounted, older records were sent to the library and kept in good order on shelves More significant than both these factors were the changes to the Local Government Act (2) and the activities of the Northern Archives and Records Trust(NART), which resulted in considerable "consciousness-raising" in the Auckland region

At the management level of the Council an important development was the appoint- ment of the present Town Clerk, Bruce Anderson He is a firm believer in corporate management, and so the role of the Corporate Management Group (the five senior execu- tives) in the decision-making process was emphasised He believed that the Council's records systems, regardless of their individual effectiveness, were unnecessarily diverse in procedures, and insufficiently linked

The Secretarial Department (headed by the City Secretary) was responsible for records concerned with meetings of Council (and its committees and sub-committees) and the executive functions of the City Secretary, Town Clerk and Associate Town Clerk Consequently the system is small, but with a high proportion of policy and administra- tively important papers Its functioning had been the source of dissatisfaction for some time In addition to these concerns relating to current records, disposal and archival responsibilities were becoming more urgent, and were regarded by the Town Clerk as solvable only by a corporate approach tackling the Council as a whole There was recognition therefore of a number of problems in the records and archives area, and the probability that not all the expertise required would be found within Council Even so an appointment was not immediate, nothing is done these days without analysis and reports

Records reform

The Works Department is the largest in the Auckland City Council, and has the largest records system With the most developed finding aids, it has traditionally had the most efficient system in Council, and consequently has to some extent served a corporate function not originally intended The Works records clerk wrote two reports about the situation The first looked at records corporately and in it the variety of systems was established, and deficiencies noted in general terms For the first time the concept of a unified approach to, and in, all Council's systems was proposed The second report was concerned specifically with the Secretarial system, the basic flaws were analysed and reforms recommended Together the reports constituted a detailed statement of the problems and possible solutions, in the area of current records A third report resulted from a'contract arrangement with the then regional archivist of National Archives, Mark Stevens To some extent it repeated the two previous reports, but it also covered very effectively the areas of records disposal and archives, addressing thus in a single report all the areas of concern

There were ten specific recommendations in the third report, including the appoint- ment of a Records Manager responsible to the Town Clerk, and an Archivist responsible 4

to the City Librarian These two recommendations were telescoped into a position of Records and Administrative Archives Manager responsible to the City Secretary, to which the author was later appointed The job has four main areas of responsibility -

(1) To rationalise the diversity of records procedures within Council, and the linkages between the records systems

(2) Disposal programmes

(3) Archives

(4) Secretarial Department's records

It is important to note that only the fourth is not directly corporate in scope (see appendix for job description)

Tackling the job priorities and policy

In my first month there were three main concerns

(1) Becoming familiar with the Secretarial records

(2) Drafting a records and archives policy (3)

(3) Visits to senior officers to familiarise them with me personally, and my function

To some extent a records and archives policy was implicit in the reports that preceded my appointment, but the policy still required elaboration and formal approval

The policy had four parts

(1) Objectives, (2) Definitions, (3) Analysis of current situation, (4) Programme of Work Priorities, itself divided into records management, records disposal, and archives

There were four objectives

(1) To furnish accurate and complete information when and where it was required in order to manage and operate the Council efficiently and economically

(2) To process and handle recorded information as efficiently and economically as possible

(3) By a programme of records disposal schedules ensure that records were stored in a way that reflected their value and are retained only as long as they are needed

(4) To develop and control an Archives to house records of permanent value for administrative and other reasons

Definitions were included of record, the life cycle of records, an archives, records disposal, and a disposal schedule These definitions served two main purposes - firstly, to fix in people's minds what might be unfamiliar concepts, and thereby avoid confusion in the body of the report, and secondly, in 'record' for example, define the term widely to avoid any restrictions on the scope of the work

In the analysis of the current situation I saw eight possible problem areas, and it is fair to say that all exist to some degree at the Auckland City Council

(1) Classification systems which do not reflect current responsibilities, and/or poor methods of indexing, resulting in low retrieval rates, and lowered expectations of effectiveness

(2) The development of private or parallel systems, by individuals and sections, which would not be needed if the primary system was improved to meet users' needs 5

(3) Current responsibility for records is diffuse and records staff are largely un- trained

(4) Insufficient co-ordination between systems with respect to classification, filing procedures and equipment, with the result that one department's experiences do not help others

(5) There is little or no professional management or control of semi-current records

(6) There is very limited planning or co-ordination with respect to disposal of records

(7) While the Council has many records of archival value they are not arranged or controlled in a way that provides for their long-term preservation or for ready access by administrators or researchers

(8) All the above problems are related to the general lack of professional management or control within and between the records systems

The main part of the Policy Statement, in terms of length, was the work programme Essentially a list of precise work objectives, with a priority rating, there were ten objectives for records disposal, sixteen for records management, and four for archives This spread gives a good indicaiton of how I saw my priorities in the first twelve months

At first sight the full list is daunting, and would appear to be far more than one person could achieve in one year There are, however, a couple of subtleties built in In areas such as surveying of records and drafting of schedules the departments will be doing a lot of the work for me In some areas, such as forms design, I have staked a claim, with the hope that on occasions I will be consulted regarding new forms On many topics the programme says 'initiate' rather than 'complete', as with the defini- tions I preferred to spread the net wide, rather than restrict by omission

The reports preceding my appointment, and my job description, gave me a good idea of what the Council expected, but there was the risk that I had the balance wrong between the four main areas of responsibility, or that such a detailed document was not what management was looking for, or that the long list of actual and potential responsi- bilities was the wrong approach A draft version of the policy was discussed informally with the City Secretary, Town Clerk, and Associate Town Clerk A number of modifica- tions were made, all concerned with shifts of emphasis here and there, and nuances of expression The document then went through Corporate Management Group without revision, with the exception of one proposal regarding the machinery of consultation with records staff This allowed me to breathe freely again

I did subsequently draft a memorandum (approved by the Town Clerk) that listed the six points of the work programme that were to be regarded as vital, and on which performance was to be judged The six points were

Records disposal

(1) In exercise of the authority established by the job description of the Records and Administrative Archives Manager, as approved by the Corporate Management Group, "to plan and implement a records disposal system" (duty 7)

(a) Establish by questionnaire what records disposal takes place on a regular basis, what is the procedure 'and authority involved

(b) Immediately approve all existing disposals that have no archival value

(c) Review existing disposals that may have archival value suspend those that show evidence of possible archival value, and approve the rest

(2) Institute surveys by all departments of all semi-current record caches, establishing class, type, volume, time period covered, administrative value, archival 6

value, and whether or not the same records in the same form exist as current records

(a) Complete disposal of semi-current and non-current records which do not exist in current form, so far as possible by one-off schedules

(b) Complete disposal of non-current records, of an age clearly beyond administra- tive value, where records of the same type exist as current records, approval by one-off schedules

(3) Establish control over the storage of semi-current records, limiting storage to agreed areas that are separate to areas for archives

Records management

(4) Review of City Secretary's records system, make proposals for improvements in areas of classification, filing procedures, file covers, equipment, indexing, retrieval of files, etc

(5) Survey existing records management practices in each department, looking in a general way at classification, indexing, retrieval, etc with a satisfaction rating on each point

To be completed jointly by each department and Records Manager

(6) Establish feasibility of standardised practices in all departments with regard to file covers, storage equipment, opening and closing of files, microfilm standards and readers, etc

This I think brings us to what was actually done in the first six months, beyond produce further reports To be completely honest the results have been mixed, and there have been some disappointments

Physical conditions

There is a basement storage area that was literally "chocka" all the shelves were full, floor to ceiling, and an odd assortment of cartons was piling up around the floor There was a considerable volume of entirely routine records, especially financial, that had only been retained because no-one had thrown them out I took the decision early on that nothing would be cleared out in a rapid, ad hoc fashion, that all destruction would only be in terms of a sophisticated disposal schedule For reasons that are discussed below progress in developing the schedules has been slower than I would like or had planned

A vital priority was the up-grading of the City Secretary's records system This suffered from three main problems - a poor classification system, poor finding aids, and untrained and insufficient staff Unplanned difficulties have been two-fold - firstly the records clerk has been obliged to take several weeks' sick leave, during which periods I have done that job, secondly Repetitive Strain Injury has meant that major typing jobs have been delayed There was a strong temptation to close off the current system immediately as an irredeemable "disaster area", and replace it with a better one I decided against this for three reasons

Firstly, key users wanted improvements now, i e with the records that actually existed Secondly, I had not previously been responsible for current records, and lacked experience of the local government setting consequently, I had reservations regarding my ability to implement a very much better system immediately Thirdly, even if I could, the full benefits of an entirely new system would not be felt for some time

The upgrading of the present system involved two approaches Firstly, there were the two finding aids The list of file titles was in many places barely readable, as over the years the type had smudged in contact with the plastic covers of the pages It was also very untidy with numerous deletions, amendments and additions Further examination showed several entries to be entirely inaccurate, and file titles had been 7

listed, but the files never opened What I had initially thought to be a simple tidying up required a file-by-file comparison between the actual files and the list This took almost two weeks The card index lacked rules respecting format of the entries and when one should be made I was unimpressed as an archivist, and dread to think what the reaction of a librarian would have been' Only minor reforms were made, obviously unhelpful cards being discarded, and new cards being added to a standard format only when clearly needed

Secondly, within the realisation that the system would be closed off and replaced, some improvements to the classification system were made Obsolete headings and files were closed For the first time some subjects and individual files had scope notes created Where demand justified it, new file titles were created to rationalise filing and improve access Two obvious examples - a single file that included many Acts and Bills was broken up so that each piece of legislation had its own file, an Aotea Centre file, possibly the most active of the system, was broken up into fifteen separate files Staff unfamilîarity with the forms-design function on the word processors, and Repetitive Strain Injury, meant that a completed new list of file titles was further delayed The result was that a necessary operation took far longer than I had planned, and delayed progress on even vital corporate responsibilities

Conclusions

In reviewing the first six months of records management work I have come to the following general conclusions

(1) In the face of unexpected problems I was not ruthless enough in creating time for the corporate responsibilities

(2) I will have to make wider use of work scheme/student/agency assistance than I had planned

(3) Grounds for optimism exist in the support I have received from three quarters

ι) Senior management

n) The City Secretary

m) Staff of other departments

Some of you are probably wondering what has happened regarding the Archives They have been little mentioned because little has happened This was a deliberate choice in terms of my priorities Putting it bluntly, what had been left for many years could be left a few more while I spent time on records management jobs that would yield more rapid and visible improvements in the records more frequently used by Council staff My exact title is Records and Administrative Archives Manager With the telescoping into one the two jobs proposed by Mark Stevens, I am responsible only to the City Secretary, and not in any way to the City Librarian A decision to house the Council's archives in the Central Library was made prior to my appointment, and this stands Just how this will work has not yet been looked at m any detail In a strict sense the Council has an archivist, but no archives It does have large volumes of older records in the library, town hall, and administration building, which includes much material of archival value, intermixed ,with even more material which is not

Finally a few words in honour of Pat French and the staff of the New Zealand Room of the Auckland Public Library Because the space was available they have housed over two hundred metres of records, most of which is of archival value, and much of which might not otherwise have survived Frequently it was offered by departments on short notice, on a 'we don't need it, you can have it if you want it' basis They lacked both staff and responsibility to do more, even so shelving in sequence, for example, pre-1912 valuation rolls allows some access, even in the absence of a list If it were not for Pat French's efforts the situation would undoubtedly be much worse It is however one of the frustrating points regarding my job, not always appreciated by people who have heard of my appointment, that purely historical enquiries do not receive a significantly better or quicker reply than they did prior to my appointment A situation 8

also that is not likely to change in the very near future.

Bruce Symondson Auckland.

(1) Bush G.M.A., Decently and in Order - The Centennial History of the Auckland City council. Collins. 1971

(2) Local Government Act 1974 (Section 256 and following, as amended in 1977), and the Gazette notice of 5 June 1980 p. 1695.

(3) See Arahifacts 1985/3, supplement.

This paper was originally presented to the 1985 ARANZ Conference.

- Auckland City Council~sub basement storage of archives and semi-current records, showing a variety of storage styles which are slowly being eliminated. 9

A HAORI PERSPECTIVE ON ARCHIVAL WORK (Summary of an address given at the Annual Meeting of the Canterbury/Westland Branch in April 1986)

About 1850, more Maori than Pakeha in New Zealand on a proportionate basis, could read and write, and the result for us is the tremendous wealth of Maori language literary and historical manuscripts held in the Turnbull Library, in the Hocken Library, in the Auckland Public Library, the Auckland Institute and Museum, and in smaller collections scattered around the country But the 1850s also signalled the end of an era when the Pakeha lived close to the Maori, were more or less subject to Maori law, and spoke Maori, and with it ended an intellectual exchange which had promoted a certain amount of understanding and respect there has been the sad case of the missionary Thomas Kendall who began to write letters in defence of Maori thought, and George Grey's mag- nificent collection of waiata and traditions was a labour of love, born out of recog- nition of the quality of the literature

The wars of the 1860s blighted the early flowering of Maori writing Even Maori on the Government side were defeated, because after the wars the Maori way of life was reshaped by Pakeha law and government Many Maori felt negative about themselves, and people lacking in self-esteem do not record, write or create As a result, the amount of twentieth century writing by Maori people is small while the vast nineteenth century body has more or less passed out of remembrance When Maori celebrate the oral tra- dition, they often do so unaware of the taonga of which the people are guardians

Archivists fortunate enough to have such material in their charge are the keepers of a treasure house still waiting to be unlocked These collections represent a source of historical material, largely untapped, which offers a different and balancing per- spective on the history of Aotearoa Contemporary New Zealand historical writing is based almost entirely on Pakeha sources written from a Pakeha perspective, and these inevitably distort the past Te Ua Haumene, for example, who in the 1860s founded the Hauhau religion, has been depicted as either a merciless savage, or a harmless lunatic But an examination of his extensive writings and those of his contemporaries shows a highly intelligent man who sought to found a church based on the teachings of the Bible Because the current Maori assertiveness has awoken New Zealanders to the realisation that our history has been misrepresented, for future New Zealand historians, the additional skills of competency in the reading and writing of classical Maori will be essential

To service the collections within their care, it seems that the professional archivists will also need a sound grounding in classical written Maori, and it is as well to be aware of developments ,

In traditional Maori society knowledge was handed down orally and to some extent, this is still true today But although tipuna, through rigorous training, could hold in their mind much more than people in a literate society, nevertheless the capacity of an oral society to store information was limited Neither was the information fixed and unchanging Oral tradition is concerned to validate present political power set-ups and irrelevant or unsupportive facts are simply dropped In Canterbury for example, there is a seventeenth century saga of the sons of Tuahuriri One of them, Moki, played a leading role in the conquest of the South Island But the surviving traditions con- cerning Moki are sprinkled with examples of his setbacks and defeats, of his being out- smarted, and eventually killed by his enemies' magic Despite Moki's obvious leadership role, his achievements and status are belittled, and the reason is that the traditions were collected from a hapu which was powerful in the nineteenth century, and wanted to emphasise its independent mana

I note with concern recent suggestions by Michael King, of all people, that perhaps the oral record is still the correct method for 'preserving' Maori history, that is, for keeping it a-historical and selective This represents an attempt to shut Maori into a little box labelled 'the past' and to give the key to a power group of Maori men - the traditional holders of knowledge While this might seem exotic and romantic to some Pakeha, many Maori would resent Pakeha support for this denial of democracy 10

There is no other modern society whose history is recorded orally, so why should Maori history be recorded in this manner7 Maoris are, in defiance of the nineteenth century view that they were a dying race and all that remained was to 'smooth their dying pillow', a flourishing and modern people, and demand for their history the same standard of empirical proof which King, like every historian, absolutely demands for the history of Western society

It is sad to record that with the emphasis on oral tradition, the ability to read classical Maori is being lost As I said earlier, the key to the manuscript collections is competence in classical, or nineteenth century Maori, but this leads into other problem areas For the majority of people, the old language cannot be translated with- out scholarly training in the field, the few Maori people who are competent are now old, so there has to be an academic stand-by Archivists should not assume that any Maori can read/translate Maori, and worse, apply the article of faith that any Maori opinion on Maori texts is better than the most professional Pakeha opinion You would not expect any old Pakeha to be able to teach English but there is a widespread assump- tion that any Maori speaker can teach/read/translate Maori That assumption might be racist Its underlying idea is that Maori is such a low status thing that you do not need to be an expert or a specialist to do it

An example of the results of this attitude from the archival field is a trans- lation done by a Maori person of a text which the translation suggests is about New Zealand 'knees' In fact it was a dissertation on New Zealand 'laws' - the two words in Maori are similar tun knees, ture laws No expert could make such a mistake, and my point is that for translations of European languages only an expert would have been engaged

But it is right now that,Maori need the information on their past It is right now that Maori need to know how active their ancestors were in recording their history and literature and in dealing with their political situation after conquest by the Pakeha If this were more generally known, Maoris would have a cause for pride based on hard evidence rather than, as sometimes happens, on the idealisation of the past Therefore I plead with you guardians of the past not to lock it away from bona fide scholars, regardless of themskin colour

Guilt makes some archivists feel relieved to 'lock' away treasures for some glorious future when Maori people will suddenly all read classical Maori and go on to enlighten Pakehas about the past Regard yourselves not as the door keepers for an arcane cult but as builders of pathways to knowledge

Buddy Mikaere

GENEALOGICAL CONFERENCE IN WELLINGTON The Wellington Group of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists Inc will host the 1987 AGM of the Society at the Michael Fowler Centre on 11 April A conference has been organised in conjunction with the AGM with the theme 'Immigration' Papers will be given by Stevan Eldred-Grigg, Rollo Arnold, Jeanine Graham, Jack Churchouse and others around the sub-themes 'The Emigrant' and 'The Settler' To support the launching of the Society's Sesquicentennial Family Biography Competition the last session will deal with 'Recording the Pioneer Life'

The Conference opens on the evening of Friday, 10 April and ends on Sunday, 12 April Displays related to immigration and settlement, along with Society research resources, book sales and a shipboard concert following the Conference dinner will be features of the weekend Proceedings will be published

The Conference will be preceded by two days of pre-Conference activities at Turnbull House, and at repositories around Wellington

Bruce Ralston II

ARCHIVES OF THE NEW ZEALAND RAILWAY AND LOCOMOTIVE SOCIETY INCORPORATED

The New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Incorporated was formed 43 years ago with part of its objectives being to place on record information relevant to the history and development of rail transport in this country

To this end the society's initial activity was to publish the New Zealand Railway observer, a quarterly journal which has now reached 187 issues In the process it has gradually established its own archives collection

At first the society's collection was housed in members' homes, but as the col- lection grew so too did the need for premises of its own An ex-N Ζ R carriage was bought and placed on special foundations in Ngaio station yard Fitted out, it was used to centralise the archives collection, a process started in 1963

The writer was appointed Research Officer to take charge of this operation, working under this title for 20 years until 1983 when the position was changed to Archivist

A more unusual aspect of these archives is that they are not the records of the society itself, but of material from and about the New Zealand Railways, bush tramways, industrial lines, urban tramways, etc And, with cap in hand, we have to admit the society's own records get scant attention, the major exceptions being meeting minutes, annual reports and the like

Following card indexing the material was put into numbered brown paper parcels and rolls The parcels system was changed when National Archives kindly told us about the waxed archives boxes that were available, these are now being used

In the index system cards are kept under a number of basic headings and subheadings - for example, locomotives, rolling stock, signalling, timetables, geographical and general The latter covers many subjects, while for geographical purposes the New Zealand railway system is divided into the various sections of main and branch lines as laid out in the Railways Working Timetables A map, for instance, can have up to five index cards as it may cover sections of a main line, several branch lines and maybe a bush tramway or industrial line The carriage eventually became overloaded, so a larger structure was built with a damp-coursed floor and steel cladding, insulated and lined with gibraltar board Although it has no special air conditioning, the building has, we feel, a suitable interior atmosphere for storage Named after the principal founder of the society, the Thos McGavin Building is located in North Street, Petone, adjacent Ava station on land leased from the Railways Corporation Other material, such as society publications, is also stored there

Almost no attempt has been made up to this time to effect repairs to the many articles held The reasons are lack of finance, facilities and expertise Instead, getting an eight-year backlog of material catalogued and into use is a top priority So far, 500 linear feet of material has been catalogued and made ready for use

Funding is mainly budgeted for from the annual subscriptions of the society's 1200 members

Four members make up the working archives team Like all other society functions, this work is done in members' spare time, in other words, we are lay archivists attempting to save our railed-transport heritage from the garden incinerator or local tip

One area in which we have to move more quickly than usual is the disposal of material from deceased estates - though tact and patience are necessary attributes in these situations A campaign is currently underway to encourage members to take legal steps to ensure the safety of their railwayana One member recently died intestate and his two friends had to come to terms with the equivalent of half a container-load of material, which will be coming to the society 12

Work out in the field and industrial archaeology are part of our activities too. Another function is to find homes for non-railway material, a loose federation of historical communication societies having been established for this purpose.

Our photographic collection of approximately 3000 prints plus negatives is sorted into the same headings as the documents, etc. This collection, along with the card index, is housed in the writer's own free-standing library as the society does not have an established office.

- Otago Central Railway. Preparing to blast rock for bridge piers near Parero. Photo: R. Williams; Courtesy of NZRLS Archives. 13

Some delights include a folder of plans dated 1867 for the Dunedin and Taieri Plains Railway, locomotive and carriage plans, builders' catalogues, boiler registers, technical books, contract plans for the Rakaia and Ashburton Forks Railway Company's line from Rakaia to Methven, and documents for building Wellington's Railway Wharf (later to become the Lyttelton ferry wharf) in 1879. These are just some of the larger things held. Photographs include the Hapuawhenua and Taonui viaducts being built 80 years ago and Wellington station in the 1930s. Maps from the 1870s and from the far North to the Bluff, signalling diagrams, station buildings, etc., are on the list too - a list which could go on for umpteen pages.

Railway Engineers gathered at Kihikihi, possibly to consult on The North Island Main Trunk construction. Photo: Courtesy Hocken Library and NZRLS Archives.

Basically, we are a private archive. However, our material is not kept just for the benefit of society members but for the community at large. Because our work is done in spare time we cannot guarantee early replies to requests. Regretfully, we cannot do genealogical research or undertake extensive research for others, but when possible we advise, if we can, where information might be available.

Access to the archives held by the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society can be had by writing to the Archivist, P.O. Box 5134, Wellington.

R.J. Meyer, President and Archivist of the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society Inc. 14

THE DAIRY RECORDS COLLECTION IN MASSEY UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

In the 1960s, when Eric Warr, of the Geography Department of Massey University, started working on the early history of the New Zealand dairy industry he became aware of the value of the records of dairy factories. They were being lost or destroyed as large numbers of companies closed because of amalgamation. Massey University's Librarian at the time, Lloyd Jenkins, agreed with him about the importance of these records. By writing to dairy companies and using personal contacts, both he and Eric Warr were able to persuade companies to deposit their records in Massey University Library. Apparently Lloyd Jenkins used to holiday around New Zealand with a car and trailer, calling in at dairy factories as he went. Today the Dairy Records Collection contains the records of over 260 dairy companies, and some related businesses, from Invercargill to Northland. This makes the Collection the third biggest business archive in the country. It includes not only minute'books, journals, ledgers and so on, but also about 500 photographs, some maps and plans, and a few other oddities which might loosely be described as artifacts (butter papers, keys, print blocks etc.).

The dairying industry reflects the rapid change New Zealand agriculture has undergone as a whole. Reading the minute books and looking at the photographs, it is easy to see the changes from a small industry using the horse and dray for transport to large factories making casein and whey products. Today there are fewer than 30 dairy companies in New Zealand, and we actively collect their records.

We have an increasing number of enquiries, both by mail and in person. They want information on all manner of subjects, and include the dairy companies themselves, people writing family and local histories, and groups like the Herd Testing Association and the Postal History Society of New Zealand. The Dairy Records Collection has been included in the latest issue of the National Register of Archives and Manuscripts in New Zealand, so we are expecting an even greater increase in the number of enquiries.

The collection is housed on the ' ground floor of the Massey University Library. It is in one of the Serials Department's stackrooms which is maintained at a relatively even temperature and humidity. The Collection is being rearranged at the moment to give users better access to it. Sarah Hay, the Archives Assistant, is cleaning and repairing the records, and collecting the information required to prepare new finding aids for the Collection. The Dairy Records Collection is available to users on weekdays between 8.30am and 4.45pm, and by arrangement at other times when the Library is open. Prior notice i s helpful.

Sheryl Morgan Dairy Records Archivist Massey University Library

-Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage rides aboard a "ceremonial chariot" during an official visit to Massey Agricultural College in 1937 - Massey University Photographic Archive. 15

MASSEY UNIVERSITY GATHERS ITS ARCHIVES

Although a relative youngster, even among New Zealand academic institutions, Massey University has grown into maturity at an amazing pace since the 1960's Established as Massey Agricultural College in 1927, it gained full university status in 1964, following dissolution of the University of New Zealand and the merging of the College with the Palmerston North branch of Victoria University of Wellington

By the time the University celebrated its golden jubilee in 1977, it was obvious that there was much material recording the University's origins and history, which should not be lost but was scattered all over the campus, some of it already forgotten in old cabinets, cupboards and store rooms, amd much of it in a sorry state of disrepair and threatened with destruction as 'old rubbish' What archivist has not heard such sorry tales many times7

However, the awakened awareness of the University's history did not fade after the jubilee year, although establishment of the University Archives still seemed a remote possibility, because of financial restraints, and the demands placed on accommodation and staff by the burgeoning student numbers since the 1970's

Finally, at the end of 1985, some space became available in the basement of the Main Building, and the writer, who had been an administrative assistant in the Registry since 1980, was given the task of establishing the University Archives

Although not ideal accommodation for archives, this basement area will have to serve the purpose in the foreseeable future, and certainly offers better conditions for storage than some of the places from where the old records are being retrieved Light- excluding drapes have been installed on the windows, screens fitted to reduce ultra violet light emissions from fluorescent tubes, and an air-conditioning unit controls temperature and humidity levels - enough to make many a curator turn green with envy' 2 In the present space of about 30m there is an old strong room which is something of a 'junk' room, but may be removed to provide more space for the main stack area, a small work area, the archivist's 'office1, and two desks for researchers - rather a squeeze However, it is hoped that an adjoining area of about the same size will be made available, possibly by next year, as office, work and reading room, and that mobile stacks will be installed in the air-conditioned area, probably quadrupling its storage capacity

I soon learned to identify with those who have written of the problems encountered in trying to establish records and archives administration systems in overseas universities By comparison, Massey and its problems are on a small scale, but still somewhat formidable when approached by a fledgling archivist For instance, one might be forgiven for expecting that the records of the central administration - current and past - would be stored m the Registry, as indeed they have been at Massey, but the Registry has occupied three different buildings since 1927, and every time it moved, some of the old records were left behind' With the help of Registry staff and my own knowledge of the administration, many of these long-neglected records have been recovered from no fewer than 15 strong rooms, store rooms, offices and cupboards in those three buildings No doubt more ferreting will be needed to unearth files still missing from the series already assembled, and a start has yet to be made on discovering what archival material is held in the 38 academic departments and 30-odd research centres and other facilities scattered throughout the campus and elsewhere

So far, it has been necessary to1 concentrate on establishing the cumulative arcmval series of administrative records, and that will keep me fully occupied in the foreseeable future, especially if much needed conservation work is to be done on some of the older records In time it may be possible to begin assembling manuscripts collections from individuals or other organisations The few small collections so far deposited with the University Archives have had to be put aside for attention later, but at least they are in safe storage1 meanwhile 16

Apart from the continuing work of finding, accessioning, describing, arranging, conserving and storing the documentary archives, a major task this year will be the establishment of a photographic and plan archives, tracing the University's history and development. Some of the old photos already held in the Archives will present a major problem of identification and dating, since they are uncaptioned, but with the help of some of Massey's older 'identities' it should be possible to describe most of them. Other negatives and prints of more recent origin are also to be transferred from the University's central photographic unit, when they are no longer required for current use.

As a research facility, the University Archives is at a very early stage of development, eg. the provision of comprehensive finding aids is still among the list of 'things to be done1, and it would be most difficult to cope with an influx of enquiries at present. So far, enquiries have come chiefly from administrative staff and have been easily answered, but understandably I do not have time to undertake detailed research. I hope that, within a year, accommodation and arrangement of the Archives will be such that it will provide a useful research facility for academic and administrative staff of the University, and for other researchers. Access to all official documents of the University will be subject to the requirements of the Official Information Act from 1 April 1987.

Administration of the University Archives is entrusted to a committee comprising the Assistant to the Vice-Chancel lor (Planning and Development), the University Librarian, the Chairman of the Library Committee, and the Assistant Registrar (Academic) representing the Registrar, and to which I act as secretary. The committee chairman reports directly to the Vice-Chancellor. Since there is not an established position for a University Archivist, I am engaged as Archives Assistant, responsible to the Registrar.

Obviously, there is still much to be done to make Massey University Archives a repository of standing, but we have achieved a good deal since I walked into a room containing nothing but several cartons of old files in total disarray, in January 1986.

Keith Carwell-Cooke Assistant Archivist Massey University

- Keith Carwell-Cooke and some of Massey University's archives Photographer: Leigh Dome, Massey University. 17

BRANCH REPORTS AUCKLAND BRANCH "DRINK UP PLEASE I"

The Auckland Branch celebrated the end of a successful year of meetings with a guided tour of inner city nineteenth century hotels entitled "Drink up please"

Commencing at National Archives Regional Office with an exhibition for archives re- lating to publicans and hotel licensing, a group of some 30 members were then taken on a highly entertaining walk by Garth Houltham The walk was designed to learn not only about those hotels which remain but also to learn about those which have already dis- appeared, the latest victim since the tour being the Queen's Head on Queen Street

Garth estimated that, by 1870, Auckland had about 91 hotels serving a population of 13,000 which represented one hotel for every 143 people To retain this ratio today Auckland would require about 6,000 hotels1*

Other branch meetings have been held at the Auckland University Library Archives, the Archives of Maori and Pacific Music, and a luncheon with speakers on an oral history project to record old overseas personnel of New Zealand Insurance and South British companies

The support of branch members has been excellent and the committee is looking forward to the preparation of another full programme for the 1987/88 year

Rachel Lilburn Auckland Branch President

* Taken from a booklet entitled Drink up please by Garth Houltham, produced for the guided walk with basic details on some 40 nineteenth century inner city hotel sites CANTERBURY/WESTLAND BRANCH

The branch committee is now focusing its attention on planning for the 1987 ARANZ Conference - which is to be held in Christchurch in August

Members' meetings will resume in 1987 - possible subjects are Church archives, and Census records

Methodist Church archivists from all over Ν Ζ met for a Consultation Day on 17 November 1986, at the new Church headquarters in Christchurch The branch chairwoman was invited to join them for lunch and a tour of the new facilities Their archives accommodation and national archival network are most impressive, and the opportunity to learn a little about the Methodist Church Archives was appreciated

The next branch meeting will be the AGM on April 9 at the Canterbury Public Library The guest speaker, Doctor Pip Forer of the Geography Department of Canterbury University, will speak on the Domesday project and the use of Optical Disks The British Domesday project has used optical disks and tens of thousands of maps and photographs of contem- porary Britain plus over a thousand million characters of information have been pub- lished on two twelve inch disks The talk will examine the Domesday project and comment on its significance for publishing and archival practice OFF THE BEATEN RECORD The eleventh annual conference of ARANZ will be held on August 28-29 1987 in Christchurch The theme of the conference is off the Beaten Record examining usual and unusual records Topics likely to be included cover film, environmental forestry, the Lincoln Herbarium, the Radio New Zealand sound archives, the Rangiora oral history Droject, Maori archives, pa site history, sports and maps Speakers are being confirmed and the venue will be the Stringleman Room at the Canterbury Public Library Keep the 28-29 August free and watch this space for further details Caroline Etherington Chairperson 18

CENTRAL DISTRICTS BRANCH

PLANNING BUSY YEAR

Following upon the success of its inaugural seminar in November 1986, ARANZ Central Districts Branch has two more full-day seminars among its planned activities for 1987

First on the year's programme was an afternoon visit to the Massey University Archives and the collection of dairy company records in the University Library, on Sunday, 29th March The first of the seminars will be held in late April or early May, to coincide with the first annual general meeting of the Branch, and in accordance with the wish of a majority of those who completed a questionnaire at the inaugural seminar, will occupy both morning and afternoon on a Saturday Again in response to numerous requests, the seminar will deal with only one topic, which for this seminar will be "Conservation of Small Collections" Emphasis will be given to hands-on experience, together with talks and demonstrations by expert conservators Anyone interested in attending the seminar is invited to write to the Branch at Ρ 0 Box 1854, Palmerston North, outlining the particular aspects or problems of conservation he/she would like to be included in the day's programme More details are included in the February issue Of Central Districts Archivist

Tentative arrangements are being made for visits to Flock House, Bulls, and to the Queen Elizabeth II Army Memorial Museum at Waiouru, and for another seminar, on "Research and Writing of Local Histories", later in the year, but these are subject to adoption by the Management Committee elected at the annual general meeting of the Branch to be held in April-May

Because of the imminent merger of several local bodies in the region, the Branch already has a Local Body Archives Working Party of Ian Matheson (Records and Archives Manager, Palmerston North City Corporation)1as convenor, Colin Davis (Professor of History, Massey University), and Julie McCammon (archives consultant, Feilding) to meet with and act as consultants to local bodies facing amalgamation, in an effort to ensure that all local body records in the region are safely preserved for future use

Plans are also afoot for the formation of an Oral Archives Working Party, which will pay particular attention'to the preservation of the wealth of Maori oral tradition in the Central Districts, and to the recollections of early settlers or their descendants who have such diverse national and cultural origins Attention will also be given to the need for training courses for archivists, at both Polytechnic and University levels

A newsletter, central Districts Archivist was launched in December and has been well received Subsequent issues are planned for two-monthly release However, the February issue contains a blunt warning that neither the newsletter nor any other of the Branch's activities and plans will survive without the financial and active support of more members An old, old complaint that we've all heard so many times - but no less real or cogent on that account' The Branch also stresses that any member of ARANZ is eligible to join the Branch, regardless of where he/she lives, if he/she is interested in the preservation of the historical records of the region

Keith Carwel1-Cooke

OTAGO/SOUTHLAND BRANCH

The Otago/Southland branch has again run a successful programme of meetings which have included visits to the Knox Church Archives, and the Architectural firm of Salmond and Anderson As well the opportunity was taken to hear of the successes, failures, trials and tribulations of students from the Departments of History and Education as they discussed their individual research topics Planning is now underway for a programme of activities for 1987 Jill McClymont, Secretary 19

WELLINGTON BRANCH

As it is sometime since the Branch reported its activities to the wider membership of the Association, it seems opportune to briefly mention some of the events that have taken place in our region over the past twelve months

- Our evening meeting in May 1986 featured Ms Patricia Acton, consultant for the Government's Records Management Review and principal author of the subsequent Acton Report, who spoke on records management practices in Canada and New Zealand Despite very wintery weather the meeting was well attended, the large turnout of records officers providing ample questions for the speaker

- In July, at the Post Office Museum and Archives, nearly forty members were addressed by the postal historian, Mr Robin Startup, on the Post Office's administrative organisation followed by the Post Office Historian, Dr Tony Wilson, who spoke on the Archives held on the premises and discussed the relevance of selected items in the context of social history

- Our August function was a social gathering hosted by Mr Robin Griffin at the BNZ Archives coinciding with the 1986 Wellington Conference It was particularly pleasing to welcome quite a number of out of town members who were able to meet and discuss archival matters with Wellington members at what was a very successful evening

- Mr Warwick Wilson, the National Museum's Senior Photographer, spoke at our October meeting on the Museum's photographic collections with particular emphasis on their strong Burton Brothers collection In addition to traditional methods of recording and display, Mr Wilson demonstrated the Museum's use of an IBM PC as a cataloguing and indexing aid and on-screen display of images using Compact Disk technology

- The Branch Christmas party at Turnbull House provided an ideal venue for our speaker, Mr Paul Mahoney, the New Zealand Forest Service Historian, to show a highly entertaining slide presentation on the Service's activities in preserving important mining relics on its land on the South Island West Coast

- In February, a gathering of forty members at the Wellington City Council premises was addressed by Mr Alan Heppleston, their Research Officer, on the Council's records and archives, their nature and extent and the uses to which they have been put by researchers

Our next meeting will be the Branch AGM at National Archives and our speaker will be Mr Chris Cochran of the Ministry of Works and Development on the subject of Wellington's architecture

Quite apart from our regular series of meetings, the Branch has been heavily involved in two arrangement and description courses run by the Centre for Continuing Education at Victoria University of Wellington in conjunction with National Archives and the Alexander Turnbull Library The first, on 25-28 August was extremely successful with very positive comments coming from participants, both during the course and in post-course questionnaires This course was heavily over-subscribed and a second was held on 17-20 November incorporating some changes based on the experience of the first course In both cases the tutoring load fell most heavily on Nicola Frean (National Archives) and on Kay Sanderson and Diana Meads (both Turnbull Library) who were actively involved for the whole time and the success of both courses reflected their careful planning and tireless enthusiasm Two grants, totalling $1,000, from Continuing Education, were made to the Branch for its contribution

Another recent feature of the work of the Branch has been the issuing of the Branch Newsletter to keep members informed of forthcoming meetings and other local news Since June 1985, 12 Newsletters have been published, Diana Meads being the current editor

David C Retter Chairperson 20

ACCESSIONS

ALEXANDER TURNBULL LIBRARY ULSTER Association of Wellington Records, 1956-1986 60cm BISHOP, John W G A month's tour through New Zealand, 1873 The writer visited WATERH0USE, Joseph History of Fiji, Auckland, Tauranga and Tarawera lv 1854-1863 Holograph with newspaper clippings inserted, and partial type- COLLIER Family Letters by Charles and script 4cm Eliza Collier on board "Rob Roy" and from Auckland, 1865-1868 26 items Amended entry

DREWITT, George Diary of a railway KING, Michael Research papers, ca 1928- ganger, 1906-1907 68 leaves 1985 3 3m RESTRICTED

FISHER Family Papers, ca 1893-1925, AUCKLAND PUBLIC LIBRARY mainly scrapbooks relating to parliamentary careers of George Fisher ARTWORK Records, 1982-1986, of arts and his son Francis Marion Bates employment agency supported by Auckland Fisher lm City Council, Northern Regional Arts Council and Department of Labour HART Aotearoa Records, ca 1967-1986, Includes slides and videotapes 5m include correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, financial CLEND0N, James Reddy Correspondence, records 13 7m RESTRICTED 1830-1846, from or about Clendon by relatives, friends and traders 7 items HEPBURN, William Arnold Diary, 1878- 1880, includes entries during two DOMAIN Board Cash book, January 1882 - month journey through South and North September 1883 lv Islands, 1879 53 leaves GREY, Sir George Letter to Sir Robert KIWI House (London) Visitors' book, Bakewell, 19 January 1893, discussing 1942-1945, for servicemen and women's Grey's interpretation of the Treaty club lv of Waitangi

LANDER, Mrs Letter from her husband HENDERSON Businessmen's Association D 0 Lander from Port Nicholson, 1842 Records, 1957-1981 1 5m 3 leaves H0CKEN LIBRARY LOVELOCK, Jack, 1910-1949 Personal papers, ca 1924-1948, include diaries, ARCHERFIELD School Old Girls' Association, 1933-1935 and scrapbooks, 1924-1948 Dunedin Archives, 1920-1963 8cm 30v DUNEDIN Free Kindergarten Association, LYON Family Papers, 1857-1906 Mostly Additional archives, 1973-1978, about love-letters from Col William Charles Rutherford Waddell and Halfway Bush Lyon to his wife Sophie, some include Kindergarten Establishment Committees comments about military campaigns in 2v Taranaki, Wanganui, Waikato and Bay of Plenty 40cm F MEREDITH and Company Ltd, Dunedin Archives, 1927-1975, firm of NEWMAN, William, d 1906 Letter from his importers and agents 5 6m brother Joseph from Auckland, 1847 2p FINLAY, C Ρ Papers, 1978-1980, re RIVERSIDE Community, Nelson Minute Windsor, Otago 3cm books, 1941-1986 70cm RESTRICTED FIVE Forks School Archives, 1912-1977, SMITH, Stephen John Papers relating to includes Fuschia Creek and Maruakoa the DUbllcation Of The Samoa Schools 20cm Expeditionary Force, 1914-1915, and to the Cook Islands, 1920s-1930s 30cm GARRÓN Group Ltd, Dunedin Archives, 1946-1976 4 6m PARTLY RESTRICTED 21

GILKISON, Walter Scott Additional BOWMAN, I Plan of Parliament Buildings papers, 1943-1976, mainly about 1909 building and accounting 70cm RESTRICTED CAMPBELL, L Personal papers relating to the Broadcasting Commission 7m HAMPDEN School Archives, 1870-1977 RESTRICTED 30cm CROWN Law Office 4 maps HENDERSON, Agnes Papers, 1898-1906, consists of correspondence between DYER, R Photographs of Wellington Agnes Findlay and Mathew Henderson, Motorway Construction, 1969-77 0 8m and University of Otago Library diaries, 1954-1972 37cm DIARIES DEPARTMENT of Education Central RESTRICTED Regional Office Teachers' superannuation registers, 1906-58 JEFFERSON, Christina Additional papers, 0 5m 1932-1958, about Chatham Island Dendroglyphs 5cm DEPARTMENT of Education, Head Office, Public Relations Section Papers of the Education Development Council and KELVINGROVE School, Balclutha Archives, Education Priorities Council, cl969-/4 1971-1982 3cm 0 3m LOVELL'S Flat School Additional DEPARTMENT of Internal Affairs, Auckland archives, 1872-1984, mainly School Citizenship files, 1985-86 5 5m Committee minute books 41cm DEPARTMENT of Internal Affairs, Head NEW Zealand Department of Health, Dunedin Office Registered files, 1923-75 2m District Office Archives, 1926-1980, are mainly registered subject files DEPARTMENT of Internal Affairs, Wellington 24m Regional Office Certificates of citizenship, 1981-85 4m NEW Zealand Railways Corporation, District DEPARTMENT of Justice, Oamaru District Engineer's Office, Dunedin Leases and Court Sample case files, 1975-76 agreements, 1878-1983 5m 0 lm NEW Zealand Railways Corporation, District DEPARTMENT of Labour, Wellington Regional Mechanical Engineer's Office, Dunedin Office Registered files, 1936-60 Additional archives, ca 1887-1982 2 6m 0 3m

OTAGO Educational Board 'Otago Education GOVERNMENT Printing Office, Head Office Board Schools', 1985, compiled by Tenders Committee Minute books, 1964- 77 Ministerial authorities file V M Rutherford, gives details of 1915-25 0 4m opening, name changes, integration, consolidation, decapitation and closing of Otago Education Board schools lv HIGH Ccmrnission, Ottawa Registered filto 0 3m 0TAGÚ University Students' Association HOUSING Corporation, Housing Division Inc Additional archives, 1935-1980, Ministry of Works Housing Division mainly registered subject files 4m .ample files, 1936-77 4m

PARATA, W Τ Album on Maori Rugby Football LAND Transfer Office, Invercargill Team tours overseas, 1920-1927, ca Discharged Mortgage files, 1880-1958 1924-1926, and ca 1967-1982 lv 0 3m

RICHDALE, L Ε Ornithological papers, MINISTRY of Defence, RNZAF Shelly Bay 1935-1980 4 2m Base files, 1954-82 0 3m

ST Kilda Free Kindergarten Association MINISTRY of Energy, Electricity Division Archives, 1951-1982 6cm Petsonal files, service schedules, manuals 9 7m RESTRICTED NATIONAL ARCHIVES, WELLINGTON MINISTRY of Foreign Affairs, Head Office, ACCIDENT Compensation Corporation Information Division Photographs Registered files 7m 0 3m 22

MINISTRY of Transport, Head Office POLICE Department, Takapuna Offence Ships log books 7m files, 1978 O 3m RESTRICTED

MINISTRY of Works and Development, Head POLICE Department, Tauranga Offence Office Plans of bridges, photographs files, 1976-80 2 4m RESTRICTED of railway crossings VALUATION Department, Te Kuiti District NATIONAL Health Institute Minutes, valuation rolls, Otorohanga, 1975-81, staff files, photographs 1 5m Waitomo, 1974-79 2 7m

NEILSON, Ρ Political papers, 1982-86 WAIKAT0 Mam apoto Maori Land Court 5 2m RESTRICTED Correspondence files, block files, 1963-84 10m POLICE Department, New Plymouth WHANGARA School Mihewhetu School Nineteenth century correspondence and records, 1939-60, Whangara school photographs 0 lm records, 1944-57 0 lm POST Office, Museum Wellington and NATIONAL ARCHIVES, SOUTHERN REGIONAL OFFICE Palmerston North Post Office registered files, 1902-80 0 6m CIVIL Service Institute, Christchurch Minute books, correspondence, annual POST Office, Head Office, Security reports, notices, lists of members, Division Miscellaneous files, 1951- 1953-86 0 2m 72 0 lm RESTRICTED CUSTOMS Department, Greymouth Collector STATE Rail Authority of New South Wales of Customs office, registers, 1877-1980, Photographs taken by officers of the manuals, 1977-80, registered files, Railways Corporation of New Zealand 1925-69, publications, 1854-1934 lm of the New South Wales rail system, 1961 0 lm LANDS and Survey Department, Christchurch Chief Surveyor's office, record maps, STATE Services Commission, Head Office 1970-75 14m National Research Advisory Council Records 10m Registered files 87m MINISTRY of Works and Development, WELLINGTON Secondary Schools Council Christchurch Temuka Workshop, plans, Registered files, 1944-81 15m 1940-48 26 items POLICE Department, Greymouth Karamea W00LLAST0N, PTE Political papers Police registers, 1910-76 lm 1 3m RESTRICTED RAILWAYS Corporation, Christchurch NATIONAL ARCHIVES, NORTHERN REGIONAL OFFICE Forestry branch inventory of plantations, 1936-48 3m HAWKES Bay Education Board Waiomatatim School records, 1913-81 0 3m STATE Coal Mines, Reefton Registered files, 1942-77 3m HIGH Court, Auckland Trial files, 1945- 50 3m VALUATION Department, Alexandra Valuations, 1978-85 H0R0H0R0 School School records, 1930-82 0 8m WANGANUI REGIONAL MUSEUM NAVAL Supply Depot, Auckland Inward mail logs 1948-67 0 5m Registered WILSON, John Edward, 1843-1930 Papers, files, 1927-76 11m 1875-1940, include his diaries, 1876- July 1932 (later entries by his son NGATAUI School School records, 1925-68 Leo), minute books and letters, 1875- 0 2m 1934, of Church of Christ, Wanganui, minute book, 1926-1928, Ν Ζ Alliance, POLICE Department, Hamilton Photographic Wanganui East Branch, records, 1887- negatives of police work, 1969-80 lm 1894, Wanganui Dairy Co (Okoia), Offence files, 1967-80 4m RESTRICTED letters and circulars, 1890-1921, Okoia School Committee 29cm 23

ANALECTA

ARANZ AND THE ASA interest in local history had increased Stuart Strachan, ARANZ President, will be from 26 to 97, said city records and arc- the ARANZ representative at the 6th hives manager Ian Matheson Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Archivists to be held in Perth Evening standard 18 February 1987 from 21-25 April 1987 The theme of the Conference is National Archival Societies BNZ ARCHIVES OPENS and their Relationships with International The Bank of New Zealand Archives Museum Bodies Stuart will be presenting a short was officially opened on Tuesday paper on this theme 17 February by Bob McCay, the Bank's Group Chief Executive On display are numerous ICA AND THE DISABLED artefacts relating to the business of the The International Council on Archives has Bank over the last 125 years Some suggested as a contribution1 to the Inter- people were surprised to see office national Decade of Disabled Persons (1983- memoranda on display though for an Archi- 1992) that member organisations organise vist these are grist to the mill Also exhibits at a national level along the displayed are photographs of buildings and lines of 'the history of the disabled and the people who worked in them Architec- the progress achieved' tural plans are prominent as are the Bank's first computer and, from nearly a hundred years earlier, some of the carved woodwork ARCHIVES IN FOR $36,000 CLEAN-UP from the old Christchurch BNZ Banknotes Palmerston North's city corporation arc- issued by the Bank between 1861 and 1934 hives need to be moved upstairs out of the are included and an exhibition of coins basement, the council's finance and back to ancient Roman times links New administration committee has agreed Zealand banking to the past Town clerk Peter Apthorp told a On Wednesday evening 18 February the committee meeting this week the basement new Museum was featured briefly in the location in the administration building Today Tonight segment of the 6 30 tele- was inadequate because of the risk of water vision news Considerable publicity has damage, the lack of security, and the appeared in the hard copy media and this cramped conditions should have a flow on effect for other City engineer Garry Goodman advised archive establishments the committee not to keep anything as valu- R H cnffm BNZ Archives February 1987 able as irreplaceable archives in the base- ment because of the risk of damage from CROP HISTORIES WANTED leaking overhead pipes and the possibility of flooding below ground level if pumps Agricultural meteorologists at Lincoln failed College are appealing to rural people for help in constructing a weather-dependent However, Mr Apthorp said no upstairs model of New Zealand land production space was likely to become available before Farmers who have good long-term records of 1989 their crops and seasons have been urged to assist the project In the meantime, the committee has given approval for immediate improvements Christchurch Press 2 January 1987 in the basement area costing around $36,000 Improvements include a sinki for HISTORIC PHOTOS FOUND cleaning and repairing records in, a fume A chance find by two Wellington City Coun- cabinet with extractor fan for staff using cil transport department officers has chemicals, and tables and a work bench given a revealing look at the city before The department would also expand into the Second World War an extra basement storeroom, which would Four hundred photographs taken by need to be sealed and air conditioned the city transport department during the Mr Apthorp said the council had a 1930s have been found in the department's legal responsibility to maintain local arc- Kilbirme workshops Administration hives officer, Brian Mosen one of two who made the discovery, said this historical gold- The number of council staff using mine was found in a plain green filing the archives had increased from 49 in 1980, cabinet The collection will eventually to 184 last year At the same time public end up in the Wellington City Library's 24

New Zealand Room photograph files Staff 'CRIMINAL INTENT' BEHIND MISSING FILE there said the find was "exciting" A Ministry of Transport file relating to an Evening Post, 4 March 1987 accident has disappeared and as a result a Greymouth businessman has escaped GODLEY PAPERS BOUGHT BY NATIONAL ARCHIVES prosecution Transport Minister, Richard National Archives has bought a collection of Prebble has said the file was removed copies of letters written by General Sir from the Greymouth office to defeat the Alexander Godley, commander-in-chief of course of justice An investigation by New Zealand forces at Gallipoli in 1915 the Ministry of Transport and police has The letters were written to the Private revealed that the whole file and related Secretary to George V, and give Godley's papers have gone missing Since then, descriptions and opinions of the New Zealand according to Mr Prebble, security of files troops in action has been tightened in the Greymouth office

The collection was purchased at auction Sunday Times, 1 March 1987 for ¿1300 ($3600) in conjunction with Kings College, London FIRE DESTROYS HUTT SCHOOL PREFAB

In one letter, dated 5 February 1915, A prefab at Hutt Valley High School was Godley reported to the King destroyed by fire burning or badly charring school archives including original "On the whole, I think the behaviour of photographs of former pupils and of the 60 both the Australians and New Zealanders has year old school The photographs had been been excellent since their arrival, consid- restored and presented at a school jubilee ering they have been cooped up for eight last year Police are treating the fire weeks on board ship and were suddenly as arson let loose amid the temptations of Cairo" Evening Post 5 March 1987 Evening Post, 19 December 1986 G0EBBELS' DIARIES TO BE PUBLISHED COMPUTER DATABASE FOR LAND INFORMATION A Canadian company, Geovision Corporation, Diaries of Nazi Propaganda Chief Joseph has been awarded the contract to supply the Goebbels will be published for the first New Zealand land register database time this year in West Germany The Institute of Contemporary History in When completed, the $25 million project Munich described the collection of diaries will replace the more than 18,000 large-scale which cover the years 1924 to 1941 as a maps, some of which date back to 1840, that "key document of the Third Reich" have carried land information until now Information will be available in the form of The decision to publish follows a hard-copy printouts, but magnetic tape cop- series of court battles to clear the ies may also be sold diaries for print and painstaking work to gather together fragments and decipher The system will form part of a wider Goebbel's difficult hand-writing land information system which Lands and Survey is developing in conjunction with Goebbel1 s used the Propaganda Ministry the Land Transfer division of the Department to whip up an atmosphere of ant-Semitism of Justice, the Valuation Department, and in Nazi Germany, that paved the way for the the Maori Affairs Department liquidation of millions of Jews He National Business Review, 30 January 1987 killed himself and his family on May 1 1945 within hours of Hitler's suicide

RECORDS MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA Institute historian said all the The fourth National Convention of the Asso- material had been checked for authenticity ciation will beheld on 6 - 9 September 1987 It is also hoped to publish diaries for m Melbourne Workshops will cover Law and 1941-45 the Record, Office Automation and Records Management, and Records Management Funda- Evening post, 16 March 1987 mentals Also included are visits, trade displays and a range of social functions For further details, contact the Editor, or write direct to RMAA, GP0 Box 22704, Melbourne, Vic 30001 25

CYCLONE RELIEF IN THE COOK ISLANDS

A team consisting of an archivist Ken Scadden and two conservation technicians Robert Kerr-Hislop and Rosanna Orange, recently travelled to the Cook Islands in response to a request from the Cook Islands Government to assist in the salvage of archives damaged by Cyclone Sally in early January. The team took about $10,000 worth of equipment, supplied by New Zealand and Australia for the relief effort including a large dehumidifier.

The Rarotongan High Court was converted into a fumigation chamber, with thymol being used to prevent mould growth, before the archives were dried out (using the dehumidifier), washed and cleaned. Archives from the Justice, and Trade, Labour and Transport Departments as well as material from the Cook Islands Parliament and Tourist Authority were treated in this way. The two conservation technicians left after one week, while the archivist stayed on to supervise the project, give archival advice to various Government Departments and gather information for a report on the status of archives in the Cook Islands. George Paniani, the archivist for the Cook Islands Government and staff from the Justice Department worked closely with the New Zealand team during the operation.

Ken Scadden National Archives

Ken Scadden, Rosanna Orange and Robert Kerr-Hislop explain the use of a moisture levels meter to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr Tapsell. The instrument was used for salvage work in the Cook Islands. Photo: Dept. of Tourism and Publicity. 26

BOOK REVIEWS

James Belich The New Zealand wars and the Victorian interpretation of racial conflict Auckland Auckland University Press, 1986 396 ρ $39 95

The publication of this book has, but quite rightly, attracted a lot of attention for a volume of closely written historical scholarship It continues, and considerably strengthens, the revisionist arguments of such works as Alan Ward's A show of justice and Patricia Burns' re Rauparaha It both requires and amply repays close attention

The title alone is instructive Belich has two aims, which are inter-twined throughout his work One is to re-examine the nature and impact of the military events of the New Zealand wars The second is to evaluate the manner in which those conflicts were recorded by white settlers and soldiers at the time It used to be that the conflicts in question - and Belich covers the period from the Northern Wars of the 1840s to the campaigns of Titokowaru and Te Kooti in the 1860s - were known as the 'Maori Wars' That term itself represented, from a pakeha perspective, a comfortable shift of responsibility Liberal opinion then chose an allegedly more accurate label, the 'Land Wars' But, as Belich makes clear, far more than land was at stake The wars stemmed from a desire by the British to impose what the author calls 'substantive' rather than 'nominal' sovereignty over the Maori tribes in different parts of the North Island

It is well established that many chiefs welcomed opportunities, for their own purposes, to trade with the pakeha Problems arose from the differing interpretations that were placed on the Treaty of Waitangi Hence Heke, in 1845, 'fought less to overturn the treaty than to ensure the application of its Maori version He wished to regulate, not reject, European contact and settlement' Belich maintains that, from this perspective, the Maoris were successful in the Northern Wars, and quotes F Ε Maning ' in the north there is no more hope of establishing the supremacy of the law than there is of flying in the air' And certainly large tracts of the North Island remained sufficiently independent of British control at mid-century to precipitate, in the 1860s, 'the Taranaki and Waikato conflicts (that) were more akin to classic wars of conquest than we would like to believe ' That land was not the main objective in the Waikato is demonstrated by the behaviour of the British in continuing to seek to crush the Maori King Movement in battle after the land that they sought had been occupied And the campaigns against Te Kooti, fought in areas all but useless for pakeha settlement, can only be seen as the outcome of a desire to assert authority

These conclusions are based on closely documented research and, refreshingly, a willingness to explore such wider issues (particularly in two excellent closing chapters) as the bases of British ethnocentricity and the reasons for the confidence that would admit of little but their own overriding cultural superiority Belich demonstrates exceptionally well just how this blind confidence enabled defeat after defeat at the hands of the Maoris to be interpreted as 'victories', and how such losses as were admitted were blamed on allegedly deficient commanders or troops, or on great tie9o9bv?ous°none °f tnba1 ί0Γ"5 ™ Uct' °n every «use'other than

This cause was the brilliance of Maori strategy and tactics in nearly every conflict, a brilliance born of the need to compensate for fighting a quantitatively superior adversary from a social base that precluded the establishment of a permanent fighting force Hence, in the Northern Wars, the British claimed victories by overrunning empty pa, but these pa had been thrown up rapidly in remote inland areas far from traditional sites of cultivation, in order to draw the enemy into difficult country and to provide safe exit routes once the attack had been sufficiently repulsed The tribes forced peace on the British in Taranaki by besieging New Plymouth from north and south, raiding and destroying the local pakeha economy, and creating a cordon of pa close in to British positions The whole strategy was underpinned by the circulation of warriors between the Waikato and Taranaki, enabling the chiefs to maintain a viable fighting force 'and to partly overcome the great disadvantage of a tribal socio-economy in conflict with a professional army '

In the Waikato War, Governor Grey managed to elicit a peak imperial commitment of 12,000 professional soldiers, 'more than was available for the defence of England at the 27

time ' Peak Maori strength was closer to 2000 men As Belich observes 1 the norm in Imperial warfare was European numerical inferiority In New Zealand this situation was completely reversed' Again,'a coherent strategy of effectively molesting British lines of supply from Auckland reduced the fighting force available to General Cameron in the field But, as in the Northern Wars and Taranaki before, it was the development of the modern pa that was the Maori trump card

Belich devotes considerable space to the characteristics of the modern pa and the engagements fought around and within it Ironically, he gives inadequate information on how such intricate structures could be built in a short time, of their effectiveness, however, he leaves no doubt They were usually built in carefully selected positions, permitting safe exit when required, or - more usually - after a stinging rebuff had been delivered to the British forces Tactically, they were trench systems, a response to superior enemy fire power An outer fence performed a similar function to barbed wire, slowing an attack, whilst false artillery targets, such as virtually unmanned stockades, were sometimes constructed behind concealed rifle trenches and anti-artillery bunkers The Maom victory at Gate Pa in 1864 was won, astonishingly, when assaulting British troops were massacred from these* hidden positions, having advanced after an artillery bombardment roughly twenty times as intense as that of the initial assault on the Somme Here, says Belich 'it is clear that the Maoris underwent a heavier bombardment in one day than the Germans did in seven '

Hence the author builds up an overwhelming case for the strength of Maori military strategy and tactics, effectively demolishing the received view that the natives were incapable of tribal cooperation and organised planning, and successful only in guerrilla warfare situations In fact, Belich is prepared to give the label of 'guerrilla leader' only to Te Kooti, whose military weakness was his failure to master the modern pa that other Maori leaders used so successfully He provides a convincing assessment of the very limited effectiveness of British operations, even in the Waikato, the only war he still considers the European soldiers to have won The replacement of Grey reflects this, 'the most eminent of many scapegoats for Maori military skill and tenacity ' His reassessment of Te Kooti and his retrieval of the southern Taranaki chief Titokowaru from historical obscurity reveals the deep anxiety into which North Island pakeha settlements had been thrown in the late 1860s It was liquor, disease, land selling and the activities of the Maori Land Court which gradually broke Maori resistance, rather than imperial military prowess

Different readers will gain different insights from this superb book Those interested in military conflicts 'will revel in the detail with which the author describes each engagement, although they may wish that the paltry maps offered more detail, and rue the complete absence of plans of battle sites and pa construction Indeed, just how the British gained the^r spatial understanding of alien territory is rarely explained, although it is often made clear that it was woefully inadequate Readers who begin the book sceptical of Belich's aims will find a wealth of detailed substantiation, generous footnoting, and concluding remarks on the problems of one- sided evidence They may not always be satisfied with his claims that one source rather than another is 'reliable1!, nor with his increasingly frequent but polite berating of 'historians' for failing to question the received version of events 'Historians have inherited ,it, not created it', but nevertheless stand condemned by implication On the whole, however it is impossible to be other than impressed with the author's scholarship, grasp of detail, and wonderful turn of phrase And those who, like this reviewer, are interested in the wider implications of historical interpretation and cultural understanding, will enjoy the skill with which Belich draws out these features of his story

His broader conclusions are fascinating, and some sobering The British expected to win because of 'racial and national attiLudes that were part of the Victorian ethos ' But the Maori were remarkably successful along the way, enforcing a laundering of events by generally uncomprehending pakeha to accord with unswerving expectations Historians have fallen prey to this interpretation, although, interestingly, Belich demonstrates that not all settlers, nor all British commanders, believed it Thus, in 1864, the Otago Provincial Council declared, with reference to the cost of the Waikato War, 'its conviction that the province is unable to endure a burden imposed for unattainable ends ' Hence large areas of Maori autonomy persisted The author comments 'In the late nineteenth century an independent Maori state nearly two thirds 28

the size of Belgium existed in the middle of the North Island Not all historians have noticed it' His overall assessment of the wars is that they represent One of the most efficient and effective resistance efforts ever mounted by a tribal people against European expansion' The failure to recognise this 'deprives New Zealanders of a terrible but important element of their history, obscures the true capacities of the Maori people, and helps conceal the grimmer realities of New Zealand race relations

Some will regard such statements as being beyond the professional historian's brief, a travesty of the demands of careful scholarship But it is because Belich builds his case so carefully, and because he is prepared to explore its wider implic- ations so clearly, that this book is so absorbing It is this sort of scholarship that rescues history from library shelves to perform that most valuable of services, to tell us something about ourselves

There is a growing danger, particularly in North Island centres, that the gathering momentum of recent initiatives embracing Maontanga will produce a backlash amongst pakehas The next phase in racial understanding in this country must therefore be based on better information and on a more adequate appreciation of cultural integrity than is presently the case Books such as this can help to provide that understanding and for that reason alone it is important that Belich's work be read, rather than left to attain prominence by review and repute alone

Eric Pawson University of Canterbury

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Tauiwi racism and ethnicity in New Zealand Edited by Ρ SpOOnley (and others) Palmerston North Dunmore Press (1984) 250 ρ $19 95

Tauiwi brings before the public papers which were read at the annual conference of the New Zealand Sociological Association in Auckland in 1983 The book is divided into four broad groupings of subject material action and reaction, does ethnicity count', ethnic statistics and residential segregation, and political economy, colonialism, and migrant labour As these titles suggest, the flavour of the writing is heavily academic

One paper, by Jane Kelsey, is outstanding Entitled 'Legal imperialism and the colonisation of Aotearoa', it contains an excellent summary of the historical back- grounds the Treaty of Waitangi, and an examination of the implications of the treaty for contemporary society The general reader, who is interested in racism and ethnicity but not to a masochistic degree, will, however, often be irritated by the academic writing which pervades the book There are endless quotes from other sources, lots of jargon, and a timid avoidance of personal views

The work has some important points to make abut race relations in this country, but its format is such that it loses the chance to make them matter The following quote from Paul Spoonley's contribution, 'The politics of racism the New Zealand League of Rights' is a good illustration of the inaccessibility of much of the content of the book

The dilemma is not easily solved as terms like left and right, or radical, are embedded in western political culture, and as such they reflect commonly held distinctions New terms may simply add to the conceptual congestion of sociology For these reasons, the term radical right is used here, although it does need to be acknowledged that the political spectrum implied in such labels as left and right may be circular rather than linear, with extremes Occupying simultaneously adjacent and distant positions ' (Rees ρ 8)

Perhaps it was never planned that the book should be anything but a collection of academic papers Still, I can't help feeling that, if the authors care about the issues they examine, they should get out of their ivory tower and put them to the people It is the wider community in Aotearoa which needs to think about the effect of pakeha domination of Maori society, and, in view of the tensions which exist between the two ethnic groups, a retreat into academic isolation seems e culpable error 29

I am not the first to say it, but it bears saying again Maori people agree that social policy decisions require an ,underpinning of research But we are tired of being put under the microscope by people to whom our situation is simply a chance to demonstrate their particular theoretical orientation This is particularly offensive when, as in Tauiwi, the contributors are anxious to make clear that they are on the side of the angels on race relations issues Buddy Mikaere Christchurch

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Angela Bailara Proud to be ¡white? A survey of Pakeha prejudice in New Zealand Auckland Heinemann, 1986 205 ρ $17 95 The content of this book is aptly stated in its subtitle it is a survey of Pakeha prejudice in New Zealand, and only that Angela Bailara has deliberately chosen to examine Pakeha racism 'in isolation from ¡the total historical context1 (p 168) in order to redress an imbalance which she has noted in other works on the development of New Zealand society

Her examination of 'Eurocentric racism' begins with a chronological account of European contact with and exploitation of the Maori She identifies elements of racism in the attitude of the missionaries to the Maori, and then moves on to look at European settlers, the Treaty of Waitangi, the New Zealand wars, and subsequent alienation of Maori land But when she reaches the turn of the century, she abandons this chronological approach There follow chapters which deal with particular themes the Maori language, the colour bar, cultural exploitation, the Hunn Report, and the urbanisation of the Maori

The change in method is quite disturbing The book begins with an historical analysis Although a lot of old ground is covered, there is a fresh approach in the emphasis on racist attitudes and their origin in the economic, biological, theological and philosophical theories of nineteenth century New Zealanders of British birth

In comparison, the chapters which follow seem excessively impressionistic It is not that one feels Angela Ballara's perceptions are incorrect or biased, but that one learns little from having read them Most of us are far too familiar already with playground prejudice, self-righteous letters to the editor and racist conversation in 'civilised' dining rooms Ballara's stated aims of examining 'the nature and development of ethnocentric prejudice' and attempting 'to review and explain the fact of Eurocentric racial prejudice' seem to have gone out the window, at least so far as any examination of development or explanation of fact is concerned We are left with a bald statement of the situation as it is and was with little real analysis of changes and developments which have taken place in racist thought since the nineteenth century Indeed, many of these thematic chapters jump from one decade to another as though there were no developments or changes to explore And yet, somehow, (miraculously7), we have reached the beginning of the age of multi-culturalism, or, at least, so it is suggested at the conclusion of the book However, Angela Bailara is not so naive as to believe 'that a multi-cultured Utopia is near1 As she states in her final paragraph, 'the implementation of political and economic policies permitting Maori cultural autonomy is still in its infancy ' One reads this, and feels sorry that she has not taken her work a step further and examined more closely the impact of the European economy on the shaping of New Zealand society In the chapter entitled "The negative image" the question of whether it is possible to retain a Maori cultural identity and at the same time 'succeed' in European economic terms is skirted round, but not resolved Perhaps the author's abandonment of the historical context was a mistake concessions of government in the 1970s and 1980s, alongside concessions to other economically disadvantaged groups such as women and the physically and intellectually handicapped, is surely the key to an understanding of the changes in attitude which have been expressed in the last decade Racism cannot be isolated from the wider social and economic issues of any time, and in the 1980s one cannot help but feel that the princi- ple of multi-cultural ism sits uneasily alongside the new dogma of market flexibility 30

Proud to be white, although often superficial, is a powerful statement about the existence and nature of racism in this country Its impact on the general reader, for whom it is intended, might perhaps be best assessed by someone without historical training Angela Bailara has sought telling quotes to increase the work's readability, and these have tempted her to ignore historical methodology An historian would find her habit of quoting an individual to support a generalisation about a group a dangerous technique The great missionary and bishop Octavius Hadfield refers to the eloquence of letters written by Maoris and of how they were rendered into simplistic English by translators who wished 'to produce an impression on the public mind that the Natives were incapable of expressing their opinions in proper language' (p 94) This raises serious doubts about the conclusions drawn in another chapter about the missionaries being the exponents of European culture (and not simply its religious aspects), and demeaners of 'savage ignorance'

One day Proud to be white will be a fruitful source for somebody studying liberal pakeha thought in the seventies and eighties In the shorter term it will provide rudi- mentary historical knowledge about racism in New Zealand to those who are delving into the subject for the first time

Kay Sanderson Alexander Turnbull Library

Barry Gustafson The first 50 years a history of the New Zealand National Party Auckland Reed Methuen, 1986 407 ρ $49 95

Gustafson is the first to attempt a serious history of the National Party, the dominant force in post-war New Zealand politics This party, founded in 1936, became the government a mere 13 years later, and has governed for 29 of the 38 years since Clearly it has a history which requires, and deserves, close analysis

The sources for such a history are available as Gustafson's bibliography demon- strates Organisational records at central, divisional, and local level exist, as do caucus records, private papers, and the memories and opinions (however fallible) of many of those involved in the party's history

If there is no shortage of material, there are substantial problems in its use Access to the more sensitive records of a political party for a period which through- out, still has its survivors is not likely to be easily gained by someone thought to be unsympathetic to that party Gustafson was, for a long time a Labour Party activist Nevertheless, his claim 'to stand outside the party I am describing' seems a little disingenuous in the light of his subsequent selection as a National Party candidate

Gustafson is, however, no party hack but rather a political scientist of some standing This makes all the less acceptable the many factual errors in his work Winston Peters, for example, is described as one of the 'three MPs of Maori descent' elected in 1975 Later he is correctly described as being first elected in 1978 As this election was the subject of a major court case, the original error is all the more inexcusable Alex Gordon is described as resigning as President in November 1943, elsewhere the date is February 1944 On page 207 Sir James Barnes is credited with winning St Kilda in 1949, and, on the very next page, is credited, correctly, with winning the seat in 1951 David Caygill is purported to have switched from National to Labour as the result of the growth of the Labour presence on university campuses in the early 1960s For somebody who did not enter university until 1968 that seems a little improbable Incidentally, he was never the chairman of the Canterbury-Westland division of the Junior Nationals, as Gustafson claims

Such errors may be put down, at least in part, to the extraordinary time pressure involved in the production of a book which had to be finished within the space of two years But it is questionable whether more time would have enabled Gustafson to remedy the fundamental analytical and structural weaknesses of the work Bob Jones perhaps goes too far when, in the New Outlook of September 1986, he describes the book as a 'chocolate box portrayal' of the National Party The description of the way in which Keith Holyoake was financed on to a farm so he could move from Motueka (which he lost in 1938) to Pahiatua (which he won in 1943) is fascinating, and, along with a few other examples, a demonstration of a true academic impulse 31

The book fails at two fundamental levels First, despite the fact that Gustafson realises the importance of organisation, refers to it frequently throughout, and devotes over 100 pages to a description of it, in the end he fails to explain the reason for National's organisational success It is one thing to describe the success of the phenomenal Tom Wilkes in expanding membership and setting up branches in the late 1930s It is quite another to explain it Anyone involved in a political party knows that it is relatively easy to set up meetings, and plan for expansion in numbers and finance, but quite another to achieve the goals that have been set In other words, even allow- ing for the exceptional skills of Wilkes and others (and Gustafson does tend to run out of adjectives when describing the excellence of those connected with the National Party) what has to be explained is how it was possible to build up so rapidly such a formidable party machine

To explain the phenomenon would have required an examination of the nature of National's (changing) core support base over the last 50 years, and an analysis of the kinds of networks which have sustained the party through both success and adversity Gustafson might be led to some rather less than sugary conclusions about the reasons for the short tenure of modern Labour governments which are related to the ability of those networks to undermine National's opponents when in office - particularly in provincial marginal seats Such an analysis would also expose the other fundamental weakness in this book a superficial study of the ideology of the National Party, how that ideology compares with the party's performance in office, and the perceived needs and desires of its support base For Gustafson to look squarely at these matters would involve him in a question- ing of whether the party's claim to be the champion of rugged individualism is somewhat hollow After all, over 40 percent of National MPs have been farmers, scarcely the group least inclined to seek government 'assistance' And of National's four prime ministers, two have been financed on to farms for political reasons by friends within the party Worst of all, Muldoonism might be seen as the logical outcome of the first fifty years rather than some temporary aberration

Gustafson provides a convenient summary of the main outlines of the party's history He provides an exceptionally useful set of biographies of all 177 National MPs, and an equal number of key organisational figures But New Zealand's predominant post-war political force still awaits comprehensive study

Michael Cullen Μ Ρ for St Kilda

John McLeod Myth and reality the New Zealand soldier m World War II Auckland Reed Methuen, 1986 204 ρ $29 95

World War II made all the papers, and many New Zealanders remember it well My own baby-boom generation was raised on the myths of 'the War' As children we were in awe of 'returned blokes', and often puzzled by their reticence when we asked the obvious question 'How many Germans did you kill7' We were shocked when Japanese cars were brought into New Zealand, and any man who had not served overseas needed a damn good reason to avoid incurring our youthful disdain

New Zealand's presence on the Allied side seemed to us the lynchpin on which victory was based, and we subscribed wholeheartedly to the universal truth that 'the New Zealand soldier was the best in the world '

That truth risked dilution over the years as I read of defeats in Greece and Crete, of the furlough draft 'scandal', of conscientious objectors, and did my own National Service It was then that I realised that to don a uniform and become involved in the military was to conform, and that to take the road which conscience might dictate could indeed be to take the harsher route

My generation, then, is probably ready for John McLeod's examination of the 'Kiwi soldier myth', but we can understand why our parents are not McLeod, a professional soldier, has shown much courage in using his historical training to produce an account of the reality of war He puts the existing 'official and semi-offíciaV war histories in context, not unkindly, with his comment that at least one historian was removed from the task because of incompatibility with the 'aims' of the history 32

Myth and reality has an impressive bibliography in which reality must outweigh myth The written archives have been extensively raided, and there have been inter- views with old soldiers Oral history sound recordings would also have proved useful The book makes New Zealand involvement understandable to a modern generation which is far more cosmopolitan in background than was the generation of 1940 Recruitment, training, battles, the 'indiscretions' of 2nd Ν Ζ Ε F men, and the furlough draft 'mutiny' are covered A chapter is devoted to General Freyberg

The material on the individual in battle is gleaned from personal letters, inter- views, and the field medical reports The latter give figures not found in unit histories 11 percent of Pacific soldiers suffered involuntary bowel movements prior to battle, 6 71 percent of Italian campaign casualties in 1944 had venereal disease Such information is important in humanising the New Zealand soldier, and does much to rid us of pointless mythology Figures on desertion and absence without leave show that the 2nd Ν Ζ Ε F men were better soldiers than most Desertion figures were higher in Italy than elsewhere, perhaps because the temptations were greater One more unexpected figure - over 35 percent of New Zealand males were medically unfit for over- seas service But statistics, while not always lies, are a dry discipline While McLeod has described the sheer unpleasantness of war and the human need to survive as comfortably as possible, he has not neglected to show the frequent nobility and sacrifice of the 'common soldier' His access to the papers of Kippenberger and other staff officers allows him to draw less than flattering pictures of some of the brass And his naming of names will not endear him to the 'old Digs' who still show great loyalty to their commanders whether they were right or wrong The author's own military training en- courages him to analyse battles in the light of what the textbooks say The officers who appeared to make bad decisions might notagree with him, but it is too late now to hear their defence

McLeod analyses, in balanced fashion, the early 'defeats' of the 2nd Ν Ζ Ε F 'Greece and Crete demonstrated that heroism and bravery could not compensate for in- experience, inadequate leadership, and limited training Most importantly, they contradict the idea that, put in uniform, the New Zealander automatically and immedi- ately becomes an undefeatable and magnificent soldier '

Myth and reality is an attractive book (why, though, not put dates to all photo- graphs7) and John McLeod has presented a history which is fairer than most R S A members are prepared to admit

The book will not be put in the extensive library of my local R S A I think it should The New Zealand soldier has nothing to be ashamed of The blame really lies with those of us who give war a respect, and thus a mythology, it does not deserve

Jim Sullivan, Timaru

* * * THE J,M, SHERRARD AWARDS IN NEW ZEALAND REGIONAL HISTORY

These awards were set up to commemorate the work of the late John (Jack) McAra Sherrard, author of Kaikoura, A History of the District (1966), and are offered to encourage studies in New Zealand regional history.

Major award winners for publications listed in the National Bibliography, 1984 and 1985 were:

Mary B. Boyd, city of the Plains : a history of Hastings. Victoria University Press for Hastings City Council, Wellington, 1984.

A.J. Dreaver. Horowhenua County and its people : a centennial history. Dunmore Press for Horowhenua County Council, Palmerston North, 1984.

Darrel Latham. The golden reefs .- an account of the great days of quartz-mining at Reefton, waiuta and the Lyeii. Pegasus Press, Christchurch, 1984.

The award was founded to honour the work of a part-time, non-university historian. The primary purpose is to encourage persons similarly placed to aim at high standards of research and presentation. Although academic historians are not excluded, their work is expected to reflect their professional standing and the greater resources at their disposal.

There is no need to send in formal entries. Titles are taken from the National Bibliography for the years concerned. The next round of judging will be in 1988 for works included in the National Bibliography in 1986 and 1987.

Further information may be obtained from Jim Gardner, J.M. Sherrard Awards, Historical Association (Canterbury), c/o Canterbury University.

oOOo

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