Archives and Manuscripts

The J. C. Beaglehole Room is the official repository within the Library of archival and manuscript material. This includes collected archives and some University archives. Records include dates and formats from 1746 to the present day, and cover a wide range of topics. The collection measures c1000m to date. Brief online descriptions are available via the New Zealand National Register of Archives and Manuscripts (NRAM). More detailed finding aids, and digitised content including photographs, posters and sound recordings, are available in the J. C. Beaglehole Room on Level 1 of the Central Library. As archival collections may have restrictions on access, researchers are advised to check with the Library prior to their visit. Particular collection strengths are the archives of: Victoria University of Wellington, Trade unions and employment history, Professional associations, the New Zealand Literary Archive Project, and the NZTronix Project.

University archives

Most Victoria University of Wellington records contine to be held within their originating section or office, but some archives have been transferred to the J. C. Beaglehole Room and finding aids for these are held at the reading room. The names of these major record groups are given below, together with an indication (*) of whether the J C Beaglehole Room also holds additional lists for their records held elsewhere, which were created as part of a survey of major storage areas, in 2003. Restrictions may apply.

Vice-Chancellor's Office *	Library including University Librarian's Papers
Committees and Central Secretariat *	Halls of Residence Foundation
Professorial Board *	Liaison Officer
Registry *	Information Officer
Facilities Management (formerly titled Works and Services) *	Electronic Music Studio
Image Services (formerly titled Photographic Department)	Geography Department
University Extension (formerly titled Adult Education)	History Department
Computing Services Centre	Law Faculty *
Women's Studies Department	Nursing Studies Department

 

In addition, the J C Beaglehole Room holds lists only from the 2003 survey, which may assist with research into records from the following University groups: Council, Deputy Vice-Chancellor's Office, Student Administration, Science, and Finance. Access must be arranged with the originating office, and restrictions may apply.

Digitised content:

An early online finding aid for the 1970 Te Aro Photographs Collection is available . Other historic University photographs have been digitised and are available in the reading room.

Archives of Associated Organisations

• VUWSA, (Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association), 1905-
• Student and staff groups, e.g. Tramping Club, Debating Society, Mathematical and Physical Society, Evangelical Union, Lecturers' Association, Law Faculty Club ...
• New Zealand University Students' Association, 1928-
• New Zealand Universities' Sports Union, 1957-1995
• New Zealand Students' Arts Council, 1973-1992 (project)
• Association of University Staff (including predecessor organisations such as the Association of University Teachers, the Association of New Zealand University Library Staff, and the New Zealand University Technicians' Union), 1923-

Trade Union and employment archives

Several unions have deposited archives under the 1973 Labour Archives Trust, including: the Labourers' Union, the Plumbers' Union, the Printing Union, and the Musicians' Union. A major private donation has been the Papers of Jim Roberts, secretary to the Alliance of Labour and the Waterside Workers' Federation in the 1920s and 1930s. This collection has a published finding aid (A Finding List to the Papers of Jim Roberts, 1985).

Later additions include the Dan Long Memorial Union Library and its Equal Pay Campaign Archive, and pamphlets from the collection of Bert Roth.

Professional Associations and related archives

The chief research collection in this area is the archive of the New Zealand Institute of Architects, 1906-1967 (later records are still held by the Institute). Similar organisational archives include those of the Archives and Records Association of New Zealand (ARANZ) and the New Zealand Society of Archivists (1990-2005).

Manuscript papers of University staff and associates

The Library holds selected papers from University staff, graduates and associated scholars. These are chiefly research and professional papers but some collections do include personal material, and are for that reason restricted.

An associated group of material, which is archival in character although it contains published material only, is the "VUW Authors Collection", containing copies of articles and other publications by members of the University staff, past and present. From 2007 this collection includes staff outputs gathered for PBRF reporting.

Literary archives

The New Zealand Literary Archive Project was funded initially by Independent Newspapers Limited, and allows the Library to acquire manuscript materials from working writers associated with the University. The writers in the Literary Archive Project are Jenny Bornholdt, Alistair Te Ariki Campbell, Patricia Grace, and Witi Ihimaera.

Related literary archives are 1) the papers of Bruce Mason (1921-1982), 2) papers to do with Frank McKay's biography of the poet James K. Baxter, and 3) archives from the University's Creative Writing courses (there are access restrictions on each of these collections).

NZTronix Project

This project aims to provide research access to 'information on games and other software ... that were written and/or published in New Zealand during the 1980s and 1990s'. See the project's home page.

The J. C. Beaglehole Room also provides advice on other archival collections within the University, notably that of the Faculty of Architecture and Design.

Research tools for New Zealand archives held elsewhere:

• National Register of Archives and Manuscripts / Te Rārangi Pūranga, Tuhinga Ake o te Motu (NRAM): A centralised register of collection level descriptions for archives held in many New Zealand repositories. Some institutions, such as Auckland War Memorial Museum Library Te Pataka Matapuna, Canterbury Museum, and the J C Beaglehole Room, aim to report all their holdings to NRAM. However some major repositories do not report their archival holdings comprehensively; some have online tools as below (NB this list does not aim to be comprehensive):
• Archives New Zealand: "Archives New Zealand is the permanent repository for the archives of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the Government of New Zealand. The NRAM website includes only a small portion of its total holdings. Please visit www.archway.archives.govt.nz for further information about the holdings of Archives New Zealand" (see http://www.archway.archives.govt.nz/)
• Alexander Turnbull Library: "Only those archives published in the 1993 'W' series on women's archives are listed here. Other archives may be located through the Library's TAPUHI database" (see http://tapuhi.natlib.govt.nz/)
• Hocken Library, University of Otago: "Note: The NRAM listing of archives held by the Hocken Library is not complete. Searchers are encouraged to visit the Library's website and search its in-house database, Hakena", see http://hakena.otago.ac.nz/nreq/Welcome.html
• Auckland City Archives : 'Containing descriptions of over 170,000 council records dating back to 1852... [and including] valuation, rates rolls, registers of employees, publicans and other licences and cemetery burial registers. Auckland City Council archives contain information from within the council and former local authorities within the Auckland isthmus.
  www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/archives <file://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/archives> or to view the records visit the research room at the Central City Library, 44-46 Lorne Street, CBD Auckland.'
  
• Wellington City Archives, which holds archives from Wellington City Council and its predecessors in local government, "also collects the records of other organisations which have made a significant contribution to the life and development of Wellington" (see http://www.wellington.govt.nz/services/archives/index.html)
• The University of Canterbury Library's digitised copies of historic photographs from archival collections are now available online at (http://library.canterbury.ac.nz/home/unique.shtml). ' The collections currently available include the A. C. Graham collection of West coast photographs dating from the 1800s, a photograph collection that records over 100 years of the history of the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company and Pacific photographs gathered by John Macmillan Brown in the early 20th century.'
• Palmerston North City Library and the Ian Matheson City Archives collections - Pataka Ipurangi : Manawatu Memory Online: 'is our Local History Digital Library, containing a selection of digitised resources ... Manawatu Memory Online currently consists of historical photographs, manuscripts, maps, and documents.'

In addition, note that Archives New Zealand's Library catalogue (holding 'New Zealand's most comprehensive collection of archival and records management texts and serials') can now be accessed via their official website.