British sovereignty over New Zealand was established two years after the passing of the Public Record Office Act of 1838. It is not surprising then that the Colonial Reformers of the New Zealand Company should have included a Public Record Office in their plans of settlement or that the Colonial Office should have assumed the existence of such an office in its instructions to Governor Hobson in 1840. It was natural, too, that the Treaty of Waitangi should be filed amongst the “archives of the colony”.
The Colonial Secretary was the registrar of the public records. As sole channel of communication with the Governor, he was in a good position to ensure their preservation. After 1854, with the formation of the provincial governments and the diversification of Central Government Departments, the Colonial Secretary ceased to have sole control over the public records, and for the next 40 years they suffered neglect. Even the records of the abolished provincial governments, unlike those of earlier defunct administrations, were, for the most part, simply handed over to the local land offices.
The last years of the century, however, saw a growing interest in the records of the colony, an interest not so much in their preservation as in the use they might be made to serve. By this time New Zealand was almost past the period of initial colonisation, and men like R. J. Seddon were concerned to see that the achievements of themselves and their forbears were properly recorded. This concern resulted in attempts to obtain copies of records relating to New Zealand, both from the Public Record Office in England and from the New South Wales Government. Nothing was achieved except the transfer to New Zealand in 1909 of the Governor's duplicate dispatches. At the same time J. Izett, inspired by the compilers of the Historical Records of New South Wales, offered his services for a similar project, and in 1900 was appointed to the task. His attempts at compiling a history were not very successful and it was never published. His work was in a sense taken over by Robert McNab, who was similarly inspired by the Historical Records of New South Wales. In 1908 and 1914 two volumes of Historical Records of New Zealand appeared covering the years 1642 to 1842 and containing a considerable amount of material gleaned from its counterpart of New South Wales.
The first real attempt to ensure the preservation of the archives was made by A. Hamilton, Director of the Dominion Museum, in 1906. He advocated the construction of a reinforced-concrete building and the appointment of a director of colonial records. Later, in 1909, a central repository was made available in the Mount Cook Barracks, Wellington, under the control of the Director of the Museum, and a number of Government records, including those of earlier defunct administrations, were stored there for the next eight years, after which the records were once more dispersed. Interest in New Zealand's history continued to grow and various schemes for the development of a national historical collection were put forward. At length the agitation of the Board of Science and Art, set up under the 1913 Science and Art Act, resulted in the appointment in 1926 of G. H. Scholefield as Controller of Dominion Archives in conjunction with his appointment as Librarian of the General Assembly Library. This appointment marked the real beginning of a National Archives. There was as yet no staff and no building, but gradually a considerable quantity of archives from all over the country was brought into the parliamentary library, and the principle was established that no Government records should be destroyed without the consent of the Controller of Dominion Archives.
In October 1936 E. H. McCormick was appointed to the work of arranging and listing the records. During the war he was appointed Archivist to the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force and returned to New Zealand as Chief War Archivist. In 1946 he produced a comprehensive plan for the establishment of a national archives system. The time was not then ripe for its full implementation, but gradually M. W. Standish, who took over control of the archives in 1948, was able to develop and expand the various functions of a national archives. A fire in Hope Gibbons building at Wellington in 1952 destroyed the records of a number of Government Departments. Public interest was quickened and in 1954 Cabinet approved a plan for the development of the archives, including the appraisal of departmental records, the arrangement and description of the archives, the appointment of a Chief Archivist and appropriate staff, and the introduction of legislation. Cabinet also authorised the New Zealand Government to join with certain Australian libraries in microfilming material of Australasian and Pacific interest held in overseas archives and libraries. Improved accommodation was also found in the Employers' Federation building on the Terrace, Wellington. In 1957 the Archives Act was passed providing for the establishment of a National Archives and the appointment of a Chief Archivist. It also provided that records over the age of 25 years should be deposited in the National Archives and that no records should be destroyed without the consent of the Chief Archivist.
But without adequate accommodation the National Archives could never develop properly. In 1959 a temporary solution was found by which the National Archives, with Cabinet authority, took over legal custody of valuable records held in Government cellars and elsewhere. At the same time a vigorous disposal programme was undertaken, which effectually reduced the space taken by old records and made available accommodation for the records of other Departments. In 1962 the opening of a Records Centre at Lower Hutt provided some space for Government archives until such time as a National Archives building could be erected.
The primary function of the National Archives is the preservation of the archives of Government Departments and related administrative units, and this involves the selection of those records having permanent value, the authorisation of the destruction of valueless records, the arrangement and description of archives, and the provision of a reference service to scholars, to Government Departments, and to the general public. Almost all Government Departments have transferred their older records to the custody of the National Archives. These comprise some 80-odd groups and include the archives of the Governor, from 1840 to 1939, the archives of the Colonial Secretary's Office, and those of its successor, the Department of Internal Affairs, from 1840 to 1937, the archives of the Colonial Defence Office and its successor, the Army Department, from 1859 to 1925, of the Justice Department from 1858 to 1934, and of the Treasury from 1840 to 1921. Most of the surviving records of the old provincial governments have been deposited in the Archives: Otago, Nelson, Hawke's Bay, and Taranaki archives are more or less complete, but the archives of the Wellington Provincial Government date only from 1858, and Auckland from 1872, while nothing more than a few volumes has survived from the Westland and Marlborough Provinces. The archives of the New Munster Government are also complete, but only one volume has survived from New Ulster. Many other Departments have deposited their older archives. But there are many gaps in these archives caused by a series of fires and other disasters in Government buildings. In 1862 the White Swan, carrying some of the Colonial Secretary's papers, was wrecked. In 1887 the Wellington Post Office was burnt down, with the destruction of all of its records, together with a number of small Departments' archives. In 1890 the Government Printing Office was destroyed, and in 1907 the burning of Parliament Buildings resulted in the loss of the inwards letters of the Maori Affairs Department, from 1840 to 1891, records of the Education Department and of the Marine Department. In 1952 fire in Hope Gibbons building destroyed the earliest records of the Lands and Survey Department, the Marine Department, the Ministry of Works, and the Labour Department, and in 1960 a fire at Aotea Quay destroyed almost all the Post Office records since 1887.
The National Archives also holds the archives of the New Zealand Company, from 1840 to 1850, including duplicate dispatches sent from the Principal Agent to the Secretary, London, as well as similar duplicates from the Governor to the Secretary of State for Colonies, 1840 to 1855. There are also a few manuscript collections of notable people, such as R. J. Seddon, Sir T. Gore Browne, F. A. Weld, and W. P. Reeves. Some attempt has been made to microfilm material held in overseas institutions: Colonial Office archives relative to New Zealand, 1840 to 1860; the archives of the French Ministry of Marine, which was concerned with the French missionaries in the Bay of Islands and the colonisation of Akaroa; dispatches between American consuls, both in New Zealand and in the Pacific Islands, with the United States State Department. Archives from Samoa have been placed on indefinite loan in the New Zealand Archives. These include the archives of the British Consul since 1860 and of the German Consul and of the German Administration of Samoa.
The second function of the National Archives is that of the provision of records centres, where Departments may place their semi-current records until such time as they are ready to be transferred to the Archives or to be destroyed. A reference service is supplied to Departments by National Archives staff. There are two records centres at Lower Hutt and one in Auckland, all opened in 1962.
Finally, since 1955, the National Archives has provided a service in records management for Government Departments. It assists Departments to develop better classification schemes, to improve their records-keeping practices, and to arrange for the regular retirement of obsolete records and their ultimate disposal.
The National Archives have produced a number of publications. These include 10 preliminary inventories describing the archives of the provincial governments, the New Zealand Company, and the Governor-General. Information circulars are from time to time distributed to Departments to assist them in the management of their records.
Non-Central Government archives and private archives are preserved by libraries and museums. The New Zealand Library Association has formed an Archives Committee to assist in their preservation. It is in process of surveying and listing the holdings of local authorities.
by Pamela Somers Cocks, M.A., DIP.N.Z.L.S., Archivist, Wellington.