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The Friends of the Turnbull Library
Off The Record
Off the Record is the annual magazine of the Friends of the
Turnbull Library. It is distributed free to all members of the Friends
and is also available to the public, academic institutions and research
libraries and other interested organisations.
Copies may be obtained on application to the Secretary, Friends of the
Turnbull Library, PO Box 12-186, Wellington.
OFF THE RECORD, Number 15, March 2008Articles in the March 2008 issue include:
Celebrating John Milton (1608-1674): A review of some of the earlier Library exhibitions and articles about the Milton collection.
Milton Quatercentennial 1608-2008, Provenance and Fine Print: Ruth Lightbourne reveals some of the special treasures in the Library's printed Milton collection.
Researching in the Milton Collection, 1978-2008: Dr John Hale recalls a "Eureka" moment at the Turnbull Library in 1978 which gave a particular focus to his subsequent scholarship.
From the Chief Librarian: Chris Szekeley asks Peter Ireland to reflect on 20 years of Gallery exhibitions at the Library.
Whites Aviation photographic library Leo White's photographs are a huge recent acquisition for the Photographic Archive.
Lilburn's legacy grows: New Zealand composer Lyell Cresswell is donating his musical manuscripts to the Music Archive.
Jennifer Shennan, FoTL Research Grant 2008: The 2008 grant is awarded for research towards a biography of Poul Gnatt, founder of the Royal New Zealand Ballet.
A capital suburb: Pipitea Thorndon: A preview of the exhibition of historic photographs of Wellington's Pipitea Thorndon, which opened on 5 April.
Relocation of Turnbull's headstone: The memorial stone from the Turnbull family grave in the Bolton Street Memorial Park has a new site close to Alexander Turnbull's Bowen Street home.
OFF THE RECORD, Number 14, 2007
Articles in the 2007 issue included:
From the President: Rachel Underwood pays tribute to departing Chief Librarian Margaret Calder and welcomes Chris Szekely.
Founder Lecture 2007: In Search of Makereti
Paul Diamond discusses his research into "Guide Maggie" Papakura's life. The Founder Lecture is on 12 June 2007 at 6 pm.
Farewell to Margaret Calder
An edited version of Philip Rainer's speech at the formal function at the National Library on 19 March 2007. Margaret Calder left the Library in March after 16 years as Chief Librarian.
From the Chief Librarian
Chris Szekely, incoming Chief Librarian at the Alexander Turnbull Library, explains some of the appeal and challenges of his new position.
Joanne Drayton: National Library Fellow
Research at the Turnbull is contributing to a new biography of Dame Ngaio Marsh.
The theatrical world of the Turnbull Library, 1934-1950
Sarah Gaitanos, biographer of Nola Millar, explores a lively era at the Turnbull with many links to Wellington theatre.
New Zealand and the New Deal land
Robert S McElvaine is the 2007 Fulbright Scholar, researching connections between the policies of F D Roosevelt and M J Savage.
Conservation of oil paintings
A glimpse of some of the Turnbull's paintings selected for special conservation work. FoTL members are invited to sponsor this work.
Mapping our heritage
Dave Small discusses the work involved in producing the handsome 2006 publication, Map New Zealand.
Aussie: A Lawlor legacy
Pat Lawlor, founding secretary of the Friends of the Turnbull Library, also edited a special edition of the magazine, Aussie.
From the Guardians
Dr Lydia Wevers says that the Guardians/Kaitiaki look forward to working with and supporting the new Chief Librarian, Chris Szekely.
Confessions of a book collector
Donald Kerr spoke to Friends in March 2007 about his research into the lives of two famous book collectors, Dr T M Hocken and Sir George Grey.
Queen's Birthday Honours, 2006
Awards of the ONZM were made to Jim Traue, a former Chief Librarian of the Turnbull, and Dr Lydia Wevers, who chairs the Guardians/Kaitiaki of the Turnbull Library.
Articles in the 2006 issue included:
From the President:
Friends president Rachel Underwood discusses the increased funding from 2007 for the FoTL Research Grant.
Founder Lecture 2006
Jonathan Mane-Wheoki will give this year's Lecture on 15 June. His topic is 'Gothic Transplanted: Colonial mediaevalism and the architect's library'.
Looking back at the Music Archive
Jill Palmer recalls the early years of the Archive, as she prepares to leave after 27 years at the Turnbull Library.
From the Guardians
Dr Lydia Wevers reports on the past year's activities. The Guardians' monitoring role continues, but changes to their membership are in store.
The People Behind the Discoveries
A preview of an exhibition celebrating two centuries of scientists in New Zealand, curated by Veronika Meduna and Rebecca Priestley, which opens in September 2006.
Vale and Eragny Presses
Ruth Lightbourne describes some beautiful books in the Special Printed Collections.
Bronze portrait of Michael King presented to the Library
A report from the function held at the National Library on 30 March 2006.
Modelling Michael King's head
Sculptor Anthony Stones comments on the task of creating a bronze portrait of his friend from memories and photographs.
Digitising the Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand
Clark Stiles describes a major project being carried out at the National Library.
The Role of a Field Librarian
Diane Woods has a special interest in sports and ethnic communities, as she works to develop the Library's holdings in specific areas.
Alex Bremner: FoTL Research Grant
Dr Bremner is using the 2006 Research Grant to study Anglican church architecture in colonial New Zealand, as part of a broader study.
Chris Bourke: National Library Fellow 2006
Chris Bourke is completing a survey of popular music in New Zealand between 1918 and 1960, 'Blue Smoke Gets in Your Eyes'.
The New Zealand tradition of bibliography and editing
Prof Trevor Howard-Hill will give a public lecture at the Library on 3 August 2006, on the topic: 'Three great New Zealand bibliographers: personal reminiscences'.
Brad Patterson: The Celtic connection
Dr Patterson leads a team of researchers from four New Zealand universities studying Scottish migration to New Zealand to 1950.
Articles in the 2005 issue included: From the President
Friends president Rachel Underwood offers a personal perspective on donating items to the Turnbull Library.
Main Trunk Lines
A preview of the New Zealand poetry exhibition curated by Jenny Bornholdt and Gregory O’Brien, which opens in July.
Laurence Alfred Cameron, 1922-2005
An acknowledgement of Laurie Cameron’s contribution to the Turnbull Library Trustees and to the Endowment Trust.
Laughing at Ourselves
Ian Grant outlines three stages in the 13 years of the New Zealand Cartoon Archive, now that the Turnbull Library has assumed the role of the NZCA Trust.
A Bibliographic Milestone: Books in Maori 1815-1900
Dr Phil Parkinson celebrates the achievement of this massive bibliography.
Biographical Voyage of Discovery
Professor Tim Beaglehole, 2005 recipient of the Friends of the Turnbull Library’s Research Grant, is completing a biography of his father, historian J C Beaglehole.
National Treasures from Australia’s Great Libraries
Philip Rainer describes the huge exhibition being prepared by the Australian State Libraries to go on tour in Australia.
An Engrossing and Illuminating Journey
Patricia Grace spent many rewarding hours in the Turnbull Library while researching her recent novel, Tu, a fictional account of the Maori Battalion at Cassino.
Towards the Precipice: Propaganda posters collected by W B Sutch
Andrew Francis discusses the exhibition, which is going on tour in New Zealand.
National Library Fellow 2005: Joanna Woods
Dr Woods has chosen to study the life and times of Charles Baeyertz, founder and editor of New Zealand’s first long-running cultural magazine, the Triad.
Wesley Hilton Secker, 1922-1997
A generous bequest has been received by the Friends of the Turnbull Library from “Bill” Secker, who was The Dominion’s newspaper librarian and gardening editor for many years.
Fulbright Scholar 2005: Chadwick Allen
Professor Allen is researching Maori self-representation and indigenous identity in the postwar period, especially the 1950s.
Gifts to the Nation: Mardi Gras
Music librarian Jill Palmer has curated this celebration of the work of New Zealand composers.
Capturing Elections
Ingrid Mason explains “event harvesting” in an election year.
Articles in the 2004 issue included: The Guardians/Kaitiaki of the Turnbull. Lydia Wevers profiles this new group, which she chairs.
From the President. Rachel Underwood reviews the Friends’ two journals, and encourages further public donations to the ATL of items or materials of possible interest to future researchers.
From the Chief Librarian. Margaret Calder considers the major consequences for the ATL of the National Library Act (2003).
The Turnbull’s commitment to Chinese New Zealand studies. Nigel Murphy looks at a recent exhibition on the poll-tax, his own involvement in the apology process, Henry Chan’s research projects, and a forthcoming conference.
The National Preservation Office - salvaging archives in Niue and New Zealand. Work in Niue following Cyclone Heta and in the Manawatu region following devastating floods.
Being Pakeha men? Dr Matthew Basso, the current Fulbright Fellow, is researching the self-images of pakeha males on the home front during the Second World War, and their attitudes to other groups.
Utopian communities and visions. Professor Sargent is continuing his studies of utopianism in New Zealand.
‘A civilising mission’: New Zealanders and the Rhodes Scholarship, 1904-2004. An exhibition in the National Library Gallery features a select group of high-flyers.
Cultivated landscapes: views, vistas and gardens. A parallel exhibition illustrates lived-in, farmed or aesthetically devised landscapes, in Europe and this country.
Deaths of Janet Frame and Michael King. A small exhibition celebrated Frame’s life, following her recent decease; her biographer Dr King’s death is lamented.
Musical notes. The Turnbull’s backing for the C18 Music Centre, for Dr Philip Norman’s biography of Douglas Lilburn, and for recording projects.
Electronic resources in the Turnbull. An e-librarian and a digital archivist are responding to the expansion of electronic resources and to the extension to them of legal deposit obligations.
Cartoon exhibition generates two publications. An exhibition in 2003 has given rise to a book of political cartoons and another of cartoons relating to women’s changing roles.
Past exhibitions: ‘The Dance of the Peacocks’ and ‘Tutu’. Bertram, Cox, Davin, Milner, Mulgan: five remarkable men; and a celebration of the New Zealand Ballet Company.
Taha Maori. Contributions to the Maori Language Strategy and the Treaty of Waitangi Information Unit.
Gifts to the nation: ‘The Sacred’. Gifts exhibited include a selection of books from the collection loaned by the Bible Society, and other documents and images relating to religions.
Maclean’s book John Pascoe. Chris Maclean uses many photos from ATL collections.
Library hours; Buying Library publications; Exhibitions.
Articles in the 2003 issue included: The National Library of New Zealand Bill. Margaret Calder, Chief Librarian of the Turnbull Library, and Rachel Underwood, President of the Friends of the Turnbull Library, write about the passage of the National Library of New Zealand Bill into law.
The Friends’ association with the Alexander Turnbull Library Endowment Trust. Margaret Calder writes of the mutual support agreed between the Friends of the Turnbull Library and the Alexander Turnbull Library Endowment Trust.
Farewell to Penny Griffith. After six years, the editor of the Friends’ publications has retired. Kim Worthington has been appointed new editor.
A warm welcome to the new National Librarian. Penny Carnaby brings key skills to the National Library and Alexander Turnbull Library.
Professor Judy Temple, Fulbright Scholar 2003. Details of Professor Temple’s research on New Zealand settler women’s diaries.
The Alexander Turnbull Library purchases a significant Charles Barraud painting. The auction purchase of Barraud’s oil painting of Wellington in 1851 has attracted nationwide attention. The Library already holds over 300 of his watercolours including two preliminary sketches for the same view.
One hundred years of photographic history. Philip Rainer tells of the gifting of images from the Dominion and Evening Post.
Unknown Maori electoral roll found. Mary Cobeldick shares her exciting discovery of an unknown electoral roll.
A tribute to Bob Burnett, independent historian. A sad loss to New Zealand’s research community.
Ross Galbreath, National Library Fellow 2003. Dr Galbreath reconsiders the meaning of “native” and “introduced” in his research into the “settlement” of New Zealand’s fauna and flora overseas.
Philip Temple’s book on the Wakefield family. Rachel Underwood discusses Philip Temple’s contribution to settler history in his book, A Sort of Conscience.
Welsh history recorded for perpetuity. The Welsh Society presents its Oral History Project to the Alexander Turnbull Library.
Victoria University students work on Turnbull holdings. Targeted PhD scholarship holders tell of their projects.
Dr Paul Millar’s research on Turnbull holdings. The New Zealand Dictionary of Literary Biography and the biography of Bill Pearson make extensive use of Turnbull materials.
Articles in the 2002 issue included: Samuel Carnell’s photographic portraits of Ngati Kahungunu, 1870-1906. Carnell’s portraits held in the Turnbull have been assembled in a major exhibition shown first in Hastings and now in the National Library accompanied by a programme of 25 lectures on many aspects of the Ngati Kahungunu iwi (tribe).
The National Preservation Office. Since 1997 the Turnbull Library has offered support and advice to communities responsible for documentary heritage collections, including marae and iwi.
Fulbright Scholar visits. Historian Daniel Thorp is this year’s J William Fulbright Scholar in comparative US-NZ history at the Turnbull, studying New Zealand’s Pakeha Maori and the White Indians of the US and Canada.
National Library Fellow 2002. German cultural anthropologist Brigitte Bönisch-Brednich is studying immigrants’ stories of their experiences in the impressive holdings in the National Library and Turnbull Library, many of them unpublished.
CD celebrates Ngati Poneke. The Turnbull has issued a CD of classic concert party recordings made in the 1940s and early 1950s by Wellington's Ngati Poneke Young Maori Club.
Accessing our culture online. Three important online resources have recently been launched: an e-text archive of significant New Zealand and Pacific materials in the humanities; digitised images of early New Zealand newspapers; and an online encyclopaedia of New Zealand (a companion to the online Dictionary of NZ Biography).
Remembering Elsie Locke (1912-2001). A tribute to this writer and political activist whose papers have been bequeathed to the Turnbull.
Katherine Mansfield comes home. A collection of once-treasured possessions of writer Katherine Mansfield including manuscripts, photographs, letters and a tress of her hair has been acquired by the Turnbull at a London auction.
The Hugh Price Collection. Wellington publisher Hugh Price has donated to the Turnbull his important collection of New Zealand educational texts published between 1860 and 1960.
Appointment of Maori oral historian. Taina McGregor has taken up the new post of oral historian, Maori, at the Turnbull, to assist Maori groups and individuals recording oral histories.
The Library hits the road. Diane Woods has been appointed as the Turnbull’s first field librarian, to assist potential donors and vendors, making them aware of the importance of materials they possess.
Microforms support Turnbull collections. The Turnbull holds the only NZ subscriptions to several major international full-text microform publications that can support the Library’s special printed collections.
Items in the 2001 issue of Off the Record included:
Edward Ashworth in New Zealand 1842-44. One of the treasures of the Turnbull Library is a collection of journals and watercolours by the English architect Edward Ashworth. The New Zealand Cartoon Archive. The Turnbull has been supporting a series of events involving this important collection of about 25,000 images. Sir Apirana Ngata’s papers. Fifty years after the death of Sir Apirana Ngata, the first Maori cabinet minister and a great champion of Maori social and economic development, his family has agreed that the Turnbull should be the repository for his large and important collection of personal papers. National Library Fellow. Samoan historian Damon Salesa, the National Library research fellow for 2001, has been drawing on the Turnbull’s extensive collections about Samoa to write a “people’s history” of Samoa. Burning Bright: A Vision of William Blake. A highly successful exhibition of William Blake’s visionary art, drawn from the collections of the Turnbull and the National Library, has been held in Wellington. Remembering Don McKenzie. The Turnbull was a joint sponsor of a recent conference which attracted international participation to commemorate the work of the world renowned book scholar Don McKenzie, a Wellingtonian who had close associations with the Turnbull. Oscar Natzka Sings Again. Oscar Natzke (1912-1951), the NZ blacksmith who became one of the world’s great bass singers, lives again in two CDs issued jointly by the Turnbull and Atoll Ltd, containing all his known recordings.