The Post

Digitising a record of NZ’s national parks

All year, and especially over the holiday season, thousands of people get to enjoy the 13 national parks in Aotearoa. At Archives NZ, we have been enjoying rediscover­ing some of the items we care for from the Department of Conservati­on.

While it’s not quite as good as visiting the parks, for archivists it’s a pretty close second.

This work is part of the Utaina project, in which Archives is working alongside the National Library of NZ and Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision to digitise more than 460,000 items from the Crown’s audiovisua­l heritage collection­s. The multi-year project will ensure this taonga is accessible now and for future generation­s.

Archives has more than seven million records in its care. As part of its work surveying the holdings, the Utaina team is uncovering some fascinatin­g items. Once digitised, they’ll be available via Collection­s search so you can access them on a mobile device or computer from anywhere in the world.

While surveying the Wellington repository for audiovisua­l items, a box from DOC, specifical­ly part of a series from the New Zealand National Parks Centennial Commission, brought smiles to Archives staff. The box featured a 7-inch vinyl single, sheet music and lyrics, and three audio cassette tapes. They’ll soon be easier to access and preserved for the future.

But the box contained other items that many would be surprised to find in a government archive. Colourful button badges featuring artwork representi­ng 12 national parks and three maritime parks are a snapshot of a moment in time, with Te Urewera still a national park and Kahurangi and Rakiura yet to become ones.

Te Urewera was disestabli­shed as a national park in 2014 following the Ngāi Tūhoe Treaty of Waitangi settlement with the Crown.

Kahurangi became one in 1996, and Rakiura in 2002.

Also in the box was a Tommy Takahē soft toy and kiwi figurine. Sporting a feathered cap, bright blue backpack and black boots, Tommy Takahē’s label states, “I am almost extinct and live only in the mountains of Fiordland NZ. Please take care of me.” Today, takahē are still at risk.

T-shirts and a set of national parks centennial coins were also in the DOC box. The latter includes a 1987 coin sealed by the United Kingdom’s royal mint, featuring a design by Maurice Conly based on the official logo of the National Parks Centennial.

At first glance, you might not realise these items form part of the record of government in New Zealand. You may also wonder why we have them at all.

But at Archives NZ, every item – including this series – goes through a comprehens­ive process before it arrives in our holdings. The public archives we retain and preserve need to align with our public sector archival selection statement to connect to the past, prepare for the future – Me titiro whakamuri, ki te anga whakamua.

These unusual national park records show that when it comes to archives, there’s often more than meets the eye. The important mahi of the Utaina project team is bringing records like these – and the stories behind them – to the forefront.

Utaina is a significan­t project, unlike anything ever undertaken in New Zealand. Alongside the National Library and Ngā Taonga, our work to digitise our audiovisua­l collection­s will ensure this taonga is always accessible to all New Zealanders.

Victoria Chu is the film and audiovisua­l specialist, and Amber Callanan the senior content developer, at Archives NZ. For more on the national parks items, visit archives. govt.nz