It has been nearly six months since the launch of the Ashburton Museum’s online collections website, Whakatere Heritage Collections Online.
Whakatere Heritage is the public-facing site for the museum’s collections database. It allows us to share references to our archives, and low-resolution access copies of our photograph collection with the wider public for research purposes and personal use.
Not all of the collection items cared for by the museum are available to freely browse online yet, but more records are added every week which includes Ashburton District Council archives, and some new donations to the Ashburton Museum & Historical Society (AM&HS) collection.
Before all of the museum’s collections are freely searchable online, much work has to be done to correct, add to, and otherwise prepare our catalogue records to be easily used by the public.
The ADC archives
Two sections currently contain records to browse on Whakatere Heritage: the archives and photos sections.
The former contains a number of references to the AM&HS Collection, but the overwhelming majority of archives currently available online are from the Ashburton District Council’s historical archives collection.
The reason for this is because we have been undertaking a huge project to update our catalogue records for these archives, by replacing a pre-existing catalogue, and splitting it up into manageble catalogue entries, to make the whole lot more accessible.
We are required under the Public Records Act to make the district council archives freely accessible to the public, and so by making these records easier to browse and releasing references online, we are strengthening our obligation.
The ADC’s archives mainly span from the inauguration of the Ashburton Road Board (our first local governing body) in 1864, to the amalgamation of the Ashburton County and Borough in 1989, forming the Ashburton District Council.
There are innumerable bound volumes of minutes, correspondence, and finances, many boxes of paper bundles, leatherbound journals, and maps and plans, which take up more than a dozen shelving units in the archives. Basic catalogue information about all of these items will become available to browse via Whakatere Heritage over the coming years as we meticulously go through each shelf, each box, each book, and refine our records.
So far, there are 368 records from the ADC collection available online, comprising almost all the records of the local Road Board authorities (of which there were many). Now we are focusing on getting the Ashburton County Council’s records online.
Snaps from the past
A good number of photographs from the AM&HS collection have also been added to Whakatere Heritage since the launch.
Some examples include a collection of photographic postcards of the Ashburton Domain, photos from a local World War Two soldier who was a prisoner of war in Italy, views of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s visit to Ashburton in 1954, and even some snaps of a train derailment at Hinds in July, 2012.
One of the photographs on this page is one example of a recently donated item which has been uploaded to Whakatere Heritage.
It is one of a set of three prints produced by Rex Studios, Ashburton, taken during the unveiling of the John Grigg statue in Baring Square East, December 16, 1905.
Ashburton County Council chairman Mr C. J. Harper is standing closest to the monument, giving a speech, flanked by a line of dignitaries and prominent Ashburton men to his left.
There is a chair to Harper’s left, and the man leaning on the chair, envelope in hand, appears to be Hugo Friedlander, former thrice-Mayor of Ashburton.
Another image that is now available on Whakatere Heritage is the postcard, also on this page, of the old Ashburton Domain pavilion.
While we typically shy away from having duplicates of such things in the collection, this postcard was retained not just due to its superior condition, but also it had been postally used, bearing a personal message on the reverse.
The message is from “Sarah”, of Springburn, to Mr. J. Drury, Ashburton.
Sadly the card does not bear a stamp or postmark, so we have no date for when this was sent (thought to be from the 1900s-1910s), but the message itself is a fun glimpse into ordinary life:
“Will not be in Ashburton this week, and am going to Methven on Saturday, so may not be able to get to the train. I asked Mr Cook if he knew of any place where you and your friend could stay, and he said they would put you up for the night. If you ask the guard he will tell you the way. Kind regards to all from Sarah.”
You can explore many more photographs and archives from the museum’s collections by heading to: whakatereheritage.catalogaccess.com.
This material is co-ordinated by the Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum.
