Friends’ bulletin board archive

Letters by or about James Hector

Simon Nathan talked to FoTL members on 13 March 2013 about ‘The changing face of James Hector’. Simon has been involved in a major project of transcribing letters written by or about James Hector, and agreed to give us more information about how to access the letters.

James Hector (1834-1907) was the dominating personality in late 19th century scientific circles in New Zealand. As the first professional scientist to be employed by the government, he founded the Geological Survey (now GNS Science), the Colonial Museum (now Te Papa) and the New Zealand institute (now Royal Society of New Zealand) as well as supervising weather forecasting, the time service, and the Colonial Botanic Garden. Continue reading “Letters by or about James Hector”

Wellingtonians, a Turnbull book

Turnbull manuscripts curator David Colquhoun has produced a winner with Wellingtonians: From the Turnbull Collections.

Readers will enjoy a delightful variety of aspects of Wellington’s past, in a satisfyingly offbeat selection from the Turnbull’s pictorial treasurehouse of photographs, paintings, cartoons, manuscripts, posters, sketches, and novelty postcards. The book was published by Steele Roberts late last year.

Earthquakes in Christchurch

The PapersPast website is widely consulted by researchers of local and family history, and deserves its status as an essential research tool. Recent searches on ‘Christchurch earthquake’ produced some interesting results – especially surprising if you thought that the destruction experienced in September 2010 and February 2011 was unprecedented in the Garden City.

It is evident that there were “slight” or “sharp” shocks on numerous occasions in the 19th century. On 10 June 1869, the Grey River Argus advised of “Another Earthquake in Christchurch: A smart shock was felt at five to two this morning.” A quick survey of other reports indicate there was a slight shock in August 1871; an earthquake was “felt in Lyttelton and Christchurch” in November 1880; and other reports appear in July 1881, January 1884, and January 1888.

Continue reading “Earthquakes in Christchurch”

Governor-General marks Library’s 90th birthday

Libraries are fundamental pillars of a working democracy, as vital to its health and wellbeing as a free press, said the Governor-General, Sir Anand Satyanand, in his 2010 Founder Address to the Friends of the Turnbull at a special function marking the Turnbull Library’s 90th anniversary. The birthday celebration was held in the Grand Hall of Parliament Buildings on Wednesday 16 June.

Continue reading “Governor-General marks Library’s 90th birthday”

Conservation of Turnbull treasures

The Friends of the Turnbull Library successfully applied for funding from the National Library of New Zealand’s Macklin Bequest, augmented by individual donations, to achieve an exciting restoration project. Several oil paintings from the Drawings, Paintings and Prints Collection, including portraits and landscapes, were repaired and restored over two years. Conservator Caroline Izzo (pictured studying a Coromandel scene painted by Charles Blomfield) completed most of the work in 2009.

A project sponsored by the Friends of the Turnbull Library was the conservation of oil paintings in the Turnbull Library

Bequests and Donations

Bequests and donations are very effective ways of supporting the Alexander Turnbull Library. The Library always welcomes bequests that may be of historical value, including books, documents, paintings, drawings, family papers and photographs. Financial bequests – made direct to the Alexander Turnbull Library Endowment Trust or to the Friends of the Turnbull Library – are used to support the Library’s work of collecting, preserving, and improving the dissemination of knowledge of New Zealand’s heritage.

Continue reading “Bequests and Donations”

Bequest to assist conservation work

The Friends have been successful in obtaining a grant of $10,000 from the National Library’s Macklin Bequest to be used towards the restoration of several oil paintings in the Turnbull Library’s collections.

The first painting to be restored is a portrait of Walter Turnbull — father of Alexander Turnbull — which was part of Alexander’s own collection. Some 40 years after Alexander’s death, the painting suffered water damage while stored in the attic of the old Turnbull House.

The Future Turnbull

The Alexander Turnbull Library’s chief librarian, Chris Szekely, delivered the annual Friends of the Turnbull Library Founder Lecture to the Friends on 18 June 2009, discussing the challenges ahead for the Library and the giant steps already being taken to meet them.

We have pleasure in presenting the full text of his lecture which poses and answers vital questions about how the Library will look in ten years time and beyond.

You can read the 2009 Friends of the Turnbull Library Founder Lecture here.

Call for papers: Turnbull Library Record

The Turnbull Library Record is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal in the humanities, published annually by the Alexander Turnbull Library in association with the Friends of the Turnbull Library. Contributions that have not been previously published are welcomed and, before acceptance, will be evaluated by independent referees.

For details of forthcoming issues and submission requirements, contact:

The Editorial Board
Turnbull Library Record
PO Box 12 349
Wellington, New Zealand

Cambodian Oral History project

A major project to record interviews with Cambodian women about their lives in Cambodia and their harrowing experiences under the ‘killing fields’ regime of Pol Pot was conducted over several years by Mrs Niborom Young, and completed in 2009. The project was assisted by a grant from the Friends of the Turnbull Library.