Media release: Taonga Archive of Maori History Returns to New Zealand Ownership
A taonga archive featuring thousands of images illustrating almost every aspect of Maori life from the early 20th century will be repatriated into public ownership – thanks to a new deal between its foreign owner and the National Library of NZ.
The Fairfax Archives collection of 5,300 images of tangata whenua has been independently valued at $340,000.
Along with the cache of images of Maori, The Fairfax Archive includes more than one million vintage photographs from an original collection used in six regional New Zealand newspapers between 1840-2005.
Fairfax Media sent the 1.4 million images to the United States to be digitised in 2013. The archive was in danger of being destroyed when the Duncan Miller Gallery in Los Angeles purchased it.
These photographs have been held in foreign ownership for more than a decade.
Sophie Coupland, a New Zealand art valuer who assessed and categorised the entire collection of photographs of Maori says the images also feature key details on the subject and events on the reverse side.
“The Fairfax Archive Collection of Tangata Whenua is an important taonga as a record of Maori history and the social history of New Zealand.
“The value of these images is enhanced as they often appear with the original newspaper article which gives them greater historical context and meaning.
“The collection presents a comprehensive documentary of Maori culture and society, largely through the second half of the 20th century but with some early 20th-century material included,” she says.
The historic archive includes important images of key figures in Maoridom including; Dame Whina Cooper, Eva Rickard, artists such as Rangimarie Hetet, entertainers Billy T James, Dalvanius Prime, Howard Morrison, Rawiri Paratene and Tina Cross, activist Titewhai Harawira taken by Gil Hanly, Dun Mihaka and Tama Iti, writers Patricia Grace, Michael King, Hone Tuwhare and Whiti Ihimara, alongside images of politicians such as Koro Wetere, official ceremonies and images of the Maori royal family.
“It also includes a significant section of images documenting political activation which includes many of the Bastion Point occupation and protests, images of political conflict at Waitangi and the 1992 Referendum on Fisheries. The images in this set chronicle the Maori struggle for rights,” she says.
In addition to important events within Maori history, there is also a comprehensive array of images showing the lives and issues of every day people, often with these individuals named and documented.
“This includes images of Maori social housing, issues relating to Maori health, Maori wardens, the Maori Battalion, kohanga reo, artists, weavers, events such as tangihanga and the Te Maori exhibition, the opening and restoration of marae buildings, waka carving and racing events, haka and poi demonstrations and food gathering and preparation.
“This collection provides a snapshot of the historical experiences of Maori, a rounded presentation of Maori history within Aotearoa over the past decades,” she says.
Coupland says the newspaper cuttings on the verso provide an overview of how Maori affairs were reported on by mainstream media.
“Language use is a sensitive barometer of social and cultural development and these images together with the articles and texts associated provide valuable insights into how Maori have been viewed and presented, reflecting the prevailing attitudes of writers and editors,” she says.
Professor of History at AUT Dr Paul Moon says it is wonderful to see the images successfully repatriated to Aotearoa New Zealand.
“These photographs are a national taonga, and it’s a wonderful gesture to have them go to the library’s permanent collection, rather than being dispersed on the open market,” he says.
Daniel Miller of Duncan Miller Gallery says the archive is significant as it is one of the largest photographic collections that exists on New Zealand history – covering the past 183 years.
He says that while valued at $340,000 the archive was purchased for significantly less.
“The strongest images within the collection have both aesthetic appeal and convey something crucial and essential of Maori social history; images which encapsulate a pivotal event or capture a defining mood,” he says.
Miller says the images of tangata whenua represent less than one per cent of the hundreds of thousands of irreplaceable photographs that were almost destroyed.
He says while past archive storage exposed some prints to humidity, the collection has been stored in a temperature-controlled facility under its new ownership.
“There are hundreds of thousands of images covering other aspects of New Zealand life and pivotal moments in the nation’s history.
“Some examples of the thousands of other collections include pre-WWII military training camps for high school students, the construction and eventual dismantling of Auckland’s electric tramway system between 1900-1982, life in the Chatham Islands between 1910-1991, and portraits of preeminent New Zealand architects.
“We also have collections of sporting images, including well-known rugby, cricket and tennis players – with each set offering between 12,000 and 35,000 images.
“We are looking to make these available for purchase by private citizens as well as institutions through the online auction platform TheFairfaxArchives.co.nz this month,” he says.
Miller says all of the vintage images were captured by in-house and freelance photographers at the Dominion Post, Manawatu Standard, The Press, Southland Times, Sunday Star Times, Taranaki Daily News, Timaru Herald, and Waikato Times before publication in these titles.
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