CULTURE Archives
It may come as a surprise to some that archives are not the keepers or holders of the absolute truth. That is not to say, that they are not authentic but rather they contain items that are representative of place, time, and individuals. The Christ’s College Archives, because they contain both in-house and external donations, are dependent on the integrity and knowledge of those who have contributed to the collection and any subsequent research. Archives must also be usable. This was the rational in revisiting and adding to the database that contains the individual items in the photo albums many years after the detail was first entered into the database. With increased knowledge about
College connections, people and buildings, their usefulness for research has increased enormously. In addition, a database of the photographs that are in The Christ’s College Register from 1892 to 1999 has also been completed. These images, which were produced originally as printer’s blocks, can now be made accessible in a more useful format with enhanced scanning ability. A small number of rowing, athletics and swimming photographs have been digitised. The use of the College archives is no more eloquently displayed than in the recent publication of Architectural Drawings of Christ’s College by Sir Miles Warren (5162) + Alec Bruce (8461). The collaboration
of many individuals and the archives of businesses, institutions and private collections has resulted in a book that highlights the importance of retaining the past. More generally, the regular articles in In Black and White and College tell stories and highlight items in the collection. Outside publications also add information relevant to the College collections. Papers Past , the online resource from the National Library of New Zealand, which includes newspapers, magazines, journals, letters, diaries and Parliamentary papers, appears regularly in any bibliography. No Anglican school research would be possible without Puˉmotomoto. Hosted by the John Kinder Theological Library it has digitised diocesan newspapers,
Above: The original caption reads: Interior of Big School, as arranged at first. The Christ’s College Register, December 1900 opp p 419
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Christ’s College Canterbury
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