Archives Wānanga

The day started with karakia and whakawhanaungatanga. It was a delight to learn a little about one another’s backgrounds, and what we were each hoping to realise from our day together. My presentation about Kei Muri Māpara – MCNZ Archives, started with an overview of our holdings and detailing the role of the archivists who work here. I then gave a brief whakapapa of the Connexional archives from its early beginnings under William Morley in the 1880s, through significant developments in the 20th century, through to the present day and our imminent digital transformation.

I then drilled down more deeply into an examination of our Pasifika archival holdings. There are considerable and worrying gaps in these holdings as they currently stand. Our Church wishes to ensure not only that its documentary heritage is secure and accessible for current and future generations, but that these archival holdings are also representative of all the rich and diverse multicultural voices that make up the Connexion. It was wonderful to be able to turn the floor over to those gathered for questions, and a discussion about what we may be able to achieve together to address these archival ‘silences’.

The ensuing kōrero around telling our stories and preserving our history were deeply meaningful as I consider my day-to-day work and what I personally hope can be achieved here at Kei Muri Māpara – particularly in the digital space that we are increasingly inhabiting. The potential that our new digital tools will offer us for archival knowledge-sharing and collaboration across synods is incredibly exciting. I hope that we can use these to illuminate and better-understand our holdings, from an inter-generational, cross-cultural, and Aotearoa-wide perspective.

During a tour around Kei Muri Māpara, visitors were shown how the collection is physically cared for, what a typical day looks like for the archivists, and highlights of special interest to the representatives gathered.

The final part of the day was devoted to a rich discussion about the next steps that we might take as a collective to progress this work. There was time for personal archival research for several interested attendees before Tara concluded the day with a poroporoaki.

The wānanga has resulted in the formation by the General Secretary of a Methodist Archives Advisory Network, which in the short term will allow me to liaise with synods directly over their respective archival needs, and to introduce Network representatives to our new Recollect website once it is ready for its initial user-acceptance testing phase early in the new year. In the longer term, the hope is that the Network will enable us to work together to build a much more representative and fit-for-purpose Kei Muri Māpara as we move forward.

I extend a sincere thank you to the Connexional Office team including Tara and Melissa, and Lucille for all that they did to ensure the day was a success. It was a joy to meet the attendees and I feel deeply enriched by the insightful and generous kōrero we shared.