Connecting Records, Places and People

As part of this work, we have been digitising a wide range of material and making this available on our new Recollect site which launched in December 2024. Since then, we have already made nearly 5,000 records available and are always adding more taonga to this publicly accessible database, helping people connect with their past and discover their family history and whakapapa.

We also often support the wider Connexion with archival requests and assist the public with historical research, both online and in person. Some enquiries require us to search widely across a range of different collections, as was the case with a recent request related to New Zealand Methodist missionaries in the Solomon Islands. We recently uploaded a collection of photograph albums to Recollect that depict events, places, and people significant to New Zealand Methodism. Among these are albums capturing the work of missionaries abroad, particularly in the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Fiji. It was through these albums that a researcher, Simon Chivers, reached out to us from the United Kingdom after discovering photographs of his grandparents and father.

Simon’s research enquiry was related to his grandparents, Frank and Gladys Chivers, who belonged to one of New Zealand’s first missionary groups in the Solomon Islands. They arrived in 1922, along with their young son Billy (Simon’s father). Frank, an engineer by trade, managed the sawmill, set up a lighting plant, operated the printing press, and trained local workers. Tragically, their time in the Pacific came to an end in 1927 when Gladys passed away from an illness called blackwater fever. She was one of the first members of the missionary party to die in the field since the mission's founding in 1902. Simon reached out to us in the hope that we could help him locate his grandmother’s grave, as he is planning a trip to the Solomon Islands to visit the site. His initial research indicated that she was buried in a mission graveyard in Haevo.

A keyword search across our collection catalogue and Recollect site revealed several promising leads. Our personal papers and historical records collection contained a handwritten letter from 1972 by Bill Chivers, Simon’s father, addressed to Reverend George Carter. In the letter, Bill reflected on his father’s missionary work and mentioned searching for his mother’s grave during a visit to the Solomon Islands – poignantly mirroring Simon’s intended trip.

Further searches across our OCR/text-searchable material on Recollect revealed first-hand accounts of Gladys Chivers’ passing. An article in The Open Door - Vol. 6 No. 1 (June, 1927) described her sudden illness and the efforts to save her, stating she was buried in Haivo (possibly an alternative spelling of Haevo):

“Sisters Elizabeth Common and Lilian Berry, with the doctor from Gizo, did all they could to save her, but their efforts were of no avail. ...Beautiful wreaths and ropes of flowers covered the coffin on the day of the funeral. ...The cortege was a very impressive one, as it wended its way down to the cemetery at Haivo.”

Further evidence pointing us to the location of Gladys’ grave appeared in The New Zealand Methodist Times (16 July 1927), where missionary Helena Goldie noted that Gladys was buried beside her own son:

“What a tragedy the loss of Mrs. Chivers seems! My heart aches for little Billy and his poor father and all those belonging to them. ...They buried her next to my little boy and made a big square round the two graves.”

Throughout our search, we encountered conflicting accounts of Gladys’ burial site, particularly because of the use of various place names that are no longer used, as well as possible misspellings. Ultimately, it was personal letters held in Frank Chivers’ file in our Life and Labour records and the Overseas Missions Department collection that provided the clearest evidence.

One letter stated: “We understand that the little Roviana Cemetery was not disturbed by the Japanese Munda airfield, and the graves of the little one of Rev. Goldie, Gladys Chivers, and others, are still intact.”

A handwritten note on the same letter by a different author verified: “I can confirm the fact—seen during and also after the war—that the graves have not been interfered with, either by the Japanese or the Americans.”

Another letter offered a more precise location: “…[Frank’s] wife Gladys died of blackwater fever and is buried in the Kokegolo (now called Munda) cemetery.”

This aligns with other secondary sources indicating that Gladys was laid to rest in Munda, Roviana Bay, and it also provides reassurance that her grave remained undisturbed through WWII.

Simon’s enquiry is a great example of the value of accessible online archives for historical research, and how they can help individuals reconnect with their heritage to uncover stories that might otherwise remain lost. If you haven’t explored our Recollect site recently, we encourage you to take a look – we’re constantly adding new material!