THE HISTORY OF NEW ZEALAND

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22591, 22 December 1938, Page 6

THE HISTORY OF NEW ZEALAND

ELABORATE PLAN FOR CENTENNIAL

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYS LARGE STAFF

MATERIAL SECURED IN ENGLAND

A series of historical works in elaborate detail is being prepared by the National Historical Committee as part of the observances of the centennial of New Zealand. A large staff is engaged in the work, and the printing of publications is intended to be the best ever done in New Zealand.

The Hon. W. E. Parry, Minister for Internal Affairs, in a statement issued yesterday, announced that the chairman of the committee, Mr J. Thorn, M.P., who had recently returned from abroad, had been the means of receiving for the Dominion some valuable original material from the English descendants of people prominent in early New Zealand affairs, in particular from the" families of Captain William Hobson and Captain Joseph Nias, both intimaiely associated wiih the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The National Historical Committee's work, Mr Parry said fell into two main divisions: the supervision for the Government of various historical publications, and its function as an advisory body on historical matters to all branches of the centennial organisation.

Historical Atlas Probably the most ambitious of the publications the Government projected in celebration of the centennial, and certainly the most arduous in preparation was the historical atlas. Members of the staff of the Centennial Branch of the Department of Internal Affairs who had been carrying on research for the atlas had had the advantage of the practical interest taken in it Dy Professor J. Rutherford, of Auckland.

The atlas would be published in November, 1940. This work would be the result of the collaboration of the research worker with the officers of the Lands and Survey Department, who had been devoting much time to what the Government regarded as a major cultural enterprise. The Government Printer would undertake the production of the altas. Another means by which members of the public would have the history of their country represented to them graphically was .in the series of pictorial surveys the Government was bringing out, with assistance from the National Historical Committee. Several of the literary texts for these surveys had been completed, and the illustrations editor was now engaged in assembling suitable pictorial material to accompany and amplify the texts, ranging from the earliest steel engraving to the most technically perfect of modern photographs. Mr Parry was satisfied that these pictorial surveys were in advance of anything that had yet been done in New Zealand. Indeed, nothing like them had ever been produced in the country. The difficult technical problems arising from the intimate interrelation of the text and the illustrations in some 30 pictorial surveys would be entrusted to New Zealand printers.

Authoritative Surveys Equally worthy of New Zealand's! 100 years of history would be the historical surveys the Government had commissioned acknowledged authorities to write on about 12 historical subjects. These would be a definite contribution to the historical literature of New Zealand. Both these and the pictorial surveys would serve to inform the public of the full significance of the centennial.

Another of the centennial publications nearing completion was the dictionary of. New Zealand biography, which would be ready next year. This would prove most useful to students, as well as to the general public. The compilation was in the hands of Dr. Guy H. Scholefield. The National Historical Committee was advising the Government in the arrangement of the exhibits in the Government court at the exhibition. The Government now had the advantage of the services of Dr. A. H. McLintock, an experienced artist, who had inspected the recent Glasgow Exhibition, and who had recently joined the centennial branch of the Department of Internal Affairs.

Unpublished Manuscripts

The Government had made an appeal for owners of unpublished manuscripts to make their possessions available at least for copying. There had been a gratifying response, both from New' Zealand and overseas. The National Historical Committee had dealt with this material as it came in. Subject to the* consent of the owners, any of this material that was of sufficient interest had been copied for deposit in the libraries of the main centres, where it was available for research.

It was to be hoped that all owners of old papers and other interesting relics of the past would realise that they had a national as well as a family responsibility in regard to it. The provincial historical committees also were leaving no stone unturned to unearth often forgotten pages from the life of New Zealand.

Some of the experiences of members of the National Historical Committee in the pursuit of early manuscripts and the collation of them had been, Mr Parry claimed, as thrilling as anything in a detective novel.

Propaganda Issued The National Historical Committee had been preparing the public mind for the centennial by means of historical articles designed to awaken an interest in New Zealand history. This had been achieved in historical propaganda regularly distributed to New Zealand newspapers, who had given it generous space. Articles would also appear in newspapers overseas, and would help to draw attention to the coming of age of the youngest of the self-governing Dominions. Two associate members were recently appointed to the National Historical Committee, the Rev. J. A' Asher, chairman of the Hawke's Bay Provincial Historical Committee, and Mr W. R. Allen, chairman of the Marlborough Provincial Historical Committee.

The Government was satisfied that the problems arising out of the centennial publications it was undertaking were in capable hands. A great advance had been made during the year from nebulous good intention to practical achievement. Hard work still lay ahead, in which the National Historical Committee could co-operate with the Government, but a sound foundation had been laid and the fruits would be commensurate to the effort involved. New Zealand's history would be brought before the people of the country more caesuflj* weff&efa^