CENTENNIAL FEATURES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23689, 22 December 1938, Page 8

CENTENNIAL FEATURES

HISTORICAL COMMITTEE'S WORK SERIES OF PUBLICATIONS An important section of the preparations lor tne centennial celeorauons is in the hands of the National Historical Committee. The Minister of Internal Anairs (Mr W. E. Parry), reviewing yesterday the work of tms section of the centenial organisation, said that there had recently been a meeting of the committee. As this was the first meeting since the return to New Zealand of its chairman, Mr James Thorn, M.P., members present had been glad to welcome him back. Mr Thorn had kept centennial historical interests very much in view during his visit to Europe. He had, in fact, been the means of receiving for the Dominion some interesting and valuable original material from the English descendents of people prominent in early New Zealand affairs, in particular from the families of Captain William Hobson and Captain Joseph Nias, both intimately associated with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. During Mr Thorn's absence abroad, Mr J. T. Paul had deputised for him as chairman. 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. Probably the most ambitious of the publications the Government projected in celebration o> 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 very practical interest taken in it by 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 atlas. Pictorial Surveys "~~ 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 suatable 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 inter-relation of the text and the illustrations in some 30 pictorial surveys would be entrusted to New Zealand printers. 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 a dozen 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. It was an especial concern of the Government that the typography and binding of all these publications should be the best that New Zealand could do in the way of book production 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 of this dictionary was in the hands of Dr Guy H. Scholefield, 0.8. E.

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 6wners, 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 these picturesque and often forgotten pages from the bygone 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 related, as thrilling as anything in a detective novel. The National Historical Committee had been active in the work of 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-govern-ing dominions. Another important vehicle of propaganda was the New Zealand Centennial News, which gave progress reports on different branches of the centennial organisation, and, further, included a number of interesting historical essays. A special effort was also being made to disseminate historical propaganda through the schools. 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 services of these gentlemen would be of great value to the committee, and the closer relationship between the provincial organisations and the national would be to the advantage of both. 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 with a greater degree of vividness and actuality than ever before.