Rich Ngai Tahu trove treasured
A RICH guide to the history of Ngai Tahu, held at the Hocken Library, Dunedin, has gained international recognition by being added to a Unesco heritage register.
The comprehensive collection of papers detailing Ngai Tahu practices — from food gathering to childbirth — was added to Unesco’s Memory of the World New Zealand register on Monday.
The James Herries Beattie Papers, held by the University of Otago’s Hocken Collections, Uare Taoka o Hakena, is one of eight new inscriptions, from throughout the country, to the documentary heritage register.
The register sits alongside Unesco’s World Heritage List and Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and showcases significant documentary heritage to highlight the importance of preserving and providing access to such items.
Hocken head curator archives Anna Blackman said the papers were ‘‘an exceptionally rich collection’’, which documented uniquely Ngai Tahu culture and knowledge.
The papers covered traditional stories and narratives, naming of places, things and people, and included foodgathering practices, hunting and fishing, pounamu, weapons and tools.
Beattie used the collection himself for his many publications, and it was also used in Ngai Tahu treaty claims in the 1990s.
Otago provicechancellor humanities Prof Tony Ballantyne said the papers were a ‘‘remarkable body of materials’’, compiled over eight decades.
Starting as a boy of 11, Beattie had been an enthusiastic writer and collector, pursuing those interests alongside his career as a bookkeeper, journalist, and bookseller.
His interests as a collector were extensive, and included natural history, particularly birds, place names, and local history, with a particular interest in ‘‘pioneers’’.
‘‘He pursued these questions through relentless reading, the production of voluminous clippingbooks, interviewing the knowledgeable and the elderly’’, and also through ‘‘research trips undertaken by train, bike, and foot,’’ he said.