Students to learn about Alexander Turnbull library’s treasure trove 100 years on

10 May 2022

Trust donates Te Kupenga – 101 Stories of Aotearoa from the Turnbull to every secondary school nationwide

Secondary school students across the country will soon have insight into the legacies of our nation’s last 100 years, captured in a book that explores the stories of 101 remarkable objects, written mostly by staff at the National Library, and which will be used as a resource alongside the new compulsory Aotearoa history curriculum.

This week (May 9 - 13) every New Zealand secondary school will be sent a copy of Te Kupenga – 101 Stories of Aotearoa from the Turnbull, edited by Turnbull's Chief Librarian Chris Szekely and Michael Keith, the publication of which marks 100 years of one of the country’s most prestigious national institutions. 

Te Kupenga was the result of a Turnbull Endowment Trust centenary initiative, funded through the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board ensuring all 530 secondary schools across New Zealand receive a donated copy. 

The book includes tributes to some of Aotearoa’s biggest moments – the Rainbow Warrior and the Springbok Tour – as well as stories of personal and unusual trinkets: a Japanese soldier’s diary; the rock that punctured a tyre on the first car journey to Aoraki Mount Cook in 1906; an 18th century, 7cm globe made from paper mâché, purchased from an antiquarian bookseller, and more recently a Covid-19 poster taken from one of the government’s very first pandemic announcements at the library, signed by Dr Ashley Bloomfield.

Paula MacLachlan, Executive Director of the Turnbull Endowment Trust, says the book was developed to make the heritage resource at the Alexander Turnbull Library more available to all New Zealanders, especially students

“We were mindful that the introduction of the NZ histories curriculum was imminent and that it would be an invaluable resource at the secondary school level, which is why the Trust went the extra mile to ensure that the book would be available in every NZ secondary school library.

Additionally, a new online presence has been created by Services to Schools at the National Library, which expands on these stories, linking them to other related items and supporting resources.

We invite every student with interest in our heritage to use the resources of the Alexander Turnbull Library, to access and formulate their interpretation of this evidence.”

MacLachlan says feedback from teachers already indicates that they see the book, complemented by the Te Kupenga online presence, as a valuable resource for teaching Aotearoa New Zealand’s history.

“The Alexander Turnbull library truly is a treasure trove of collections: documents, letters, journals, and portraits. It’s also been instrumental in helping settle treaty claims. The Trust supports access to, and interpretation of the Turnbull collections, ensuring that our stories and documentary heritage are available to all. Young New Zealanders are a particularly important audience and deserve the opportunity to learn about their country and its history.”

Upon his death in 1918, Turnbull, unmarried and with no children, gifted his substantial book collection to be part of a national collection, and in 1920 the Alexander Turnbull library opened on Bowen Street in Wellington. In 1965 it was incorporated into the National Library and in 1987 it moved to an amalgamated site on Molesworth Street.

Since 1920, more than 60,000 New Zealanders have followed Turnbull’s lead and placed their treasures into the library’s care as a research legacy for future generations. 

Turnbull's Chief Librarian Chris Szekely’s connection with Alexander Turnbull dates back to his mother’s great grandmother, Sophia Gray (Ngāruahine) or Te Paea Hinerangi, who once met Alexander Turnbull when she was a tour guide for visitors of the pink and white terraces at the central plateau. When Mt Tarawera erupted, destroying the terraces in 1886, Sophia rescued people and gave them shelter at her whare. 

Szekely says that The Turnbull Library is a storehouse of evidence that will help connect young Kiwis to their heritage and history. 

“Aotearoa is at the start of introducing the history of this country as a compulsory subject in schools. Young New Zealanders now learn about the place they live in as part of their formal education. Yet history isn’t about memorising facts, figures, and dates, rather it is about drawing on evidence to uncover a narrative, to tell a story, to find truths.

As a national storehouse, the Turnbull’s collections should offer materials of relevance and meaning to every single New Zealander, enabling them to make connections and find stories that illuminate and intrigue.”

Jamie Willmer, Student, Onslow College with Paula MacLachlan, Executive Director, Turnbull Endowment Trust Photo Credit: Mark Beatty, Imaging Services, Alexander Turnbull Library