Transcript
STEPHEN INNES: The archives of the Western Pacific Commission were returned temporarily to the UK in the 1970s when the various countries of the Pacific became independent and the records have stayed their for over twenty-five years. Much to everyone's regret really. The university of Auckland made a bid for them partly through our history department and partly through the British High Commission in Wellington round about the year 2000 to have them returned to New Zealand which would place them in a Pacific location again.
DON WISEAMAN: Did you have to pay for that?
SI: No they were actually in the care of the foreign and commonwealth office in the UK and we negotiated with them over a comparable period of time and they generally funded the transfer which included some conservation of the records. Recording checking the materials conducting an audit of them and transporting them by container to New Zealand.
DW: So Charlot Salwai saw this stuff last week, what did he think?
SI: Well he was very impressed we had a number of samples of material from his home island which is Pentecost and he showed a great deal of interest in that material.
DW: Is it a resource that is used a lot at the university?
SI: Yes it is. Ever since we returned it here it has been used by members of the university and by lots of people from outside. So we get people looking at family history we get a number of people from other universities and other countries who have come here to look at it as well as historians of various kinds. So it has been heavily used.
DW: As well as the material which covers the British involvement in what had been the New Hebrides you have got the other British material as well from the Pacific.
SI: Yes that is correct it actually consists of three portions, first of all is the records of the Western Pacific High Commission which was based in Suva and Honiara. And then there are the local records of two states, which where first of all the New Hebrides British service or Vanuatu. And also the British consul for Tonga the records for Tonga. So there are those three major groups.
DW: What sort of interest does Britain show in this material now?
SI: Very little to be honest. There are occasionally inquiries from the UK but there has been very little contact between us and the Foreign and commonwealth office for example. So it has been mainly at the level of researcher.
DW: But Auckland University's special collections you are very happy to have it?
SI: Absolutely it is a fantastic resource and I think that it has justified all the reasons that we argued for its transfer back to the Pacific, have been achieved I think in terms of greater accessibility for researchers but also Pacific people based in New Zealand.
