Collections

Archives & Research

We are recognised as a Regional Repository under the Archives Act. Our Archives Manager, Megan Ross (appointed in 2006), is working on developing 3-5 year goals for Archives collection development.

Our collections are accessible through our Archives services.

Photographs

The Museum has extensive collections of photographs relating to the places and people of Marlborough. Many of these are currently being placed into acid free enclosures and acid free boxes. They are available to researchers through our Archives.

Textiles

Our textiles collection is large for a regional museum. The implementation of safe storage of collection, items using acid free boxes, is well underway. The nineteenth century dresses are our current priority.

As each item is being re-housed we are upgrading the collection data, with digital photographs, for each item.

Textiles are among the most fragile items that museums collect. They are often well-worn, and they can easily have suffered damage from excessive light, stains, and insect damage, before they are donated to the museum for safe storage at the very end of their life.

General Collections

Our general collections include many unique objects from early bicycles to furniture, and archaeological material. We have a big job ahead of us to review the storage spaces for them.

There are many gems in this collection, and there is still along way to go before most of them are transferred from old paper records to our database.

Over the years documentation standards have improved. Unfortunately, the earliest donations sometimes have the least documentation.

We are currently re-organising our collection of taonga and iwi related collections.

Marlborough includes one of the earliest sites of human habitation in New Zealand. We are currently building a good working relationship with iwi, and there are many exciting possibilities to work together for an increasingly stronger partnership.

What do we collect?

The museum collects material that relates to the natural and social history of Marlborough. We are currently making a strong effort to consider donations that have a unique association with Marlborough. We are extremely interested in objects and documents relating to the wine heritage of the Marlborough Province.

Our collection storage areas are extensive, and current storage conditions are being reviewed with collection management experts from a range of institutions around the country.

With limited professional advice in the past, the accumulated collections need to be reviewed over the next few years so that improvements in data management, finding aids, organisation, and safe storage can be made.

Please contact us if you wish to donate items to the museum to ensure that museum staff can meet you and set aside the time needed. Generally, a little advance notice, and preparation on both sides, ensures that the process goes smoothly. We do need to document the material carefully as it comes in, so that we can record it's true significance. This usually takes between between ten and thirty minutes, but larger amounts of material can, of course, take longer. Unfortunately it is no longer a case of just dropping things off at reception.

In the case of photographs, for example, the name and approximate date of what has been photographed can be recorded by the donor on a piece of paper and brought in with the images.

The best thing to do is call us in advance and make an appointment. This will speed up the formal processes when get here.

The generosity of donors over the last fifty years has ensured that the collections of Marlborough Museum are rich and varied, allowing fascinating insights into local and New Zealand heritage.

Our goal is to bring you as much of this as possible, in different ways, over the coming years.