WPHC Archives

Western Pacific High Commission Archives in Auckland, NZ

Stephen Innes
Special Collections Librarian
General Library / Te Herenga Matauranga Whanui
University of Auckland

Ph. (649) 373-7599 ext. 8062
Fax (649) 373-7565

email: Stephen Innes

Special Collections home page

Background

• "A large proportion of the records of the British Solomon Isles Protectorate and of the Gilbert and Ellice Colony was unfortunately lost during the last war" (A.I. Diamond, "The Central Archives of Fiji and the Western Pacific High Commission," The Journal of Pacific History, 1 (1966) 210). It seems that the 1941-42 Resident Commissioners' correspondence lost for the Gilbert and Ellice Islands and the British Solomon Islands Protectorate (BSIP).
• Both active and dead files moved with WPHC headquarters from Fiji to Honiara in 1952. 1229326 F.66/1/2 Archives: WPHC Record of Archives transferred from Suva.
• 1229114 WPHC 9/II F.10/49/1 WPHC Arrangements for the move to Honiara--General Considerations

Minute 1: "The documentary accumulation of years in these offices is very considerable and it may well be that some part of it could be destroyed and some left in Fiji for safe custody at least until such time as it is convenient to move it across. We do not want to clutter ourselves up with anything that is not essential to the smooth working of the combined Secretariat."

H.E. (R. C. S. Stanley was the H.C.) 19.7.52

P. 20 Minute A: to CS from FAS: "... it was decided that all records after 1920 should be regarded as 'live.' The remainder of the current records being provisionally 'dead.' In packing arrangements we should attempt to get the dead files out of the way and pack them separately. Current files should be packed last ..."

11 Oct 1952: 'Dead' files to be taken to Honiara, not left in Suva.

• Dorothy Crozier started the Central Archives of Fiji and the Western Pacific High Commission in 1954. She did the separation of materials: Kingdom of Tonga, Pitcairn Islands Colony, Consul-General for Western Pacific. She served until 1958. But note: it was the WPHC that chose what things to send to the archives. She organized what they gave her. Active files would have been kept for the use of the new branches of the colonial organization.
  • Tofiga: Crozier took better care of the files than she did of her appearance. She was the first European woman the native boys had met who didn't wear makeup. They were intrigued. They liked her and respected her.
• A.I. Diamond seems to have taken over the Archives after Crozier's retirement.
• Closed in 1976-1978 and shipped to England.
  • Tofiga had retired in 1972, but did many followup jobs for the government. He worked on closing the WPHC in 1978. The last files were packed in August of that year. Files that originated in Tarawa were sent to Tarawa. Files that originated in Suva went to London.
  • Patrick D. MacDonald was in charge of boxing things up. Both files and office equipment were sent to London. Lists of files were drawn up and typed. They were then packed in small archive boxes--no more than 5 files to a box. The small boxes were then stacked in a wooden packing crate. They fit perfectly, with no need of any kind of straw or other packing material.
• Shipped from England to Auckland and reopened to the public in 2003.

2003 Bones Search

• I read all of the finding aids and called for as many files as I could read in the time I was in Auckland.
• No file explicitly about the closure of the Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme. There are some resettlement files--moving the inhabitants of Nikumaroro to Nikumaroro Village in the Solomons.
• No hint of correspondence about exhuming Gallagher.
• No bones, sextant boxes or records of inquests concerning the death of a castaway on Gardner Island (that is to say, none that I could find in 2003).

Links

• [http://www.info.gov.fj/archives.html Short note about how the National Archives of Fiji developed from the Central Archives of Fiji and the Western Pacific High Commission.