Entitled City of Letters, the exhibition is a collaboration between Dunedin's major archives, including Archives NZ, Presbyterian Archives Research Centre, Otago Settlers Museum Archive, Dunedin City Council Archives, Hocken Collections Archives, and Dunedin Public Libraries Heritage Collections.
Each organisation had contributed a section of the exhibition, which was in association with Records and Archives Week, examining contrasting topics but all based around the importance of letters and what they revealed about people's lives, Archives NZ archivist Lois Robertson said.
Material in the exhibition includes the naming of Dunedin, the story of a missionary called to serve in India, war letters from France in 1918, divorce correspondence showing what remains at the end of a loving relationship, a touching letter from a husband to his wife on the eve of a fatal duel, and a fascinating selection of personal letters.
The Hocken Collections Archives' selection shows letters from Sir Edmund Hilary and Hone Tuwhare, a thank you from England for donated fat during World War 2, an early example of written Maori in a note from local chief Karetai, and more.
The Archives NZ selection explores the background and progress of four early divorce cases, revealing the personal heartache behind the petitions. Mainly from the 1920s, when women were increasingly struggling for independence, the documents include letters and photographs.
Examples of these divorcerelated documents are also displayed on the internet at the following site http://gallery.archives.govt.nz/
v/dunedin/Loves+Remains/
There will be guided tours and floor talks on May 13, 20 and 27, at 12.15pm.
