The wonderful people from the Auckland War Memorial Museum delivered an Artefact Digitisation Unit (ADU) to the Central Auckland Research Centre.

A what? I hear you say . . . .

Artefact Digitisation Unit (ADU) from Auckland War Memorial Museum

It is an awesome piece of technology that looks kind of like an ATM machine - a kiosk with a computer, touchscreen monitor and a camera.

With its connectivity to the internet, it has direct access to the new Online Cenotaph. 

People can use the ADU to search the Online Cenotaph direct from the Research Centre, and contribute information about the person they are researching - this includes the ability to photograph documents and objects to upload to a subjects record.

The Online Cenotaph itself has been completed re-designed and had been re-launched in January.

There are more than 140,000 service personnel listed, and alots of new content has been added:

• approximately 2,000 new images from Auckland Libraries’ Schmidt Collection of portraits
• direct links with servicemen’s sketches, poems and writing held in the Troopship magazines, which the Museum has now digitised
• around 2,000 additional records of New Zealand servicemen who served in the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) – purchased for Online Cenotaph by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage
• linking of of 437 records from the Māori Pioneer Battalion with a digital image of their signatures on the Pioneer Scroll, on display in the Scars I gallery
• digitising of the Mickle Album, including the 60 photographs of friends from Birkenhead who volunteered and left New Zealand to fight in WWI

3/4 portrait of Sapper Bertram Charles Robinson, Reg No 12074, of the New Zealand Engineers, No. 2 Field Company. Killed in action in France on 15 November 1916. (Photographer: Herman Schmidt, 1916). Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 31-R984. No known copyright

Recently, Marie and I travelled down to Thames for the biennial Thames Family History Expo.

When we travel away like this, we usually try to make best use of time and visit other libraries, museums or archives to see what they have.

The Treasury, The Coromandel Heritage Trust

What a great opportunity for us then, to go and visit The Treasury?

The Coromandel Heritage Trust was founded in 2003 to establish the Treasury. In 2004 The Treasury was opened in the old Carnegie Free Library.

In March 2014, a new extension was built adjacent - and the new archive was opened. 

We were very fortunate to be given a guided tour of the both interconnected buildings, and their resources.

The Treasury Archives

The archive building is fitted out with shelving, gas fire suppression system and temperature controlled rooms. There are loads of manuscripts and photographs and other treasures stored and awaiting for the Trust to catalogue and put away in their new archive facilities.

Time capsule in the Archive Room

There is also a "time capsule" waiting to be opened in 100 years time.

In the Reading Room, there were many shelves filled with resources and research related to people from Thames and surrounding districts.

Some of the resources on the Reading Room shelves at the Treasury