Holy Grail or practical imperative? : the development of a regional documentation strategy for the collection and preservation of archival materials generated by sporting organisations

Abstract

Sport is a key constituent of popular culture in New Zealand, and the history of sport is becoming an increasingly important subject within the academic discipline of social history in this country. However, scholars attempting to expand the existing body of knowledge on this topic encounter ongoing problems obtaining primary source materials, particularly the archival records of sporting organisations. This situation might be ameliorated by the development and implementation of a Documentation Strategy which is designed to ensure that the archives generated by sports bodies are acquired by and preserved within appropriate repositories. Consequently, this study was undertaken to determine, with regard to the Wellington region, how assiduously a selection of sports organisations have conserved their archives and the degree to which a group of creators and information professionals are prepared to co-operate in order to ensure that such materials are preserved. The study was conducted by means of a qualitative survey, utilising a combination of personal interviews and self-administered questionnaires for certain categories of participant, and self-administered questionnaires for the remainder. A wide range of sports organisations and repositories were included in the study. Among the former grouping were national authorities, regional co-ordinating bodies and local clubs involved in golf, netball, soccer, rugby, cricket and tennis. The local repositories which participated in the project can divided into three broad categories. The first group consisted of institutions sited in the city of Wellington that are either agencies of central government, or are controlled by such bodies, including the Head Office of Archives New Zealand, the Alexander Turnbull Library and the Archive at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The second category consisted of three varieties of repository which operate under the control of local authorities in Wellington and Hutt cities. This amalgam included an archival facility established for the purpose of preserving municipal records and making them available to the general public, and two public libraries which have made a formal commitment to promote and support the study of local and family history, and two museums that have been established specifically to preserve local heritage. Two other institutions, which are unique in the Wellington region, also participated in the study. The J. C. Beaglehole Room at Victoria University of Wellington is the only archival facility located in a tertiary education institution, and the National Cricket Museum, is a private organisation dedicated to documenting the history of a single organised sport and is staffed entirely by volunteer labour. The findings of the survey indicate that archival materials generated by sports organisations have survived in considerable quantities. Moreover, both creators and information professionals consider that action should be taken to collect and preserve the archival materials generated by sports organisations, though a significant proportion of creators evidently wish to retain custody of their own records.