Hidden in plain sight – discovering university’s unseen artefacts
Aotearoa New Zealand’s second oldest university is launching a survey of its historical objects in the lead-up to its 150th birthday, thanks to a $12,000 grant from Lottery Environment and Heritage.
UC Arts City Location Manager Naomi van den Broek models a gown once worn on a daily basis by academic staff.
Canterbury College was established in 1873, at what is now The Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora, later becoming the University of Canterbury (UC) and moving to the new Ilam campus in 1975.
UC’s School of Music, Department of Classics and the Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities, returned to the beautiful heritage-listed Chemistry building at the Arts Centre in 2017.
Historical artefacts from across the campus tell fascinating stories about the past, and there are many more waiting to be discovered, says the Teece Museum and Logie Collection Curator, Terri Elder, who will lead the survey.
“While there are many Canterbury College artefacts currently held in and around UC, they are often unidentified or their significance is not recorded. This project aims to survey those artefacts, creating a database of images and information which can be made accessible to UC and the wider community,” Elder says.