Hawke’s Bay’s Knowledge Bank needs more volunteers and more funding to help preserve our history.
In particular, the Knowledge Bank provides a computerised record of the history of Hawke’s Bay’s ‘people’ – their celebrations, their tragedies and their changing cultural mores and behaviours.
The Digital Archives Trust, based in Stoneycroft House in Omahu Road, has grown so much it now has a backlog of photographs and all sorts of written material needing to be transcribed, scanned, and in many cases, tidied up.
“We have nearly 10 terabytes of information saved in our digital archive,” says Office Manager Linda Bainbridge, “and only 40% of that is online, we have another 800 collections waiting to be processed and uploaded to the website.”
Today the Knowledge Bank has about 100 volunteers: 50 of these regularly come and go from Stoneycroft as they help with transcribing, scanning and recording interviews for oral histories. Another 20 to 30 volunteers work from home transcribing and proofing and then there are 20 volunteers who work exclusively recording oral histories.
But Linda, the only full-time employee at the Knowledge Bank, says more volunteers are needed who have computer knowledge or are willing to learn.
“We need people to edit images and we can offer training,” she adds. “We also need wordsmiths who like attention to detail and who can help with transcribing and loading word documents online.”
The Knowledge Bank, which is run by a Board, is also seeking additional funding this year after receiving a $35,000 funding cut from the Lotteries Board.
“We’re going to have to get that back somehow or change the way we do things.” says Peter Dunkerley, chair of the Digital Archive’s Board of Trustees. “Most of the funds are used for running expenses year to year, staff salaries, and for maintenance and replacement of technology.”
Set up ten years ago by former Hawke’s Bay Herald Tribune editor James Morgan, the facility is based fittingly in the Hastings District Council-owned Stoneycroft house, which was built in 1875 as a town residence for Mr WJ Birch who farmed on a remote property on the Taihape Road.
The Knowledge Bank is a unique and rich resource covering Hawke’s Bay history from Dannevirke to Mahia.
“Everything is significant and that is the beauty of the Knowledge Bank. Being a digital archive, we do not have to be as selective as museums. Every little piece of information adds value to the history and tells its own story. “
For example, an advertisement for Roach’s Clothing Store in 1923, shown here to illustrate the restoration work the Bank does, offers shocking insight into the culture of early Hastings and is incredibly racist from a modern standpoint. Yet it’s part of our history and for this BayBuzz writer underlines how important it is that we keep working today for an egalitarian society in Hawke’s Bay.
The Knowledge Bank and its huge repository of history is accessible to anybody online https://knowledgebank.org.nz
If you want to volunteer or donate funding contact Linda Bainbridge admin@knowledgebank.org.nz
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air