“Strengthening our national archives and libraries” Hon Grant Robertson MP Assoc Minister of Arts Culture and Heritage Media Release

Strengthening our national archives and libraries

A new programme of work is underway to strengthen the contribution our national archives and libraries can make to New Zealand’s culture and democracy, Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin and the Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Grant Robertson said on Wednesday.

“The National Library of New Zealand, Archives New Zealand and the audio-visual archive Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision have vital roles in our democratic and cultural infrastructure,” says Grant Robertson. (more…)

“Travelling Codes.” Nigel Isaacs: Senior Lecturer, School of Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington

The following article is taken from the latest HPA Oculus Newsletter (2017-07).

Travelling Codes.

In March 1921, American mining engineer Herbert Hoover became US Secretary of Commerce. One of his early actions was to establish a "Building Code Committee" with a goal of improving the productivity of house construction. In July 1922 the Committee reported its “Recommended Minimum Requirements for Small Dwelling Construction”, a widely distributed, compact booklet.

In New Zealand, also in March 1921, a recent graduate of the University of Auckland was appointed as the first Engineer of Forest Products in the new Forestry Department. In 1923, A.R. (known as Pat) Entrican was set to work reviewing the many building by-laws with a goal of supporting the more efficient use of native timber. He soon set up a national conference to develop a standard national building by-law which in Wellington in June 1924.

As a model for the NZ conference, Entrican used the US publication, modifying it to suit NZ conditions. The NZ Conference recommendations were widely distributed and generally adopted, even before the 1931 Napier earthquake. (more…)