| Pacific Voyages |  |
"And it was its isolation in the hemisphere of waters that kept New Zealand, as it kept Australia, out of history. She lay on the way to nowhither. And for thousands of years she was the far-off terminus of the navigation-track of a long-isolated people – the Polynesians. Not till quite recent times did the Pacific Ocean enter into the sphere of history."
(Quote from John Macmillan Brown. New Zealand and the Pacific Ocean. Macmillan, 1917. Reprinted from The Pacific Ocean in History, by H. Morse Stephens and Herbert E. Bolton.)
The crews of the Resolution, the Astrolabe and the Herald undertook fantastic journeys around the world, in many cases travelling to new lands and places they could never have expected to see.
In a similar way, many of our treasures have travelled over thousands of miles and through time to become part of our collections. The story of these original books and objects is another kind of Pacific journey.
When Banks Florilegium was published by the British Museum and Alecto Historical Editions between 1980 and 1990, The Times wrote “It is as if the long process of discovery and revelation had been imprisoned within three tons of copper, and is at last to be released to find embodiment upon the printed page…” (The Times, London, October 27th, 1980.)
Only 100 copies of the Florilegium were produced. The Macmillan Brown Library is privileged to hold one of these stunning limited editions.
Each plate in the edition is a depiction of a botanical specimen collected by Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) or Daniel Solander (1733-1782), on the first voyage of the Endeavour under Captain Cook ( 1768 to 1771). The specimens were then carefully drawn by Sydney Parkinson (1745-1771).
18 engravers worked on preparing the plates for over a decade, but the resulting prints were never published. Instead they were bequeathed by Banks to the British Museum and remained there untouched until 1973.
Given that the cost per plate was almost 100 pounds sterling at the time of acquisition, the University was privileged to be able to purchase a set, and could not have done so without the generous assistance of former staff member W.A. Sutton. Sutton had been both a student and long time teacher of painting in the School of Fine Arts. He not only donated funds towards the purchase of Bank’s Florilegium, but has also donated examples of his own art to the university.
It seems a fascinatingly circular journey, for Cook’s expedition to travel the seas to the Pacific, collect botanical specimens and return them to England where they were preserved and recorded. Two hundred years later the engravings were restored to life, printed and published, and then purchased in order to travel back across the seas to New Zealand.
In researching and preparing for this exhibition, one of our librarians discovered that a number of the books relating to Durmont d'Urville’s second voyage contained the stamp "Hopital Militaire Lille". Unfortunately the Library does not have formal records to show how these books may have come to us from Lille. One possiblity is that they made their way back to New Zealand with returning soldiers, who may have recuperated at the Military Hospital in Lille. The region of Flanders in Belgium became well known to most New Zealanders throughout the First World War. Much of the fighting in the region took place in and around Ypres, now known as Ieper. This region was fought over from October 1914 until practically the end of the war in November 1918. A military hospital operated in the nearby town of Lille, France, and during the war the Lille Southern Cemetery was established, where over 600 Commonwealth soldiers from WW1 are buried.
The Canterbury College Review magazine of October 1918 lists over 400 staff and students who served in the war, 89 of whom are listed as having been killed. In amongst the magazine articles for the war years is the occasional report from a soldier overseas, including this letter from France, Oct 1917; "The Battalion is resting – resting on the bare earth, under the cloud of night. The earth is trembling, but faintly, for we are as yet many miles behind the lines. Away ahead the sweated artisans – the artisans of hell – are feverishly streaking long sheets of flame along the whole horizon; but as quickly as they are painted are they painted out. The big guns are gradually opening up along the whole line, until the great curtain of night is fringed with splashing blood."
We can only imagine a young Canterbury man, who had travelled many miles from home, reading of Dumont d'Urville’s voyages as he lay in a hospital bed. For many young New Zealanders, the war was a chance to travel to far off places they had never seen before. Tragically, many were never to be able to return home.
The story of the Comber journal is one of guardianship and generosity by the descendants of the author.
For over 100 years, the family kept the journal safe, recognising its intrinsic value and historical importance. As was custom, the Comber journal was passed to Henry’s oldest son, Dr Arthur Wandesforde Comber, who in turn gave it to his daughter Hester, wife of Rev G.W. Fenwick. The journal was then given to their son Hubert Wandesforde Fenwick, an architectural historian, of Edinburgh.
The Journal featured in the 'Cook and a Hundred Years After' exhibition at New Zealand House in London in 1956, at which time a microfilm copy was made by Trevor Campbell, Public Relations Officer in the High Commission. Mrs Joy Campbell made a transcript from the microfilm, and excerpts were then published in The Press, Christchurch in 1989. After Trevor Campbell left his papers to the University of Canterbury in 1993, Hubert Fenwick donated the original journal in 1994, followed by the portrait and medals some years later.
The Library was delighted to discover, when having the portrait cleaned and conserved, that the painting had another story of its own to tell. Under examination by the conservator, it became clear that the painting had been retouched, and details on the sleeve added. It appeared that the portrait had originally pre-dated Comber’s promotion to Admiral, and that the family had had the signs of office painted in to match his new status.
With limited purchasing funds, the University Library is dependent upon the generosity of donors to add to its collections of archives, photographs, art and rare books. In passing on their long held treasures, the Comber family have given us a glimpse into the travels of their ancestor Henry, as we take our own journeys of discovery into understanding Pacific history.
For most rare and historical items that we collect, the University Library becomes their permanent home. However, some of the collections have continued their travels, albeit unwittingly.
In 2004, many libraries in New Zealand learned that they had been the target of experienced book thieves. Over 10 years, thieves had been stealing from all of New Zealand's University libraries, several public libraries, the College of Education and the Canterbury Museum. As a result of Operation Pukapuka (the Māori term for book), the University of Canterbury had 527 volumes returned. Unfortunately, we are still missing some valuable items, including volumes that would have enhanced our exhibition, such as the 7 volumes of "Flora Australiensis : a description of the plants of the Australian territory" by George Bentham ; assisted by Ferdinand Mueller, published in London by L. Reeve, 1863-1878.
We would be very grateful if in your travels you come across these books or any others that you suspect may be from our collection, you would contact the NZ Police or the University Library so we can investigate.
