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Donation - A Fitting Tribute

Wednesday 2 May 2012, 5:28PM

By Palmerston North City Council

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PALMERSTON NORTH

The Ian Matheson City Archives in Palmerston North is thrilled to be the recipients of a $20,000 donation.

The donation was given to the Palmerston North City Archives by the family of the late Chris van Kraayenoord ONZM who passed away in January of this year.

During his retirement Mr van Kraayenoord the archivist for St Mark's and St Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Palmerston North. He was dedicated to both the Church archives and to archives in general.

Born in The Hague in 1923, Mr van Kraayenoord came to New Zealand in 1952 and settled in Palmerston North in 1955. In 2002 he was awarded Officer of the NZ Order of Merit for services to agriculture and forestry.

"We wanted to give this gift in memory of our father in recognition of his love of local history, archival work and the preservation of documents and records for future generations. It's also an acknowledgment of the important work carried out by the Ian Matheson City Archives," Mr van Kraayenoord's daughters Mrs Annette Tylee and Dr Christa van Kraayenoord said.

Mr van Kraayenoord spent many hours learning about archive management from the former Palmerston North City Archivist, Ian Matheson (whom the archive is now named after).

"The donation that has been gifted to us by the family is wonderful, even beyond its monetary value," said Palmerston North City Archivist Lesley Courtney.  She remembers Chris well as he was a regular at Archives, "Chris put great importance on the value of archives and the important role they play in the city's past and future. We are most grateful."

No decision has yet been made as to how the donation will be used however, as per the conditions of the gift it will be used solely for the Ian Matheson City Archives.