GLAM/Newsletter/July 2025/Contents/New Zealand report
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Women in Wartime
Women in Wartime event at Auckland Museum
On Tuesday 15th July 2025, Wikimedian in Residence Anjuli Selvadurai, Online Cenotaph Collection Technician Sophie Elborough, and Online Cenotaph and Enquiries Services Manager Victoria Passau hosted Women in Wartime, a public talk held in the Research Library Te Pātaka Mātāpuna, with over 30 attendees. The session sought to cast light on the vital, though often underrepresented, role women played in wartime. By highlighting the stories of two women, Nina May Palmer and Catherine Frances Bryers,the event demonstrated how Online Cenotaph and Wikipedia, both open access platforms, can work together to strengthen public knowledge and foster collaborative engagement.
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Despite the vital roles these women played, and their extensive achievements they were awarded during their lifetimes, neither had Wikipedia pages. In preparation for the event, Anjuli and Sophie created and updated these pages to demonstrate the possibilities for collaboration and connection between Online Cenotaph and Wikipedia. Wikipedia, as a platform can bring a lot of recognition to women like May and Frances, potentially connecting their stories with researchers worldwide.
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This work supports the Wikiproject x Online Cenotaph which utilises Auckland Museum’s biographical database, Online Cenotaph, which aims to share underrepresented histories of New Zealand’s involvement in conflict over time. The Cenotaph Stories article, ‘New Zealand Nurses in Samoa’ served as a fundamental resource in creating and improving the pages for each of these history making women who were the first New Zealand nurses to see active service in WWI as part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force stationed at Apia Hospital in Samoa. Their stories highlight the surprising breadth of New Zealand’s involvement in WWI as well as the struggles women faced just to serve. Wikipedia’s collaborative nature allows others to edit and improve upon this research and even join in on the project. As we continue to strive to represent diverse histories and stories significant to Aotearoa, we hope that you can join us in sharing, platforming and preserving these online.
If you are interested in getting involved in the Wikiproject x Online Cenotaph, please contact wikipedia@aucklandmuseum.com.
