Katherine Mansfield Collections added to International Memory of the World Register

This inscription of the Mansfield Collections, which is held at the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library in Wellington, elevates the status of the documentary heritage collection, placing it alongside other internationally recognised landmarks in history.

Katherine Mansfield (the pseudonym of Kathleen Beauchamp, 1888 –1923) is New Zealand's most celebrated writer internationally, and one of the world's foremost modernist writers, best known for her short stories and transformation of the genre.

The Katherine Mansfield papers held at the Alexander Turnbull Library represent the largest and most significant collection of Mansfield material in the world. The Mansfield Collections include original correspondence, notebooks and journals, and personal belongings, including her typewriter. They document the writer's artistic preoccupations, development, and methods, as well as her complex personal life.

Acting Chief Librarian of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Jess Moran, says “we’re honoured by the news. It’s wonderful recognition of the collection’s importance nationally and internationally. We’ve been working over the years to digitise as much as possible to increase the accessibility of this rich collection related to Mansfield and her writing.”

The Mansfield Collections are the fourth documentary heritage collection from Aotearoa New Zealand to be inscribed on the international Memory of the World Register. The other three being: the Treaty of Waitangi; the Women’s Suffrage Petition; and the Sir Edmund Hillary Archive.

Before this prestigious addition, the Katherine Mansfield literary and personal papers were inscribed on the New Zealand UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2016 (#17).

"The New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO is delighted that the Mansfield collection is the fourth New Zealand collection to be inscribed to the international UNESCO Memory of the World register. The register is an important tool to preserve, protect, and ensure accessibility of the world’s documentary heritage, in line with the goals of UNESCO. The recognition of these New Zealand collections demonstrates the crucial and world-class work of our library and archives sector," says New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO Secretary General Vicki Soanes.

The Mansfield collections were founded when a bound set of Katherine’s complete works were donated by her father, Harold Beauchamp, following her death in 1923. This was followed by a major purchase of her personal papers from her husband John Middleton Murray in 1957. Since then, the Library has continued to acquire unique Mansfield material. A guide to the Mansfield collections is available on the National Library website.

There is also an online space where visitors can explore some of these collection items, which were recently on display as part of the Library’s 2024 exhibition: ‘A child of the sun’: Katherine Mansfield’s last year.

“The Memory of the World Aotearoa New Zealand Trust is delighted that the Katherine Mansfield papers are now on UNESCO’s International Register, years after inscription on the New Zealand Register,” says Jane Wild, Chair of the Memory of the World Aotearoa New Zealand Trust.

“We are also pleased that with this recognition, the Katherine Mansfield holdings in the United States of America at the Newberry Library in Chicago, and the Harry Ransom Center in Austin Texas, are noted as important resources alongside Katherine Mansfield’s collection in Wellington, New Zealand. We look forward to more research on Mansfield’s extraordinary life and work.”

The New Zealand Memory of the World Programme is one of over 60 Memory of the World programmes worldwide. For more information on the International Memory of the World programme visit https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world.