Hocken Library
Encyclopedia
The Hocken Library is a research library, historical archive and art gallery based in the New Zealand
city of Dunedin
. It is a library collection of national significance administered by the University of Otago
.
The library's specialist areas include items relating to the history of New Zealand and the Pacific, with specific emphasis on the Otago
and Southland Regions. Open to the general public, the library is one of the country's most important historical research facilities.
The library is the result of the philanthropy of avid collector Dr. Thomas Hocken
, who donated his private collection
to the university in trust for the New Zealand public. Hocken had offered his collection to public use in 1897, but it was not until 1910 that it became generally accessible in a wing of the Otago Museum
. Hocken was too ill to attend the official opening on 23 March 1910 (the 62nd anniversary of the founding of Dunedin), and died just two months later.
Until 1965 the library was entirely housed in the Otago Museum
. From that time its pictures collection and increasingly more of its other holdings were housed on other sites around the University of Otago's campus, the pictures being at the Central Library. In 1980 the collections were again brought together under one roof in the new Hocken Building (now renamed the Richardson Building), designed by E.J. McCoy
. It soon outgrew that site and additional accommodation was secured at another site in Leith Street. It was reconsolidated on another site in 1998 in the former Otago Co-operative Dairy Company factory on Anzac Avenue, east of the main campus. In 2005 its name was changed to the 'Hocken Collections'.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
city of Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
. It is a library collection of national significance administered by the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
.
The library's specialist areas include items relating to the history of New Zealand and the Pacific, with specific emphasis on the Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...
and Southland Regions. Open to the general public, the library is one of the country's most important historical research facilities.
The library is the result of the philanthropy of avid collector Dr. Thomas Hocken
Thomas Hocken
Thomas Morland Hocken was a prominent New Zealand collector, bibliographer and researcher. He was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire on 14 January 1836, the son of a Wesleyan minister, and educated at Woodhouse Grove School and a school in Newcastle...
, who donated his private collection
Private library
A private library is a library under the care of private ownership, as compared to that of a public institution, and is usually only established for the use of a small number of people, or even a single person. As with public libraries, some people use stamps, stickers, or embossing to show...
to the university in trust for the New Zealand public. Hocken had offered his collection to public use in 1897, but it was not until 1910 that it became generally accessible in a wing of the Otago Museum
Otago museum
The Otago Museum is situated in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was founded in 1868 and has a collection of over two million artefacts and specimens from the fields of natural history and ethnography...
. Hocken was too ill to attend the official opening on 23 March 1910 (the 62nd anniversary of the founding of Dunedin), and died just two months later.
Until 1965 the library was entirely housed in the Otago Museum
Otago museum
The Otago Museum is situated in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was founded in 1868 and has a collection of over two million artefacts and specimens from the fields of natural history and ethnography...
. From that time its pictures collection and increasingly more of its other holdings were housed on other sites around the University of Otago's campus, the pictures being at the Central Library. In 1980 the collections were again brought together under one roof in the new Hocken Building (now renamed the Richardson Building), designed by E.J. McCoy
Ted McCoy
Edward John "Ted" McCoy ONZM is a retired Dunedin, New Zealand architect. He designed the sanctuary of St Pauls Cathedral, completed in 1970 and the Richardson Building of the University of Otago, completed in 1979, among many others...
. It soon outgrew that site and additional accommodation was secured at another site in Leith Street. It was reconsolidated on another site in 1998 in the former Otago Co-operative Dairy Company factory on Anzac Avenue, east of the main campus. In 2005 its name was changed to the 'Hocken Collections'.