Identity area
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Title
Date(s)
- 1977 - 2020 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
8 boxes (4 type 1 boxes and 4 type 5 boxes)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Hendrick Anton Herbert ("Hank") Driessen was a PhD student of the Research School of Pacific Studies. He began his enrollment at the Australian National University in 1978, and submitted his PhD thesis, From Ta'aroa to 'oro : an exploration of themes in the traditional culture and history of the Leeward Society Islands, in 1991. His PhD was conferred on 14 August 1992. He conducted fieldwork in the Society Islands over a number of years, and collected an archive of his research. He worked for many years at the National Archives of New Zealand, beginning as an archivist, and advancing to the head of Outreach Services and Exhibitions. He was a founding Council member of the New Zealand Society of Archivists from its inception in 1989 and served on the Council until 2000. Towards the end of his life, he returned to Australia, where he died in 2021.
Repository
Content and structure area
Scope and content
This series consists of research materials generated by Hank Driessen on the topic of Polynesian history from the pre-contact period to mid-19th century, focusing on French Polynesia, Fiji, and Hawai'i. Much of it consists of research notebooks filled with extracts from archival materials handwritten by Driessen during visits to international research libraries. A notable component is an extensive series of index cards of primary source extracts arranged chronologically by year from 1769 to 1852.
Note that the PDF is no longer up to date (use the ATOM list instead) but is retained because it contains a very detailed breakdown of some of the item contents.
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Researchers must sign an access agreement.
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Created by C. Ziegler 10 Aug 2023. Processed by David Romney Smith, February 2026.