Auckland War Memorial Museum Celebrates 25 Years Of Online Cenotaph

Auckland War Memorial Museum’s Online Cenotaph is a biographical military database that allows researchers, enthusiasts, and veterans and their families to explore, contribute to, and share the records and stories of those who served for Aotearoa New Zealand.

Online Cenotaph is celebrating more than 25 years since it was first launched with the purpose of acknowledging New Zealand personnel who have served in overseas conflicts. To mark this significant milestone Online Cenotaph has created the publication 25 Years of Online Cenotaph.

The database began in 1996 with the same 16,000 names that are chiselled on walls of the Museum’s two Halls of Memories, commemorating Aucklanders who died during World Wars One and Two. Over the past quarter century Online Cenotaph has grown to a resource of more than 264,000 records spanning 40 conflicts. The data gathered is unique in that it unites personal stories with the official, records-based histories of service personnel. Information in the core database is sourced from publicly available primary and secondary sources and enhanced by images and data managed and created by public and private organisations and individuals.

Working with institutions such as Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga and the New Zealand Defence Force Archives, post-World War Two conflicts have been added in recent years, bolstering the freely available records. The public has also played an important role: a software upgrade in 2015 allowed the public to contribute stories and personal insights directly. This relaunched public interface has resulted in more than 173,000 crowdsourced images, datapoints, and notes being added.

Victoria Passau, Online Cenotaph and Enquiry Services Manager at Auckland Museum, says “It is amazing to think that we have been telling the stories of Aotearoa New Zealand’s military veterans and their comrades for more than a quarter century. Online Cenotaph has become New Zealand’s most trusted resource for sharing the stories of our service personnel and we could not be prouder.”

“We could never have imagined the stories we’d learn and exactly how people would use the database when it was first launched. Families have found where their loved ones were buried, and researchers have been able to see previously neglected service, like the Pacific Coastwatchers, acknowledged online for the first time,” says Passau.

Initially contributed to and supported by Museum Library staff and volunteers, this resource was only accessible onsite at the Museum until it went online in 2005. Another leap forward came in 2015 during the WW100 commemoration, when the Museum secured Lotteries and Ministry for Culture and Heritage funding to enable the public to add information directly into Online Cenotaph’s digital records. Before 2015, additional information and images contributed by the public had to be added manually by Museum volunteers and staff, and the growing popularity of the site and volume of material being received threatened the sustainability of the service. The redevelopment project was in collaboration with memory institutions and community groups, large and small, across New Zealand and internationally. At the same time the Pou Maumahara Memorial Discovery Centre was opened to further support public engagement with the growing online repository of stories.

In the eight years since its relaunch:

• There have been 15 million page views by 2.8 million individuals
• More than 173,000 pieces of user-generated content have been uploaded
• 866,000 digital poppies have been laid
• The database has received on average between 2,000 to 4,000 enquiries per year

At the request of the public, there is now a focus on raising the profile of our living veterans who served post-World War II, particularly those who served in Korea, Malaya, Borneo, and Vietnam. Many living veterans and their families are now able to receive recognition online for their service and Online Cenotaph and the Museum is proud to share their stories through interviews, blog posts, and social media.

“The Museum is working hard to expand the voices being shared on Online Cenotaph so that more of our communities can access this taonga,” says Victoria Passau. “The contributions made by our founders, volunteers, researchers, families, and veterans are what make this achievement of reaching 25 years of online commemoration so special.”

To mark the 25th anniversary of the Online Cenotaph, Auckland Museum has produced an online publication on the history of Online Cenotaph along with interviews with those who have contributed to its development and success. The publication, 25 Years of Online Cenotaph, is available online now.

This publication reflects the range of individuals who have contributed to this collective resource: a social historian, a volunteer, a descendent, a military historian, a museum worker, and a contributor. In the interviews, each person shares their relationship with Online Cenotaph, what the database means to them, and how they believe its impact ripples out into the wider world.

To enable Online Cenotaph to continue to grow, develop, and fulfil its potential for years to come, donations are requested. Donations can be made through this link. Donations received will go towards increasing the range of stories being told on Online Cenotaph by enabling us to collaborate with veterans, creators, community members, and researchers through interviews, digital storytelling, and other creative outputs.

Donating to Online Cenotaph helps tell the stories of our military personnel for future generations.

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