Exhibition marks 50th anniversary of the Gibraltar National Archives
The Gibraltar National Archives (GNA) is set to hold an exhibition to celebrate the first 50 years of Archives in Gibraltar.
The exhibition, at the Fine Arts Gallery, will be formally opened by the Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia next Monday.
It will be open to the public the next day and will close on Saturday November 23.
The event will be the cumulative work of past and present archivists. A selection of small representative samples from the GNA repository treasure-trove will be on display.
The exhibition, divided into seven section, covers over 1,300 years, just before 711 to 2019. Section 1: Pre-16th Century, Section 2: 16th Century, Section 3: 17th Century,
Section 4: 18th Century, Section 5: 19th Century, Section 6: 20th Century and Section 7: 21st Century.
The seven sections comprise 138 Panels, with 268 images on display.
The showpiece is a 19th Century oversized (265cm x 108cm) Ordinance Survey Map ‘Plan of the Fortress and Peninsular of Gibraltar including the Spanish Survey of 1865’ created by Royal Engineers Regiment Cartographer Lieutenant Charles Warren c1866.
There will also be a lecture series, which will include 45-minute talks with 15-minute questions and answers discussions, a Digitisation and Conservation station with daily demonstrations at 1100, 1400 and 1700 and a selection of Gibraltar films.
“The historical documents on display represent a very small sample of the materials held by the GNA. I hope that this exhibition will inspire and stimulate the public and researchers alike to visit us and learn more,” said the archivist, Anthony Pitaluga.
“I have used the term ‘historical document’ even though I think the term is misleading. We give this label to documentation that has played a part in events we think of as history.”
“However, the email or text message you wrote recently is past tense from the moment you wrote it. Time passes, but well cared for documents change little. Evergreen recollections that belong to all of us,” he added.
The Deputy Chief Minister, is the minister with responsibility for the Archives.
“I must once again commend the Archivist Anthony Pitaluga for the fascinating display that he has brought together for this exhibition,” he said.
“It is a testimony to his hard work and to that of his predecessors. Every person who has held the post of Archivist has contributed positively to the development of the Archives in a different way. Anthony has made great strides to move forward into the digital age in keeping with the times in which we live. This is the way forward,” he added.
Lecture Series schedule
Starting at 6pm as per schedule below:
5/11/19 - Anthony Pitaluga – Digital Preservation for the 21st Century
6/11/19 - Tito Benady – The Story of Gibraltar: History or Myth
7/11/19 - Juan Manuel Ballesta – El Cabildo de Gibraltar 1577
11/11/19 - Clive Finlayson – Mons Calpe: A journey to the end of the world
14/11/19 - Richard Garcia – Gibraltar at the end of the 19th Century
18/11/19 - Keith Sheriff – Freemasonry in Gibraltar
Gibraltar Films schedule
Monday to Friday at 6pm
Saturday at 11.30 am
8/11/2019 – The Clue of Missing Ape 1953 (53 Minutes)
12/11/2019 - Gibraltar during WW2 Part 1 (45 Minutes)
13/11/2019 - Gibraltar during WW2 Part 2 (45 Minutes)
15/11/2019 - Inside the lines - During World War 1, German spies will stop at nothing to spy on the allied war plan stored at Gibraltar. (54 Minutes)
16/11/2019 – Royal Visit 1954 (40 Minutes)
19/11/2019 - Gibraltar £50,000,000 Fortress 1911 (35 Minutes)
20/11/2019 - WW1 Exploits of a German Submarine U35 Operating in the Mediterranean 1917 (14 Minutes) + Naval Monument at Gibraltar Dedication in 1937 (10 Minutes)
22/11/2019 – Teatro Royal ‘Fiesta en el aire’ 1953 (50 Minutes)
23/11/2019 - Honouring a Generation (20 Minutes) + Highlights of the 75th Anniversary of the Evacuation Live Event at Victoria Stadium September 2015 (30 Minutes)
