Give More, Grow More in the Archive

When today's students open photo albums from years gone by, they discover something remarkable: the Wenona they know stretches back through decades of familiar buildings, familiar activities and familiar faces. They are not only doing the important work of safeguarding history; they are discovering how they fit into it.

The Wenona Archive is rich from the efforts of generations of students and their families, with tens of thousands of donated images now filling the shelves of a compactus.

During the 1990s and 2000s, roll after roll of film was snapped around the School and used in weekly newsletters and annual publication The Wenonian. Prints of these candid images have been stored in photo albums whose plastic has become sticky with time. Archivist, Dr Elizabeth Hartnell, has been digitising the photos with the assistance of Upper School students, whose efforts align perfectly with the 2025-2026 Prefects’ inspirational theme, ‘Give More, Grow More’.

For the last few years, dozens of Year 9 and 10 students have volunteered half an hour at lunch to scan, rehouse and label the photographs. On a weekly rotation, they don white cotton gloves and carefully remove an image from its degrading plastic sleeve and place it on the scanner flatbed. Working in pairs to make a repetitive task more enjoyable, they are helping preserve our history for future generations.

While photos of annual events such as graduation ceremonies and sports carnivals are more predictable finds, photos of excursions and activities spark personal interest. Familiar buildings and classrooms stretch forward through time; students often find themselves identifying with Alumnae who are now middle aged. “With several pairs of students working on the same edition of The Wenonian (currently 1996), we revisit the halls of three decades ago,” said Dr Hartnell.

Year 10 student Annabelle concurs. “It is really cool to see people from many years ago doing the same things that we do. That really helps add to the sense of community that Wenona has.” 

Most students begin their Archive experience via an introduction to the Service Learning in the Community (SLIC) program. Students often fulfill their SLIC hours by continuing their participation through to the end of Term 4. There have even been contests to see who can scan the most images. 

“The assistance provided by each student, even by scanning just one more photograph, accumulates to hundreds of images added to the Digital Archive each year,” Dr Hartnell said. “I scan items almost every day, but the students’ voluntary efforts significantly hasten the progress that can be made on this essential ongoing project.” 

In preserving these glimpses of School life from earlier eras, today's students are living our motto Ut Prosim, that I may serve, while creating a bridge between Wenona's history and its future.