Established as the Maritime History Group (MHG) in 1971 by Dr. Keith Matthews and other maritime historians at Memorial University, the archive initially served as a repository for shipping records to support the collaborative Atlantic Canada Shipping Project. The MHG repository subsequently evolved into a full-fledged research archive with extensive and varied holdings. In 1986, the MHG reorganized, resulting in the establishment of Maritime History Archive (MHA) as a separate unit in the Faculty of Arts, now Humanities and Social Sciences.
Today, the MHA maintains extensive collections with 25,000 linear feet of records filling 12,500 square feet of space. These collections consist primarily of shipping records, mercantile records, and photographs. The MHA acquired its largest manuscript collection — "Agreements and Accounts of Crew," 1863-1938 and 1951-1976 — from the British government in the 1970s. These original documents constitute an extraordinary resource for the study of the movements and crews of British Empire vessels throughout the world, making the MHA an internationally renowned resource centre for the study of maritime history, and attracting researchers from around the world.
The MHA also functions as a teaching lab, collaborating with faculty to offer classes and lectures to undergraduate and graduate students in the Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines. Through its Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Website — https://www.heritage.nf.ca — the MHA provides research and teaching materials for teachers and students in Newfoundland and Labrador schools. Undergradute students, media and the public are also frequent users of the MHA's archival and website resources.
Updated July, 2024
