Robert Chapman (academic)

"[4]Chapman was interested in fields outside political science and history, and was involved in the development of New Zealand literature and poetry.

[4] In 1966, lecturers Keith Sinclair and Chapman established the University of Auckland Art Collection, beginning with the purchase of several paintings and drawings by Colin McCahon.

Significant among his landmark publications was his contribution to the 1986 Report of the Royal Commission on the Electoral System: Towards a Better Democracy, entitled "Voting in the Maori Political Sub-System, 1935-1984".

Its focus is on building a collection that reflects New Zealand's political, social, cultural and economic history as shown through broadcast media.

This focus has allowed the Chapman Archive to develop a comprehensive collection of news and current affairs programming depicting defining moments in New Zealand's history.

In a speech at the Chapman memorial lecture in 2000, former Prime Minister Helen Clark highlighted the contribution made by Noeline: "In an unpaid capacity, Noeline [Chapman] clipped the newspapers and recorded the news and current affairs day in, day out.

That work formed the basis for the Noeline Chapman archive in the Political Studies Department - supplemented, of course, by the ceaseless flow of parliamentary material from Jonathan Hunt for the last 34 years!

In 2011, Professor Stephen Levine presented the Chapman Lecture, speaking on 'New Zealand Politics: Democracy and the Semi-Sovereign People'.