The need to preserve records in Tanzania can be traced back to 1920, when one British officer discovered, hidden among a mass of German rat and ant eaten documents, secret instructions issued in 1916 by the last German Governor, that the most valuable Government files should be buried in Tabora and other places, so as to prevent them to falling into the hands of the British.

By burying the records the Germans thought that, after winning the war, they could recover the records, which served as evidence of the legal rights of German settlers. The discovery of the buried records by the British victors led to negotiations between the British administration in Tanganyika and the German Government (which had formerly claimed that all records were destroyed).

The German government agreed to send out two German representatives in 1921 to assist the British government in digging up the records. Those that were recovered now form the nucleus of the German records now held in Tanzania, and are recognized as a World Heritage.

In 1950 the British Government appointed Mr. V.W. Hiller, who was Chief Archivist of the then Central African Federation, to report on the possibility of establishing an archive service. Mr. Hiller recommended the establishment of an East African archives service, comprised of Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Action was not taken and the report was shelved.

Nothing further was done until the arrival of Miss Marcia Wright, in 1962, who investigated the condition of public records and submitted a report in November, 1962. The report not only revealed the fact that Secretariat archives were in immediate danger of destruction, and were stored in a virtually roofless warehouse, but also established a detailed archival history of the oldest records, especially those of the German administration.

In June 1963, with assistance from UNESCO, the newly Independent Government contracted a professional archivist, Mr. J. R. Ede, who took over responsibility for the public records.

Mr. Ede, as Archives Adviser, initiated the move to establish the National Archives as a government Office. By the Presidential circular No.7 of December 1962 the National Archives became a division under the Ministry of National Culture and Youth.

The first quarters of the Division were in three large rooms in the building known as the Old Treasury, facing the harbour on Azania Front. This building is of historical interest, being known in German times as No.1 Building and under British rule it was used for a time as the office of the Secretariat. Recently, this building has been rehabilitated and converted into the United Nations Information Centre.

In October 1964 the Division moved to India/Chusi Street in the commercial centre of Dar es Salaam. It was not until 1984 that the National Archives moved to its purpose built premises at Upanga, Vijibweni Street No 7 (off Magore Road).

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