The attic of the General Assembly Library within Parliament's grounds provided a convenient, if sub-standard, storage facility for government records before the creation of the National Archives in 1957. In the lead-up to the 1940 centennial celebrations (marking 100 years since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi), more use was made of government records and the controller of the archives, Guy Scholefield, created space in the attic for researchers.

Scholefield made valiant attempts to raise the profile of government records and agitated for better accommodation and protection, but he resigned, a disappointed man, in 1947. This is his successor, Michael Standish, in the attic, surrounded by badly stored records, in 1953.