Gwenne Brégeon has said Avis Acres “managed to transform the bush, the birds and the flora into living characters capable of inspiring children, while teaching them about their environment.”

The Avis Acres Collection is unique as the creative archive of an illustrator and writer whose comics and books for children celebrated Aotearoa New Zealand’s distinctive flora and fauna, fostering understanding and commitment to protecting our natural environment. The collection comprises original artworks, sketches, working drafts, early comics, ephemera, photographs, and correspondence, providing rare insight into Acres’ creative thinking and professional development.

Distinctive within her work is the careful accuracy with which native flora and fauna are depicted, informed by collaboration with subject experts and sustained field observation. These elements are combined with themes of environmental stewardship directed towards younger audiences. Her work represents a time when Aotearoa was reconceptualizing our national identity, which is reflected in her practice of using colonial ‘flower fairy’ traditions whilst centring Aotearoa’s unique flora and fauna.

The core of the archive consists of original artworks and preparatory material for the three Hutu and Kawa children’s books, alongside original drawings prepared for the Hutu and Kawa comic strips published in the New Zealand Herald in 1951.