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John A Lee on war poetry: when mud and blood became the keynote
John A Lee was, amongst other things, a war hero, politician, publican and author during his unusually eventful and varied life. In his will Lee asked that his private papers be deposited with Auckland...
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Crossing an exasperating little stream: the Milford foot bridge
Originally built to allow pedestrians to easily reach the 'new' Castor Bay Estate at the northern end of Milford beach, the Milford foot bridge has long been a focus of debate for local residents.Ref:...
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NZ Herald Glass Plate Negatives and the man in a hat with a cat
Auckland Libraries received an important donation in 2015 when the negatives formerly in the original New Zealand Herald offices, in their historic Albert Street base, were gifted for digitisation. We...
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Dominion Road: A musical!
What happens when real life politics and art collide? Aucklanders can find out as Dominion Rd - The Musical hits the stage this month.Ref: Dominion Rd - The Musical promotional poster In a case of...
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The Lewis Eady legacy
It is interesting to discover how a part of a library's collection originates. In the case of Auckland Libraries' music collection, it started when a visionary librarian connected with an Auckland city...
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John Masefield's watercolour of the HMS Endeavour
Nowadays English author John Masefield is chiefly remembered for two short poems with nautical themes: “Sea Fever” (“I must down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky”) and “Cargoes” (with...
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The Going West archive - Out of the box
In looking back over 22 years at the creation of the Going West Books & Writers Festival archive, it would be great to be able to say that it was a well-planned exercise, deliberately designed to...
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Gatherings on the Manukau exhibition
The Manukau Harbour is the second largest in Aotearoa. Loved and enjoyed by many, Te Manukanuka o Houturoa has always been a source for food gathering and has long provided the means for navigating the...
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Presbyterianism on the peninsula
On the last Sunday in September the Awhitu Central Church will celebrate its 140th anniversary. Travellers who pass through Awhitu Central on their way to the Manukau Heads lighthouse will be familiar...
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Passchendaele, Dave Gallaher & the All Blacks
As part of the ongoing centennial commemorations for the First World War, this week marks the centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele. It was during this battle that one of the most famous New...
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William Eastwood (1821-1877) and his Manukau watercolours
We can trace the footsteps of local artist William Eastwood as he journeyed about the Manukau Harbour from 1866 to 1876. His wonderful watercolour paintings reveal various aspects of the landscape...
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Heartfelt thanks from the mother and father of an HMS Orpheus survivor
The painting below features in a slideshow which is part of the Gatherings on the Manukau Exhibition. This travelling exhibition opens at the Waiuku Library on 17 October, closing on 4 November.Ref:...
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Gorgeous Girl Shows
For a brief time in the 1940s Auckland dancers performed Gorgeous Girl Shows wearing little more than G-strings, balloons and fans, to packed houses of appreciative American servicemen. Over half a...
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Take a walk along the Puhinui Stream
On 28 October 2017 the second annual Puhinui Stream Challenge Fun Walk takes place (see details here). The six-kilometre walk begins in Hayman Park, near Manukau City Centre, and ends in Totara Park....
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Thomas Mandeno Jackson, tenor and auctioneer
Recently while describing photographs from the 1893 New Zealand Graphic and Ladies Journal I came across a portrait simply entitled ‘Mr T.M. Jackson, the well known New Zealand tenor.’ I tried many...
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Auckland’s Jazzy nightlife
Whenever I tell people what I research - the history of jazz in New Zealand - the first response I get is: ‘there was jazz in New Zealand?’ The second response is usually something along the lines of:...
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Dr Grace Russell and the Dobie sisters
When I started researching New Zealand women who worked in the war effort overseas during the First World War, I realised much of the material I needed was in a cupboard in someone’s spare room – or in...
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Toni Savage, entertainer and philantropist
Laura Joan 'Toni' Swan (née Savage) was an entertainer who began her career singing and dancing, mixed with some accordion playing and ventriloquism for New Zealand and American troops during the...
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Waikowhai Park
“As Auckland grows every open space which is preserved for the use of the public is an asset of incalculable value,” a writer said in the NZ Herald in 1914. “Every city, in order to keep its...
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Jane Austen 200
Jane Austen fans will probably already know that 2017 marks two hundred years since the death of the novelist on 18 July 1817 at the early age of 41.Ref: Screenshot from the Jane Austen 200 website...
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