Ngā Pōito-o-Te Kupenga o Taramainuku - Islands of the Hauraki Gulf

Nau mai haere mai, welcome to the podcast series for Ngā pōito-o-te kupenga o Taramainuku - Islands of the Hauraki Gulf. This Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections exhibition runs from April - September 2022 at Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero, the Central City Library, and explores the islands of the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana through rare books, maps and manuscripts, photographs and oral histories. 

Image: Basil Williams. Browns Island (Motukorea), 1973. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, 1727-096.

Haere mai ki Hauraki, he aute tē awhea. Come to Hauraki where the aute plant is undisturbed. 

In this track, Haunui Royal introduces us to what we can expect to hear in the podcast and see in the exhibition.

Listen to the track here.

Waiheke Island: Paul Monin on Te Pūtiki o Kahu

Image: Frank Morris. View of launches and yachts anchored in Cowes Bay. 1930s. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, FMO-0175-P. 

In this track, recently recorded for the 2020 Waiheke Walking Festival, we hear the voice of archaeologist and historian Paul Monin talk about his and others' work surveying Te Pūtiki o Kahumatamoemoe – commonly referred to as Te Pūtiki o Kahu pā site.

Listen to the track here. 

Rangitoto Island: Bach stories with Leni Sullivan

Image: Brian Cairns. Rangitoto Bach, 2010. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, 1477-2251.

Rangitoto is a striking and iconic feature of the Hauraki Gulf. In this track we hear the story from Rangitoto family bach owner Leni Sullivan and her daughter Katherine Wagner. In an interview with Susan Yoffee they recall the history of the family bach and the life lived and loved on the island. The interview was recorded in 1989 and is drawn from a larger set of recordings for the Rangitoto Historic Conservation Trust Bach Histories Collection (Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, OH_1392).

Listen to the track here.

Tiritiri Matangi: Anne Rimmer and the birds

Image: Matt Elliott. Takahē, Tiritiri Matangi Island. Between 2000 and 2019. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, 1385-0757.

In 2007 Anne Rimmer gave a lively talk to a meeting of the North Shore Historical Society (Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, NOH-AAA-0580) sharing her knowledge of Tiritiri Matangi Island. In this clip we hear her introduction to the island including some of the details of the history and conservation work of the island with a focus on the growing diversity of bird life. 

Listen to the track here. 

Waiheke Island: Colin Gordon and his Road

Image: Douglas Jerome Marsh. The wharf at Matiatia Bay, Waiheke. 1950s. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, 1334-4-29. 

In this track we hear from life long Waiheke resident Colin Gordon talking with Waiheke-based librarian Julia Mount. Originally recorded for the 2020 Waiheke Walking Festival, Colin shares the story of how he built 'Gordon's Road' in the 1950s in order to get his kids to school, thereby bringing road access to the otherwise remote Whakanewha Rocky Bay area.

Listen to the track here. 

In this guest track we hear from colleagues at Hui Te Ananui a Tangaroa - New Zealand Maritime Museum talking about their current exhibition. Lightly Skimming Over the Surface: 150 Years of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron coincides with the 36th America’s Cup match on the Waitematā Harbour. This audio track outlines what visitors can expect to see in the exhibition. Recordings were made from conversations with Liz Gordon, Frances Walsh and Robert Brooke.

Image: Anne Wiseman [far right] with two friends in the 1950s, aboard the K-Class yacht Jenanne, commissioned by Anne’s father Murray, designed by Bill Couldrey and built by the Low Brothers in Whangarei. Photograph courtesy Piri Neary.

K-Class yachts emerged from a 1944 Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron design competition; the club wanted to encourage returned servicemen to get out on Tīkapa Moana—on a boat that could race, but also accommodate family cruising. Squadron member 96-year-old Piri Neary crewed on the elegant, comfortable yacht, in the process falling hard for Anne. ‘She was a very good yachtswoman,’ says Neary of his wife, who died in 2017.

Listen to the track here.