Auckland Anniversary Weekend

This coming weekend, January 24^th-26^th, marks the observation of Auckland Anniversary. This year ASB and Auckland Council are presenting weekend packed with events to celebrate the 175^th anniversary of Auckland. The main events will be held on Queen’s Wharf and at Shed 10 and include a multimedia exhibition that promises to give a glimpse into the area’s past.

Ref: F.R. Stack, Drawing showing the Auckland Regatta 1862..., Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 863-RB586.

Staff from Auckland Libraries will be down at Queen’s Wharf over the weekend with our mobile library bus filled with historical resources and displays of items from our heritage and research collections.

Ref: E Gilling for the Auckland Weekly News, Dry work, 4 February 1909, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19090204-6-6.

The Auckland Libraries mobile bus will be just inside the main entrance area next to the information stand, so do pop by and see us. Members of the Heritage and Research team will be down there and can advise you on any local history and family history queries you may have. Following on with the maritime theme of much of the celebrations, we’re putting a focus on shipping information including passenger lists and immigration materials. For more information on family history don’t forget to check out our series of lunchtime talks and our family history blog, Kintalk.

Traditionally one of the major events over Auckland anniversary Weekend has been the Anniversary Day Regatta. Here is a selection of images in our collections of the Anniversary Day Regatta down the years:

Ref: James D Richardson, Auckland Annual Regatta January 1864, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 4-RIC154.

Ref: Henry Winkelmann, Looking north west from Mount Victoria across the harbour to..., 29 January 1927, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1-W785A.

Ref: H.G. Holland for the Auckland Weekly News, Auckland Anniversary Regatta 1899, 10 February 1899, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-18990210-5-1.

Ref: Anniversary Regatta, 29 January 1904, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 7-A4798.

Ref: Auckland Weekly News, A great aquatic carnival, 6 February 1908, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19080206-8-1.

The Alexander Turnbull Library has some wonderful aerial shots of the 100^th Anniversary Regatta in the White’s Aviation collection which can be found by searching “Regatta Day Whites Aviation Auckland” on the National Library website.

If you do a search in our Heritage Images database for “Regatta Auckland Anniversary” you can browse wonderful portraits of ships that have competed in the Regatta overs the years, like this example:

Ref: James D Richardson, Schooner-scow 'Pukapuka', 1908, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 4-5586.

This year, in addition to the Regatta, Ports of Auckland are holding SeePort, an open weekend where the public are invited in to better understand the shipping industry and what happens at the port.

Not all Anniversary Day activities were based on the water, as the image below of a race day at Takapuna Racecourse from 1932 shows. For more information on Takapuna Racecourse see the article that Librarian David Verran wrote for Channel magazine. David has also written a follow up piece that is not online, please let us know in the comments if you would like a copy emailed to you.