Heritage et AL

In 1924, Auckland City Council began publishing the Municipal Record, to promote the progress of the “Queen City.” Inspired by publications abroad, and encouraged by central government to publish details of civic work, the magazine was launched. There were plans to publish quarterly, and it was distributed free of charge, with the hope that Aucklanders would take more of an interest in civic matters, and accord “a fuller measure of sympathy and understanding” to Council staff. Ref: Front cover of the Municipal Record, Vol. 1, No. 1, 15 March 1924. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections. The Record promoted Auckland as a pioneer town growing into a modern city. Editor Robert Hill wrote that people new to Auckland, whether from New Zealand or abroad, should make an effort to learn about their new city. “These people know little or nothing of the city and until they do, they cannot become imbued with that intense civic enthusiasm that is a characteristic of so many o...

Nursing has a long and varied history around the world. Nurses offer essential skills and experience that help to supplement the work of doctors and physicians when it comes to the care for the sick or injured. The profession that we recognise today is not the way it has always been - there have been great changes in the practices, qualifications and expectations associated with nursing. As healthcare in general improved in the 19th and 20th centuries, the demands on nurses grew. This blog post will explore some of the changes in nursing throughout these time periods and will include early forms of nursing, state-registered nurses, the impact of WWI and WWII. Using images from the Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, we can get a sense of the expectations these nurses had to live up to, where they worked and even what they wore. In mid-19th century New Zealand, the sick or injured were nursed by family members or members of their community. There was no formal training available,...

Fun & Games was a free exhibition of games, books, photographs, archives and more drawn from Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections around the region. It opened on 11 December 2019 and ran to 1 March 2020 at Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero | Central City Library. The exhibition featured several items showing young children playing at Auckland kindergartens. Kindergartens were started in 1837 by German educationalist Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852). Since their establishment in Aotearoa New Zealand during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, they have become a central part of daily life for many families and important cornerstones of the communities they serve. As well as a commitment to free play in Aotearoa, kindergartens and other types of childcare services for pre-school children reflect a tradition of organised play. By the 1920s for example, the Auckland Star noted that organised play took place daily at kindergartens in Myers Park and Victoria Park. Action songs and sto...