Heritage et AL

The heritage collections at Auckland Council Libraries offer of wealth of information on the history of our city, including an early census, and map collections that document the built and natural environment at various points in time. Each source has its own strengths, and when looked at together, a picture of Auckland’s lost neighbourhoods can be found. 1842 Map Image: Plan of Auckland as it stands in January 1842. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections Map 4601 This plan of Auckland as it stood in January 1842 provides many details of the town in its early years. Shortland Crescent (now known as Shortland Street) was the main street at this time. Among the most densely built parts of the town is the area on the southern side of Shortland Crescent where the sites stretch through to Chancery Street. The position of hotels on the map helps show the location of some of the streets we know today. The Sir George Gipps Hotel was located on High Street (marked with the letter M). The a...

In a series of letters written in July 1975, Wilfred ‘Bill’ McAra applied for membership to the New Zealand China Friendship Society (NZCFS), formally known as the New Zealand China Friendship Society. ‘Dear Jack,’ he wrote in one letter, ‘Enclosed $4 to cover membership for Diana Wilsie and myself’.  McAra and Wilsie, once-active members of the Communist Party of New Zealand (CPNZ), were passionate about Marxist-Leninist ideology and found common ground with the NZCFS.  Along with the membership forms, McAra wrote, ‘I had intended earlier to commend the Society and its members, for its outstanding contribution in the struggle to secure Governmental recognition of the People’s Republic of China.’  As the National Secretary of the NZCFS at the time, Jack Ewen was perfectly happy to admit McAra and his partner into the group.  Image: A NZCFS subscription form McAra would have likely filled out. Joan Donley Papers, MSS & Archives-2007/15, Series 4. File 4/4/B/1...

Image: The scoria field where Auckland Training College would relocate is visible in the right of the frame. Henry Winklemann, Epsom and One Tree Hill from Mount Eden, 1923, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1-W0400. In 1925, a building was erected at 72 Epsom Avenue. Where previously the area was littered with gorse and rocks, and popular among local children for playing games, the scoria field was now to accommodate Auckland Training College.   Image: The ‘red’ building, as it was known to some trainees, was erected in 1925 and demolished in 1976.  Henry Winklemann, Auckland Teachers Training College, Epsom, 1926 , Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1-W0681. Auckland Training College officially relocated from Wellesley Street to 72 Epsom Avenue in 1926. But teacher trainees entered the building for the first time in 1925, having carried equipment there from Wellesley Street.  The trainees celebrated the occasion with dancing and singing, the Co...

Auckland International Airport is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s best assets. In the 2024 financial year, it carried 18.5 million passengers to and from 42 destinations by 26 airlines and made $900 million.  The airport is undoubtedly one of the bastions of the modern economy, the gateway connecting Aotearoa New Zealand to the world. Its sleek terminals and massive concrete runway create a sense of modernity, and a space disconnected from history. Yet, under closer examination, Auckland Airport is full of history. Similarly, the road network around the airport reveals stories of innovative aviators, with even the main terminal itself named after Jean Batten. In this series of articles, I hope to advance the idea that Auckland Airport is an essential space for understanding Auckland’s history and as representative of its history as any other city landmark. Previous texts, most notably the 2003 book Where New Zealand Touches the World, From Farm Paddock to South Pacific Hub: A History...

Image: Holy Trinity Cathedral as it appears today Holy Trinity Cathedral is a building familiar to most Aucklanders. Serving as the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Auckland, it stands in a prominent position overlooking the city from the top of Parnell Road. It hosts a variety of events, spiritual and secular alike. Many Aucklanders who have never attended Sunday service have been inside its walls at some point in their lives, whether for a concert, school prize giving, wedding, or funeral. Like the grand old cathedrals of Europe, it serves as an icon of the city and ceremonial centre of public life. Yet, from an architectural standpoint, it is something of a curiosity – some would even regard it as an eyesore. Holy Trinity Cathedral is best described not as a building, but rather as a series of interconnected buildings. In the centre is a neo-gothic chancel clad with red brick, which is adjoined by a modern nave in the front and an even more modern chapel to the rear. Next to...