Heritage et AL

The name Winstone Limited (Ltd) may be familiar to those who have grown up or lived in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. But what might not be realised is the extent to which Winstone Ltd fostered the city's development into what we see today. What started as a humble endeavour by two young brothers, attempting to make a living for themselves in the land of opportunity that was early colonial Auckland, created a legacy.   Whether it was in significant ways, such as earning the contract to demolish Point Britomart, reclaiming the land in Auckland’s foreshore, or the quarry outputs which provided the literal foundations for buildings, roads, and bridges across the city. Or in minor ways, such as providing the tile roofing for the University of Auckland Clocktower, Winstone Ltd has been an underlying but meaningful presence in Tāmaki Makaurau. Image: Office of W. Winstone, 1864. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections AWNS-19240327-50-03.  Early years of W & G Winstone William ...

Only a scenic 80-minute ferry ride from the heart of the Auckland CBD is Tiritiri Matangi Island. Sitting in the Hauraki Gulf just off the Whangaparāoa Peninsula, the island today is best known as a native bird sanctuary: a haven of birdsong, guided walks, and carefully restored bush. For many Aucklanders, Tiritiri Matangi represents a conservation success story.  Image: View from Tiritiri Matangi today.  Yet, this is a relatively recent understanding of the island’s story. Long before the island became a sanctuary, it was a lived and used landscape. Tiritiri Matangi has been shaped by human movement, conflict, labour, and law. A bastion of sedimentary rock, the island was fished, occupied, claimed, cleared, and transformed. The histories embedded in its land predate conservation by centuries. Māori occupation and use  As one of the islands in the Hauraki Gulf, Tiritiri Matangi holds deep significance in Māori history. Going so far as back to 1400 A.D., Tiritiri Matangi w...

Image: Kinder House 1978. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, 1213P-034-08. Photographer: Susanna Burton. Image: Kinder House 1978. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, 1213P-034-11. Photographer: Susanna Burton. Nestled behind a screen of trees, on the corner of Ayr and Parnell streets, lies Kinder House. From the outside, it is imposing. Walls of basalt rise two storeys. Thin slits in this curtain open with elegant white window frames. The building is crowned by a steeply pitching shingle roof. As the name suggests, from its 1857, completion Kinder House was first occupied by the Reverend John Kinder. In 1855, Kinder had been appointed as the Headmaster of the Church of England Grammar School (also known as the Parnell Grammar School). This school was one of the earliest on the Auckland isthmus. It first occupied a site on Karangahape Road, before moving to Parnell, on the opposite corner from Kinder House. The house was occupied by successive Headmasters of the school ...

Today, the Auckland Public Library is a modern center of learning, community connection, and  houses an abundance of books. Many of us see the library as a vital public necessity, something  justifiably funded through rates and other government revenue. Few would ever question our  right to access books for free. However, this wasn’t always the case. Similarly, the Auckland  Public Library occupies a purpose-built space that is both functional and conducive to learning  and connection. Again, this also wasn’t always the case. A central part of the story of the  Auckland Public Library lies in the growing recognition of the library as a place of importance,  and the changing role of the library throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Over a  series of four articles, I will explore key stages of development for our treasured Library. This  article starts at the beginning, and it will explore the Auckland Public Library’s early days, ...

The Danger of Interesting Times Voter turnout for the Auckland 2025 local body elections indicated that interest in local governance is at an all-time low. The region received the lowest turnout in the country of only 29.3%. This disinterest seems to stem from the fact that local governance is a fairly dull task, which can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, high voter turnout is important for a functioning democracy. On the other, the reason local government is seen as boring could be that it functions well, so it can remain in the background. One only has to look back to the mostly forgotten and tumultuous colonial history of Auckland’s early local government in the 1850s and 60s to see why a ‘boring’ council is far preferable to an ‘interesting’ one. A permanent, municipal council for Auckland was established in 1871, but only after two decades of effort and four failed iterations. The first two attempts, the Auckland Borough Council (1851-1852) and the first Auckland City Council...