Heritage et AL

Auckland celebrates its LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer) communities during the Pride Festival in February. Pride Festival has become an important part of the Auckland Libraries’ calendar, with a number of events such as pop-up libraries and storytimes programmed over the course of the month (including at the  same same but different festival ). However, as recently as the early 1980s not only was it legal to discriminate against a person on the basis of their (declared or suspected) sexual orientation, certain ‘homosexual behaviour’ was criminalised. At the time that Wellington Central MP Fran Wilde introduced the Homosexual Law Reform Bill in 1985, there was fierce debate both among politicians and throughout society about what the passing of such a bill might mean for New Zealand. In the Sir George Grey Special Collections reading room, Central City Library, the Homosexual Law Reform clippings scrapbook will be on display during February. ...

The Auckland Sun newspaper was established as a tabloid format morning paper in competition with the New Zealand Herald. It was launched on 10 August 1987, but closed less than a year later, the final issue being published on 8 July 1988. The Sun’s photograph collection was subsequently purchased by the newspaper’s two librarians who used it as the basis of an image bank and news service. The collection was then gifted to a former Sun reporter, who in turn donated it to Auckland Libraries in January 2015. It consists of 23 boxes of black & white and colour prints, and 4 large boxes of original negatives.  Because of the short life of the newspaper, the collection is essentially restricted to a very limited time period - 1987/8 – but nevertheless covers such important events as the 1987 election and the Labour government, the Stock market crash , and the demolition of His Majesty’s Theatre . It also includes this photograph of the late David Bowie arriving at Auckland ...

                     “I was astonished by the inventive beauty of the hippie architecture,” film-maker Dan Salmon said, to the New Zealand herald , after researching New Zealand’s back-to-landers for his documentary Dirty bloody hippies .   “Some of the houses, pulled together from hand-milled timber and demolition materials were absolutely mad, others were sensibly warm and cozy, with steep-pitched roofing and attic bedrooms echoing our early pioneer cottages.” Ref: J. T. Diamond.  Old school, Wairere Road, rear view, shows the  water   tank.1960  J.T. Diamond Collection, , West Auckland Research Centre,  Auckland Libraries.   JTD-01A-01591-2 .