Heritage et AL

Recently a customer called into the Central Auckland Research Centre looking for a photograph of his uncle published in the Auckland Weekly News in 1943.  He said the photograph was the first indication to his family that his uncle was no longer a prisoner of war. A search of the Heritage Images database produced no results, which is not uncommon as many of the images from the Auckland Weekly News have a caption but few of the people are named. There is, however, ongoing work to rectify this.  When the Italian Armistice was announced on 8 September 1943, Colin Tayler was a prisoner of war at Campo PG 107, about 9 kilometres north of Schio in Northern Italy.  Over the next three weeks he and his travelling companions, Privates D R Muir, R Kendrick, I Penhall and E Barnett, travelled approximately 566 kilometres south: by train to Pescara on the Adriatic coast, before walking some distance and catching another train as far as they could go.  They met allied s...

On 29 April 1915 Prime Minister Massey announced in Wellington that four days earlier New Zealand troops had participated in the landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula in the Dardanelles. However actual photographs of military activities and living conditions at Gallipoli were sparse in the Auckland Weekly News Supplement until late July 1915. There were photographs of the naval warships trying to force a passage through the Dardanelles and bombarding the Turkish forts there. There was also the Roll of Honour; and its seemingly never-ending portraits of casualties must have alerted readers that something BIG was happening. But either distance, censorship, early lack of official photographers or the simple fact that the troops  couldn't  easily get their films developed meant the  Auckland Weekly News could only gradually reveal the campaign to its readers as events unfolded. This little piece might shed some light on how Auckland Weekly News readers learned about life an...

Music in the First World War played a number of different roles on both the battlefields and back on the home front. On a basic level, music was a good form of entertainment and was a focus for social gatherings. Due to its popular nature, music is able to infiltrate into all aspects of life. During the war, governments quickly saw its potential to inspire a sense of national pride, patriotism , to promote recruitment for soldiers and garner support for fund raising efforts. It was also used as a powerful way to shame conscientious objectors and others who didn't support the war. The catchy melodies and rhythms can therefore be seen as a form of propaganda. Most songs from the First World War period did not reflect the brutal reality of war, instead they suggested that all would be fine and that the war would end soon. Ref: Natasha Barrett, military band at Auckland War Memorial Museum, Anzac Day, 25 April 2010

This year's Anzac Day takes on special significance with the start of the upcoming centenary of the First World War being marked in August. The library also has a range of heritage images showing Anzac Day scenes over the years, such as services, parades, memorials and banners. You can search for these by using the keyword Anzac in the search box of  the heritage databases:  Heritage Images , Local History Online and Footprints . We have put together a selection for you below and as you look through these, take a moment to remember all the servicemen and servicewomen who have served for their country. Services: Ref: Photographer unknown, Anzac Day ceremony, Papatoetoe, c. 1970s, photograph reproduced by courtesy of Mr Neil Closey (via Cheryl Fowler), South Auckland Research Centre, Auckland Libraries, Footprints 01506 Ref: Photographer unknown, Anazac service, Auckland Town Hall, corner of Greys Ave and Queen St, c. 1922-1929, Sir George Grey Special Collections...

First marked in 1916, Anzac Day commemorates all the New Zealanders killed in war and it also honours returned servicemen and women. The commemoration date, 25th April, remembers the date that the New Zealand and Australian soldiers or the Anzacs landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. To commemorate and reflect upon this important day, here are a selection of Auckland Libraries' heritage images relating to Anzac Day, which are drawn from around the region and across the decades. West: Ref: JTD-11K-01640-2, unveiling of New Lynn War Memorial on Anzac Day, 25 April 1958, West Auckland Research Centre Ref: JTD-05J-03183, trampers at remains of wartime road block, Karekare, 1945, West Auckland Research Centre Ref: JTD-04K-03812, unveiling of War Memorial on Lion Rock, 1920, West Auckland Research Centre North: Ref: N0111016, Anzac Day gathering, Northcote, 1920s, North Auckland Research Centre Ref: T1172, barbed wire defences on Takapuna Beach during World...