Heritage et AL

The team who built the giant Farmers Santa in 1960 would be amazed at the icon’s fluctuating fortunes . The statue enjoyed a 30 year run until the store’s Hobson Street site was sold (now the Heritage Hotel). He relocated to the Manukau Shopping Centre and was sacked for being too tatty, then taken apart and left in a rigger’s yard. Santa was later sold for $1; renovated for $40,000; restored again for $100,000; and had his winking eye and beckoning finger removed. He was the world’s largest fibreglass Santa in 1960; and crowned the world’s creepiest Christmas ornament in 2011. Ref: Coloured postcard of the Farmers Trading Company, 1970s, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 9-1.

It’s that time of year again, the halls are decked and the streets are decorated. Ref: Eric W Young, Looking south along Queen Street..., 1980s, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1021-52.

To get into the spirit of the season we currently have a Christmas related display in the Special Collections reading room on the 2nd floor of the Central Library. On display until the end of December are two pop-up Christmas books by Robert Sabuda. Robert Sabuda has interpreted many classic children’s books including Peter Pan, the Wizard of Oz and the Little Mermaid in his renowned intricate pop-up style. First is his advent calendar-style alphabet, where small objects like a ribbon-decorated gift spring from behind paper ‘doors’. Robert Sabuda.  The Christmas alphabet.  New York : Orchard, 1994.

It is becoming a bit of a tradition at this time of the year on Heritage et AL for us to highlight some of the Christmassy items and images we have in our heritage collections at Auckland Libraries. Ref: W. Reid for the Auckland Weekly News, A merry Christmas, 15 December 1904, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19041215-1-1.

Well that time of year is nearly upon us and what better way to celebrate than to look back at Christmases past, through the heritage collections at Auckland Libraries. The clothes and hairstyles and locations might have changed a bit but we are still enjoying the same things at Christmas such as picnics at the beach and taking family photographs. Heritage et AL will be taking a break over the festive period but will be back on 20th January with more heritage stories and taonga (treasures) from the Auckland Libraries collections. Enjoy your Christmas an New Year holiday! Christmas cards: Ref: Footprints 05550, 'The Season's Greetings', Otahuhu, 1906, Photograph reproduced courtesy of Otahuhu Historical Society, South Auckland Research Centre You can see more heritage Christmas cards in the online exhibition from the Sir George Grey Special Collections . Getting ready for the holidays: Ref: AWNS-19140101-40-3, the Christmas rush at Auckland Station, 1914, Si...

Christmas parades have been held in the main centres of New Zealand since the early 1900s, usually sponsored by department stores to promote the arrival of “in-store” Santas, which attracted customers into their stores. Santa made his first commercial appearance in Auckland in 1903 at the DSC store (later John Court Ltd). Farmers Department Store in Auckland first hosted the parade in 1934. The following year local competitor George Court paraded Santa. Farmers later became the main department store to host the Santa Parade in Auckland. Ref: AWNS-19081217-14-6, Santa Claus, 1908. Sir George Grey Special Collections On Saturday 20 November1937, Farmers had their Santa parachute into the Auckland Domain to distribute toys to waiting children. This stunt almost went wrong as well-known parachutist George Sellars narrowly escaped serious injury when he swung his parachute away from the glass roof of the Winter Gardens . Sellars jumped from only 1,000 feet up to give the children...

Having trouble thinking of what to buy friends and loved ones? Starting to get a bit panicky about what to get? Beattie's Book Blog and the New Zealand Herald have some great books ideas including History, Biographies and Memoirs. And if you fancy getting crafty, you can create your own Family History book as gift for family members. Ref: D_GVD_0019, North Auckland Research Centre A Kiwi Christmas is something special and New Zealand History Online Nga korero a ipurangi o Aotearoa have put together some great resources about this festive time of year. This includes the history behind the day off on Christmas Day  - did you know that it wasn't always a public holiday?