Heritage et AL

This is the second part of this post about leisure in the northern parts of the Auckland region. Missed Part 1 of this post? Find it here . Culture, leisure and entertainment have changed with changing technologies. In the early part of the 20 th  century the travelling People’s Picture company was very popular. It regularly visited Matakana, Puhoi, Wellsford and other places during the summer months. Ref: Excerpt from the  Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette , 8 October 1913, Page 4.

When they came to Aotearoa, Tangata whenua brought cultural practices with them. These continued to change and adapt to local circumstances. Te Ara has a story on Whakairo / Māori carving and its origins. This story states that by 1800 a ‘Serpentine’ (tuare) style developed in the northern regions of Aotearoa (associated with Hokianga, Hauraki, East Cape and Taranaki, and exemplified by Ngāti Whātua carvings). “The tubular bodies are usually uncarved, but if surface decoration is applied the unaunahi (fish-scales) pattern is the most common, especially in the north... Unaunahi is most prevalent in Te Tai Tokerau (Northland)…” Ref: Auckland Weekly News, A trough shaped curio..., 11 September 1902, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19020911-12-3.

The North Auckland Research Centre is hosting an exhibition of bookplates at the Takapuna Library in the Angela Morton Art History Reading Room. The exhibition is open during library hours through until Sunday 12 July. The Angela Morton Reading Room is a very appropriate venue for this exhibition as bookplates straddle the worlds of art and literature. The most substantial monograph on bookplates in New Zealand is In another dimension by Ian Thwaites. He describes bookplates, or Ex Libris, as labels which are inserted into books to establish their ownership. He adds that “they are attractive items which often reflect in a unique way the personalities and interests of both owner and artist (p.9).” In the preface of this book John Stacpoole states, “A bookplate helps to establish the provenance of a book, sometimes adding to its value, but always making a link between past and present owners whose hands have held it. It is a reminder that the owner is – or was – a real person, ...

Did you know that June the 9 th is International Archives Day ? To celebrate, archive services from around the world were invited to submit an image from their collections and send a message to archival colleagues around the world. See if you can find all the contributions from New Zealand in the photo page , according to the NZ Records email list there are nine. Information about the gestation of International Archives Day and the reasoning behind it can be found at the International Council on Archives website . The hashtag #IAD15 was also really enjoyable to follow on Twitter throughout the day; happily Britain’s National Archives have collated them in Storify form . All of Auckland Libraries’ Research Centres hold archival collections, as does the Birkenhead Library which is home to the Chelsea Sugar Refinery’s archive . Through sheer coincidence the subject of both of Auckland Libraries’ contributions were the personal papers of decorated war heroes. Ref: Don ...

Take a walk through Aotearoa New Zealand’s literary history in Takapuna this summer. Did you know that it is possible to take a free guided tour through Frank Sargeson’s house ? If you are interested please contact  Research Bookings on the Library website  and from there you can make an appointment to view the house. This is a wonderful opportunity to transport yourself back in time and imagine the gatherings, the discussions, literary and otherwise, that have taken place within the walls of 14 Esmonde Street, Takapuna, down the years. Ref: Andrew Henry, Sign at Frank Sargeson's house, 20 January 2015.

On Wednesday morning, the 17 th of December, at Takapuna Library there was a small gathering of staff (past and present) and members of the public to celebrate the re-opening of the Angela Morton Art History Collection. This collection is housed in the Angela Morton Room on the first floor of the newly refurbished Takapuna Library. Ref: Christina Webb, Takapuna Library, Strand Plaza, Takapuna, 3 August 2010, North Auckland Research Centre, Auckland Libraries, T7367. 

Geographically NZ Aotearoa lies between 37 and 47 degrees south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Generally both the North and South islands have a moderate climate, which allows Kiwis to both work (e.g. farming, fishing) and enjoy their leisure time outdoors for much of the year. The two features which heavily influence the weather are our fabulous mountains (with alpine winters dropping to lows of -10ºC in the South Island) and our seas (with some areas hitting as high as 30ºC+ in the top of the North Island). Our three big cities: Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington all receive over two thousand hours of bright sunshine a year, which is spread across all seasons, not just the summer. As small island land masses, we do however experience dramatic weather on occasions, with wild storms, gale force winds, rain,  cyclones , hurricanes and even the odd waterspout hitting our sunny shores. The aftermath of this type of extreme weather can be dramatic, causing all sorts of damage such ...

We had an interesting reference query at the North Auckland Research Centre the other day, about the old age pension (superannuation) in New Zealand. When did it start? Was it ever for 55 year olds? What dates were the changes to it made? The original 1898 pension .... It was a fascinating journey finding out the information. Old age pensions in New Zealand were first introduced in 1898 for people 65 and up. The new pension was subject to a means test, and the requirements were pretty stringent. The maximum amount someone could receive was set at 18 pounds per annum, which equates to about $36 in today’s currency. This scheme lasted for 40 years, and it shaped the subsequent Social Security Act of 1938 . Ref: JMB01, Grace Barr (centre) & family group, c. 1900, Rodney Image Collections, North Auckland Research Centre

'Flowers, Fruit and Foliage', the latest exhibition from the Sir George Grey Special Collections has opened. The exhibition features botanical illustrations from the collections and runs from 29 November 2012 to 17 March 2013 at the Central City Library, 44 Lorne Street, Level 2. While pictures of plants in books are often produced as a practical guide for identifying useful, or common, or newly discovered species, the resulting illustrations can be beautiful works of art in their own right. The books in this exhibition were all chosen for their illustrations and date from 1578 through the great age of botanical illustration in the 18th and 19th century, to the wood engravings of the 1930s. The earliest book on display is a herbal printed in 1578, but there are many beautiful hand-coloured engravings from the 18th century, and very rich colour printed illustrations from the 19th.  Ref: 7-C1955, Sir George Grey Special Collections