Heritage et AL

This week Auckland Libraries are celebrating Uike 'o e Lea Faka-Tonga, Tongan Language Week with a range of events across our libraries. This year also marks the 50th year commemoration of Queen Sālote's death and Tonga's Coronation of King Tupou VI. As the theme for Tongan Language Week this year is "Fakakoloa Aotearoa 'aki 'a e faiva 'a e Tonga - Enriching Aotearoa New Zealand with Tongan arts" an appropriate way to pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of Queen Sālote’s passing is to highlight some of the music and poetry that she wrote. Image: Queen Sālote of Tonga, 1960s. Photographer: Clifton Firth. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 34-0375 Historian and biographer of Queen Sālote, Elizabeth Wood-Ellem writes that: “The Queen was… acclaimed as an extremely gifted poet. Queen Sālote spent many hours perfecting the words of her poems, and she invited groups of musicians to come to the Palace in the evenings to work with her. They o...

The church forms an important part of the life of many Pasifika communities. Over recent decades the streetscapes in many parts of South Auckland have been enhanced by the addition of large new churches serving Pacific Island congregations. Some of these churches make striking architectural statements. For instance, in the Ormiston Road Tongan Methodist Church, architect George Moala used both traditional Tongan forms and traditional materials such as coconut fibre. Expert Tongan craftsmen were brought in to help with the work. The church was opened in June 1990. Ref: Footprints 03324, interior, Tongan Methodist Church, Otara, 1990, photograph reproduced by permission of Fairfax Media, South Auckland Research Centre Almost all of the mainstream and many of the smaller denominations are represented by thriving Pacific Island congregations. Some South Auckland churches hold their Sunday services in 3 or 4 different languages. Ref: Footprints 03313, New home for church, Otara,...

Pasifika at Auckland Libraries is well underway and there is lots you can take part in . To get you in the mood, listen to the Pacific Islands music playlist  that has been specially created for this festival. You can also check out the  Pacific resources  at Auckland Libraries. This includes a range of heritage collections: online resources, Pacific Island family history resources (Central Auckland Research Centre), Pacific newspapers (South Auckland Research Centre) and reference materials at the research centres . There are also significant collections in the Sir George Grey Special Collections, including a tapa cloth book collected during Cooks' three voyages to the southern hemisphere. This has now been digitised and can be accessed online and you can read about the project to track down the other Cook tapa cloth books known to exist. To further celebrate and honour the contribution that Pacific Islands communities make to the cultural mix of peoples...

Malo e lelei. Tongan Language Week is being celebrated from 1-8 September. The theme this year is Fakakoloa 'o Aotearoa 'aki 'etau Lea mo e Hiva Faka-tonga / Enriching Aotearoa with Tongan Language and Music. As part of the celebrations, there is a vibrant  Facebook page . Auckland Libraries has a number of heritage resources relating to Tonga. This include the following subjects: heritage and identity, the Birth Marriages Death index for Fiji and Tonga from 1858-1873, traditional medical practices, early photography in Tonga and Samoa from 1855-1900, Tongan art, early Tonga as the explorers saw it 1616-1810 and the biography of the King of Tonga. Also held in the heritage collections are images showing Tonga, so step back in time and take a walk down memory lane ... Royalty:  Ref: AWNS-19000831-5-6, Mafu Prince of Tonga, 1900, Sir George Grey Special Collections