Heritage et AL

Continuing on in a similar vein as our previous summer holiday themed posts, we thought we would focus on another common experience from the New Zealand summer holidays: traffic jams. Hopefully you've managed to avoid them over the past few weeks, but if not this selection of images will help add some levity to your memory if you did encounter one. As these photographs show, traffic jams over the summer holidays are not just a recently occurring phenomenon. Ref: Traffic jam on Upper Symonds Street, 1920s, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 589-58.

Sir George Grey Special Collections recently acquired a wonderful collection of colour slides taken by Ron Clark mostly in the nineteen-fifties, sixties and seventies. They are accessible via the  Heritage Images  database. Ref: Ron Clark, Oakura Bay,  1950s, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1207-1227 Ref: Ron Clark,  Muriel Clark at the wheel of a Humber Hawk ,  about 1956, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1207-12 Photographs from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are a strong part of the Sir George Grey Special Collections image collection. The Ron Clark slides span the mid-twentieth century, filling a time period gap in Auckland Libraries' photograph collections. Life in New Zealand is captured in wide-ranging ways. There are scenes showing urban and rural activities, family gatherings and outings, interior shots of homes, churches and hospital wards, beach visits, overseas holi...

Animals played a vital part during the First World. None more so that the horse. The conflict began with the cavalry forces but as the war progressed, horses were gradually replaced by the introduction of tanks. However, horses still played a vital part in the war. The use of horses varied but the United Kingdom used mounted infantry and cavalry charges throughout the war. Shipping conditions for horses were not ideal and many arrived in poor condition. There was also no return journey for the remaining horses at the end of the war. Some were given to the British Army but the majority were sadly destroyed. One or two did make the journey home including Colonel C. G. Powles’ horse Bess and there is a memorial to her near Flock House in Manawatū. Ref: Auckland Weekly News, the NZ Expeditionary Force who are now serving in Egypt, no location, 1914, Sir George Grey Special Collections, AWNS-19141210-47-1 Horses were used for a variety of jobs, moving heavy artillery, transportation...

The contributions of animals during war is often not acknowledged. Dogs as well as carrier pigeons, horses and mules all played their part during the First World War. Britain had an estimated 20,000 dogs by 1918. Dogs played a variety of roles during the war depending on their breed, intelligence and the training they had received. This included as: sentries - quietly letting their masters know if the enemy was approaching  scouts - patrolling ahead and detecting the enemies' scent and alerting their masters by 'pointing' in the direction of the approaching enemy casualty - finding the wounded or dying on battlefield and carrying medical supplies to the wounded who were able to tend to their own wounds messengers - carrying messages, particularly in the trenches where communication was difficult mascots - these were often the officer's dog in a military unit and were intended to boost morale amongst the soldiers. Ref: Auckland Weekly News, Dog auctioned f...

The first public zoo in NZ was opened by the Wellington City Council in 1906, near Newtown Park. The initial occupant was a solitary lion but by the mid 1920s, the zoo housed over 600 animals. The inaugral zoo in Auckland was opened by a local council again and was located at Western Springs in 1922. The animals came from John Boyd's private zoos around the country, which had recently closed down at the time. Ref: 35-R1804, entrance to Wellington Zoo. Tourist Series 2354, no date, Sir George Grey Special Collections Compared with today's standards, conditions in both zoos were pretty awful. Auckland Zoo was prone to flooding and had exceedingly tenacious rats who quickly returned whenever they were evicted - not surprisingly, since the zoo was opposite the city dump! Ref: 1-W655, looking NW from the grounds of Auckland Zoo towards Point Chevalier, 1925, Sir George Grey Special Collections Take a virtual tour around Auckland zoo through the heritage collections at Au...

From the heritage collections at Auckland Libraries, here is a visual tour through the weird and wonderful.You never know what you might find ... from strange fancy dress choices and the splendour of the natural world to animals with abnormalities and miniature furniture. Its a virtual cabinet of curiosity! People: Ref: AWNS-19140507-44-1, a radiograph of a child who had swallowed a toy bicycle, Sir George Grey Special Collections Ref: 1054-UN124, group in very strange fancy dress, 1910-1991, Sir George Grey Special Collections Ref: 4 -RIC117, Employees of W H Fenton and Company, hat manufacturer, in bizarre fancy dress and caricature hats advertising a sale, 1889 Sir George Grey Special Collections Ref: 31-58438, Mr Wilson dressed in a bear costume holding a bottle of wine & a biscuit, 1909, Sir George Grey Special Collections

Love is in the air ... and Valentine's Day is upon us. To get you in the mood, here is a selection of love themed images from the heritage collections at Auckland Libraries. Poetry: Ref: 7-C1916, William Morris, 'Love is enough', 1898, Sir George Grey Special Collections Love letters: Ref: AWNS-19080430-4-5, the love letter, 1908, Sir George Grey Special Collections

1899 was the year of prize winners! Animals, plants, decorated boats and carts and ponies, this year saw award them all with winners at fetes, agricultural and flower shows around New Zealand. Here for your viewing pleasure from the Heritage Images database are some of the highlights. Animals: Ref: AWNS-18990630-3-5, fantail at the Auckland Poultry Show, 1899, Sir George Grey Special Collections

Ever wondered what it would be like if animals lived like humans? Well here is your chance to find out ... Gathered from the vaults of Auckland Libraries' heritage collections are a comical selection of images of animal doing human things. Enjoy! Working: Ref: AWNS-19080416-2-5, monkey barber, 1908, Sir George Grey Special Collections Ref: AWNS-19050608, dog photographer, 1905, Sir George Grey Special Collections