Heritage et AL

Auckland Libraries’ photograph collections contain over five hundred thousand images and are continually growing. Today we are spotlighting a 2013 accession of photographs taken by Di Stewart which have recently been digitised and made available online through our Heritage Images database. Ref: Di Stewart, Carnegie Library, Thames, 1990s?, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1200-37. Ref: Di Stewart, Queen of Beauty Mine pump quadrants, Thames, 1990s?, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 1200-22.

Queen Street’s St. James Theatre has been in the news recently , with the announcement by its new owner of plans for restoration, in conjunction with the development of an adjacent 39 story residential tower. The Category 1 listed building was opened in July 1928, with a performance of the London Musical Comedy ‘Archie’. The images below are the cover and the centre pages of the programme from  that  evening:  Ref: New Zealand Ephemera -  'Archie' - A Musical Comedy In Two Acts.  Gala opening performance of the St James Theatre, July 5 1928.   Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries.  Ref: New Zealand Ephemera -  'Archie' - A Musical Comedy In Two Acts.  Gala opening performance of the St James Theatre, July 5 1928.   Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. 

Auckland Airport recently received a Property Council of New Zealand Merit award (see Hawkins Construction) for adapting the Abbeville estate historic precinct into a boutique tourism venue offering hosting for events and functions . The precinct site includes 11 hectares of land at the end of Nixon Road. The airport created the precinct by moving Mangere settlers’ houses and buildings there after it acquired those properties for future airport expansion. It took 2 years to restore the buildings moved onto the historic precinct and was under taken in conjunction with New Zealand Historic Places Trust . One of the houses was built by William Westney, who arrived in Mangere in 1853 and established a farm on Ihumatao Road. Ref: Footprints 05024, the former Westney homestead in Westney Road, Mangere, ca 1979 South Auckland Research Centre

The first Hebrew congregation began worship in Auckland in 1843. Their first formal place of worship was located in Nathan & Joseph's Warehouse in Shortland Street. By 1853 the congregation had grown to 100 and worship was held in a small building in Emily Place. By the 1860s this building had become too small for the rapidly increasing Jewish population and funds were raised for the construction of a synagogue. In 1884, the Jewish Community purchased a section on the corner of Princes Street and Bowen Street. At that time the site was occupied by the former Albert Barracks Guard House, which overlooked a vegetable garden, which had formerly been used by soldiers. Ref: 1-W136, the Jewish Synagogue in 1900, Sir George Grey Special Collections