Heritage et AL

The first of April marks April Fool's Day. There is a long history of practical jokes being played on April 1 in New Zealand. George Reed reported in 1883 that Noah's Ark had been discovered and the story was reprinted in papers around the world, and in 1949 the radio host Phil Shone convinced the people of Auckland that a swarm of wasps were descending . The BBC got into the fun in 1957 with a news item about spaghetti trees . More recently NZ On Screen published a hoax biography of fictional film maker Colin McKenzie . A list of other New Zealand April Fool's hoaxes can be found here . Whilst not a prank or practical joke I thought Aprils Fool's Day provided an appropriate opportunity to present some of the more humorous images in our photograph collections relating to various races staged in New Zealand through the years, plus a photo of a roller skater in a chicken suit. Ref: Halftones Ltd. for the Auckland Weekly News, The chantecler craze, 14 April ...

The waterfront has changed much over the years and some parts more so than others. The selection of heritage images below shows you the views you would have experienced throughout the early 1900s   Mechanics Bay and Hobson Bay: Ref: 1-W1309, looking east from the Ferry Buildings down Quay Street East and over Mechanics Bay, 1912, Sir George Grey Special Collections Ref: 1-W1368, looking north east from the Cargen Hotel showing Beach Rd (right foreground) and reclamations in Mechanics Bay (left), 1913, Sir George Grey Special Collections Ref: 1-W1858, showing men breaking down Campbell's Point for the new railway outlet with Quay Street East on the right, 1927, Sir George Grey Special Collections