Heritage et AL

The Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines tournament takes place this weekend at that most hallowed of sports grounds, Eden Park. (Go the Warriors, just quietly!) Last year was the inaugural tournament and in the lead-up, I took a nostalgic look back, via our family history blog Kintalk, at the old league ground, Carlaw Park.  Now, we're skipping across town to the tournie venue itself - the stadium where that girl-and-boy-crush Richie McCaw held the Webb Ellis trophy aloft at the Rugby World Cup Final in 2011 - Eden Park.  The park began as a cricket ground in 1903, and was due to the vision of one Harry Ryan, a cricket enthusiast who approached landowner John Walters to lease part of his land as a sports field.  In the book   Eden Park: A History,  the authors write, "Certainly the rough paddock strewn with stones, studded with outcrops of rock and streaked with cowpats, falling away to a boggy trough that filled in a downpour and remained flooded throughout ...

This coming weekend, January 24 th -26 th, marks the observation of Auckland Anniversary. This year  ASB and Auckland Council are presenting weekend packed with events to celebrate the 175 th anniversary of Auckland. The main events will be held on Queen’s Wharf and at Shed 10 and include a multimedia exhibition that promises to give a glimpse into the area’s past. Image: Drawing showing the Auckland Regatta 1862. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 863-RB586. F. R. Stack. Staff from Auckland Libraries will be down at Queen’s Wharf over the weekend with our mobile library bus filled with historical resources and displays of items from our heritage and research collections. Image: Dry Work. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections AWNS-19090204-06-06. Photographer: E.Gilling. . The Auckland Libraries mobile bus will be just inside the main entrance area next to the information stand, so do pop by and see us. Members of the Heritage and Research team will...

The annual sports day - a ritual in the school calendar. Egg and spoon race, three-legged race, long jump, running, tug-of-war - these are always fun packed events! Its not just children though that get involved, adults are also keen to get in on the action, as the heritage photographs below show. The annual NZ community sports day was taken and adapted from those in Britain - particularly the Scottish sports days, where professional athletes compete in a wide array of contests, including wood chopping! Sports days have also been held for a wide variety of reasons: to acknowledge and commemorate particular days of the year, such as Labour Day and to raise funds for charity. This included sports days held on the home front during the First World War to raise funds for the troops. During this war time period, sports days were also held overseas on the fronts, to encourage fitness in the NZ troops, raise morale and encourage camaraderie. Enjoy this action packed tour through sports ...

Since Monday's post was all about keeping fit, it seemed a good idea to keep those motivation levels high and devote Friday's post to bowling. A gentle way of keeping fit but with benefits of all the socialising that goes along with it! Bowling can also have a heritage component too. Now for a look back in time at the large number of bowling clubs, which sprung up in the Auckland region over the years, particularly in the first decade of the 20th century. Check out the wonderful array of clothing worn by the Mount Eden and Ponsonby bowlers in 1900. It must have been pretty hard to bowl in those formal outfits! Grafton/The Domain: Ref: AWNS-19011031-1-1, Auckland Bowling Club's Grafton Green on opening day, 26 October 1901, Sir George Grey Special Collections Mount Eden: Ref: 1-W1220, looking SW from Mount Eden - showing Mount Eden Bowling Green, 1905, Sir George Grey Special Collections Ref: AWNS-19001012-8-2, opening of the Mount Eden Bowling Green, 6 Oct...

Tui Glen, a 7 acre scenic spot in Henderson by the Oratia Stream, was landscaped and planted by the Brookes for their family summer holidays. Given its close distance to Auckland, the Brookes quickly realised that Tui Glen would be an attractive destination for picnickers and campers. Ref: AWNS-19431215-24-1, party of picknickers enjoy a day at Tui Glen, 1943, Sir George Grey Special Collections Tui Glen was NZ's first registered motor camp. When it opened in the 1920s, only guests who had come by car or motorbike could be accommodated. Ref: FMO-0729-00028-G, Tui Glen day-trippers, c. 1930s, West Auckland Research Centre The camp ground had modified ships cabins, which people could rent. This how the term 'cabins', which is used to refer to holiday park accommodation, supposedly came about. Other cottages were built during the 1920s to 1960s. Ref: FMO-0729-00008-G, Tui Glen showing cars and people, c. 1930s, West Auckland Research Centre As well as being ...