Heritage et AL

Image: Books of Mana: 180 Māori authored books of significance He kaimahi from Auckland Libraries interviews Dr. Spencer Lilley on  Books of Mana Rin: E te rangatira, Tena koe. Thankyou so much Spencer for joining us here to chat. As you already probably know, I loved your classes at Te Herenga Waka. It was so cool learning about some of the amazing taonga here at Auckland Libraries to assist with whakapapa, tikanga Māori, Reo Rangatira and Waka histories. So it was great coming across your chapter while perusing through this beautiful new pukapuka  - Books of Mana (Otago University Press 2025). Can you please tell us how did you happen to contribute to this pukapuka?  Spencer: I was invited to participate by the editors about five years ago, after they had published the list of books.  They had received a grant from Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga to produce the book and sent out invitations to people who they thought would have something to contribute. Luckily, one of th...

  Aunty Bea is a legend. Piatarihi Beatrice (Bea) Tui Yates, Te Arawa, Tainui, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāti Uenuku Kōpako, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Awa (AKA Aunty Bea) is one of the most gifted, clever and exceptional kaituhi Māori around. She was a force in the advocacy of human rights and Indigenous rights. Along with wāhine toa, like Toi Te Rito Maihi, Katarina Mataira, and Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, Aunty Bea lead the te reo Māori revival renaissance from the 70s and 80s. As a vital figure in Māoridom, she supported the rise of the Kōhanga Reo movement  through her exceptional creative spirit, and her knowledge of te reo Māori, and pūrākau, particularly that of Te Arawa.  Image: ' Hera and her Kuri ' by Piatarihi Yates She is well known in Aotearoa for writing bilingual books and Māori readers for local schools and Kohanga reo. Her books, including the readers, were and still are used in kura and kōhanga reo to support the revitalisation of our Indig...

Currently on in the exhibition space on Level 2 of the Waitakere Central Library is ‘Holding the Line’, an exhibition celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the Going West Books and Writers Festival featuring material from the Going West Festival archives . Every year a gathering of people with a passion for the written and spoken word takes place in the verdant setting of West Auckland.   Named after the Maurice Gee novel in which he vividly describes the train journey from Loomis (Henderson) to the city, writers and performers of all ages and backgrounds come together to participate in the Going West Books and Writers Festival. Since the festivals beginnings in 1996, guests and audiences alike have been attracted by the unique character of the location and the diversity of the programme. In 2015, Going West celebrates 20 years as a stalwart of the literary festival scene in New Zealand with ‘Holding the Line’, the theme for this year’s event that is an apt reference to t...

Take a walk through Aotearoa New Zealand’s literary history in Takapuna this summer. Did you know that it is possible to take a free guided tour through Frank Sargeson’s house ? If you are interested please contact  Research Bookings on the Library website  and from there you can make an appointment to view the house. This is a wonderful opportunity to transport yourself back in time and imagine the gatherings, the discussions, literary and otherwise, that have taken place within the walls of 14 Esmonde Street, Takapuna, down the years. Ref: Andrew Henry, Sign at Frank Sargeson's house, 20 January 2015.

Sir George Grey Special Collections has a range of books containing cartoons and individual issues of comics. Some of the creators mentioned in Adrian Kinnaird's excellent book on New Zealand comics -  From Earth's End  -  feature in the collection. Eric Resetar was born in Auckland in 1928 and is one of New Zealand's early comic book author - illustrators. When Resetar was a child he had a great interest in science fiction and enjoyed creating his own stories with drawings. He was 13 years old when a text story he illustrated was published in the one-off production Mighty Comic .  Below is the cover of one of Resetar's self-published comics: Adventure . For the month of September there is a case displaying some of Resetar's publications in the reading room at Sir George Grey Special Collections. Ref: Eric Resetar, Adventure No. 1, 1944. Sir George Grey Special Collections. Streetwize comics  was a Christchurch Community Law Centre project and i...

The Auckland Literary Trail has been updated and is available for download.The guide from Auckland Libraries and Auckland Council covers a selection of Auckland landmarks that have inspired many great writers and featured in their literary creations. The Auckland Literary Trail guide This includes Waiuku in the South, which was the setting for one of Elsie Locke’s well known children’s novels, 'The End of the Harbour'. The novel features locations such as the Kentish Hotel, which is still standing today. Copies of this novel along with reference notes are held in the heritage collections at Auckland Libraries. Ref: Footprints 04734, Kentish Hotel, 1911, photograph reproduced by courtesy of Waiuku Museum Society, 2621, South Auckland Research Centre