Heritage et AL

  Ben Schrader, Theatres, cinemas and halls – Early 20 th century, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand   (accessed 06 May 2026). In the process of curating our latest heritage exhibition Encore! we uncovered an extraordinary wealth of material across our Heritage Collections about music in Auckland and the different Central City venues at which musicians have performed. We quickly found that we could not include everything we wanted to. This was partly because of the limitations of the physical space and partly having to narrow down what we focused on. His Majesty’s Theatre was one of the venues that did not make the final selection for the exhibition. However, the material we hold about the theatre within Heritage Collections is worth sharing and the theatre’s history, along with the dramatic story behind its untimely demise, shows that it was an important and valued part of Auckland’s musical and cultural life and deserves to be acknowledged. The Overture – sett...

Andrew Henry recording the podcast track, Photographer: Julian Lubin, 2026. Last year we were offered a special donation of Aotearoa New Zealand children’s books from Diane and Gary Hebley. Diane and Gary, writer and illustrator, wife and husband, have been involved for many years in reading, creating, teaching and writing about NZ books for children. In 1997 they received the New Zealand Children’s Literature Association’s Joint Award for Distinguished Services to Children’s Literature - now known as the Storylines Betty Gilderdale Award . Diane was awarded the first doctorate in Aotearoa on children’s literature, culminating in her book, The Power of Place: Landscape in NZ Children’s Fiction, 1970-1989 (1998) .  We discussed the collection in the podcast below:   Ngā Pātaka Kōrero - Auckland Libraries · NZ children's book collections with Andrew Henry Whilst the library only very selectively accepts offers of formed research collections there were many reasons wh...

Complementing the new Heritage exhibition Encore! , the atrium display Listen up! at Central Library Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero, on between 6 May –30 July 2026, celebrated the history of Auckland Libraries’ music collection and its connections with the city’s music communities.  Three display cases showed how Auckland Libraries has championed engagement with music through its lending and Heritage Collections, as well as through events and public programming. Our seven vertical cabinets displayed images of music playing devices and formats, showing their evolution over time. Many of these formats have been, and continue to be, available to borrow or hear at the library.  Below are some of the images that did not make it into the display. Sheet music - Audrey playing the piano  Ron Clark. Audrey playing the piano. 1960s. Photo ref: 1207-0452 This photograph, taken in the 1960s by amateur photographer Ron Clark, is one of many that you can find on Kura Heritage Collections Online...

Revisit Auckland in the 1990s and early 2000s, when dance music culture in Aotearoa was finding its pulse. Warehouses, nightclubs, bush parties and late-night radio built a scene that was energetic, resourceful and distinctly local. Needle on the Record , a new podcast produced from long-form oral history interviews commissioned by Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, brings these stories to life. Created in support of the Encore! exhibition , the series adds vital voices to the history of gigs, venues, genres and music promotion. Interviewed by Emma Jean Kelly, five DJs and producers reflect on their experiences of a formative period in the evolution of dance music in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Growing up with the synthesiser pop of Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams, the reggae sounds of South Auckland, and early local hip hop such as Upper Hutt Posse, these artists carried diverse influences into the emerging club and rave culture. Together, their stories trace a network of people, places...

In this Heritage et AL Blog we feature guest writer James Littlewood. He reflects on his time working with the Going West Writers Festival Archive.  As a bonus to this piece listen to James in conversation with Sue Berman, as he plays favourites from the Festival in this Awekura podcast track: Ngā Pātaka Kōrero - Auckland Libraries · Going West: listening to the archive with James Littlewood Going West was – and is – the original literary festival, at least in Tāmaki Makaurau. Previously, the Wellington arts festival had a literary component and there was a book festival in Dunedin, so on our founding in 1996 Going West could be said to be the only lit fest north of the Rimutaka. It was directed by Murray Gray and produced by his partner Naomi McCleary , in her role as Arts Manager in the now sadly missed Waitākere City Council, under the arts-savvy mayoralty of Bob Harvey . “In those days”, Naomi once told me, “anything was possible”.      Murray Gray interviewing...