Heritage et AL

The Colenso Project is a collaboration between The Colenso Society , Victoria University of Wellington and Hawke’s Bay Museum & Art Gallery .  The intent of the project is to ignite public and academic interest in William Colenso’s words - published, unpublished, private letters and journals – both in Māori and English, by sharing  them with the world in digital form. Ref: AWNS-19250402-49-1, Sir George Grey Special Collections

'Flowers, Fruit and Foliage', the latest exhibition from the Sir George Grey Special Collections has opened. The exhibition features botanical illustrations from the collections and runs from 29 November 2012 to 17 March 2013 at the Central City Library, 44 Lorne Street, Level 2. While pictures of plants in books are often produced as a practical guide for identifying useful, or common, or newly discovered species, the resulting illustrations can be beautiful works of art in their own right. The books in this exhibition were all chosen for their illustrations and date from 1578 through the great age of botanical illustration in the 18th and 19th century, to the wood engravings of the 1930s. The earliest book on display is a herbal printed in 1578, but there are many beautiful hand-coloured engravings from the 18th century, and very rich colour printed illustrations from the 19th.  Ref: 7-C1955, Sir George Grey Special Collections

The International Commission for the International Tracing Service (ICITS)  is handing over management of the International Tracing Service in Bad Arolsen to the German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv) after over 50 years. The ICITS will continue to give technical expertise, helping the ITS serve the victims of Nazi persecution and their families. Ref: T7129, North Auckland Research Centre The archives cover civilians detained in Nazi concentration or labour camps and people who had to flee their homes because of World War II. They house over 50 million card files relating to more than 17.5 million civilians persecuted by the Nazis.

If you're looking for information on events in your area in the recent past you'll probably turn to your local newspaper. Suburban newspapers such as the Howick & Pakuranga Times , Eastern Courier , Manukau Courier , Papakura Courier and Post (Waiuku) can be invaluable sources of local news. However, these newspapers each cover quite a wide area and may not have quite the level of detail you want. In some areas, community groups also publish monthly or quarterly newsletters, which include a different range of views. One of the longest-lived examples of this type of newsletter is the Whitford Turanga Newsreel . This began publication as the Turanga Newsreel in 1947 and has come out unfailingly with 11 issues per year full of Whitford news ever since. A complete set is held at South Auckland Research Centre .  Ref: Footprints 01469, South Auckland Research Centre Similar titles include the Informer (Hunua), Kaiaua Compass , Karaka Chronicle , Peninsularama (Ma...

Having trouble thinking of what to buy friends and loved ones? Starting to get a bit panicky about what to get? Beattie's Book Blog and the New Zealand Herald have some great books ideas including History, Biographies and Memoirs. And if you fancy getting crafty, you can create your own Family History book as gift for family members. Ref: D_GVD_0019, North Auckland Research Centre A Kiwi Christmas is something special and New Zealand History Online Nga korero a ipurangi o Aotearoa have put together some great resources about this festive time of year. This includes the history behind the day off on Christmas Day  - did you know that it wasn't always a public holiday?

A book about the children who lived in children's institutions in Hawkes Bay has been written by Dr Kay Morris Matthews , an acclaimed academic historian and author. It will be launched on 22 November by John McKinnon, a Hastings resident who grew up in France House, a home in the Esk Valley for teenage boys.  Ref: 4-3681A-57, Parnell orphanage, Sir George Grey Special Collections Entitled entitled 'Who Cared? Childhoods within Hawke’s Bay Children’s Homes and Orphanages 1892-1988', the books covers the experiences of thousands of youngsters who were orphaned, illegitimate, abandoned or destitute.

Sixty years ago, the 2nd Battle of El Alamein , the battle that turned the war towards the allies' favour, was fought in North Africa. Recent commemorations saw New Zealand veterans invited to the El Alamein Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Egypt to remember New Zealand and allied forces; fortunately many of their stories now live on in the written and oral histories. George Mackay from Westport fought at Tripoli and in The Desert Rd  recounts the thoughts that go through one’s mind leading up to battle. “You don’t know what to expect.. . It’s an uncanny moment, zero hour. Everything’s going through your mind, whether you’ll survive, whether you’re going to get killed, blown up or shot at, or anything like that. What’s going to happen? What’s it going to be like? You don’t know. All those things are going through your mind and then finally its zero hour and the shelling starts. Then you’re waiting for the Germans to retaliate with their shells.  That’s what it’s all ab...