How often we've heard the term "Today in History" followed by an account of a famous event.
This book provides a snapshot of our nation's past for 365 days of the year. And yes, it may be a famous event we all know about but there are also accounts of lesser known happenings. Each entry contains the day and month but the years are not in chronological order. So 1840 and 1860 of March face one another. Bold headlines, a brief account of the event and a painting, photograph or maybe a retro advertisement complete the page. Sprinkled throughout the book are snapshots of "Born on this day" New Zealanders.
Produced by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and drawn from Te Ara Encyclopaedia, this is a fascinating book to dip into. According to the introduction the stories presented here are intended to inform, entertain and encourage curiosity and further inquiry, not to provide a comprehensive history of New Zealand.
So 2 snippets for this week which fall into the famous category:
- 29th May 1953 Hillary and Tenzing reach the summit of Everest
- 30th May 1959 the Auckland Harbour Bridge opens
Then check out 16th March 1940 - Jockey Y-Fronts hits New Zealand shops!
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| This book can be found on 1st Floor at 993 ATK in the NZ History & Travel Collection |
Lasting impressions: the story of New Zealand’s newspapers,
1840-1920 / by Ian F. Grant.
A fascinating look at how newspapers came to be in New
Zealand and of those who owned and published the earliest newspapers and news
sheets.
It seems as if those early pioneers who brought printing
presses to New Zealand were first and foremost businessmen who had strong
opinions on just about everything including politics. The publication of their newspapers relied on
financial backing of investors e.g. New Zealand Company, and advertising. This
meant that the content of these was primarily advertising and the front pages
were always all adverts.
The first recorded newspaper was “first printed in England,
by Samuel Revans and called “The New Zealand Gazette” once he arrived in New
Zealand and settled in Upper Hutt he reprinted that same issue and it went on
sale 18th April 1840. He sold 400 copies, and decided to do another
print run the following Monday of another 150 copies.”
Following on from this first newspaper, another 15
independent newspapers in the most populated areas of NZ at that time. Not all
survived the uncertain economy and readership, as more newspapermen arrived and
printing presses were brought in by various settlers meant that competition for
customers was strong.
The first Rotorua newspaper was the Hot Lakes Chronicle
which was first published in 1895; it was owned by Frances F. Watt until his
death at the age of 51 in 1900. His widow carried on publishing it for a while
after this until David Gardner bought it in 1902. A rival publication was printed in Whangarei
by Frank Hyde, it was called ‘Wonderland Gazette and Rotorua Times’ in 1907,
later the title was just ‘Rotorua Times’ and this was purchased by Mr Gardner
in 1910, after his death in 1918 his son R.A. Gardner (poss. Robin Adair) took
over the reins and began publishing the Rotorua Chronicle.
This book is richly illustrated with photographs and images
of early newspapers and the excerpt from these early newsmen provides a snapshot
of life for New Zealand’s settlers.
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| This book can be found at 079 GRA in the New Zealand History and Travel Collection |
For more information on the Rotorua newspapers see our website
To read Rotorua newspapers you can visit the 2nd
floor Heritage and Research area, and a few from 1895-1905 are digitised and
available on line via Papers Past.
This review is by Alison.
This book explores the relationship between Maori taonga and the way that they are curated in museums and galleries. The author writes about the differing perspective of Maori and Pakeha when viewing the taonga in curated exhibitions. There is an increasing awareness where, when Maori artists exhibit their work, tikanga Maori is incorporated in opening and closing ceremonies.
Part of the book summary on the inside front cover explains:
"Galleries of Maoriland looks at Maori prehistory in Pakeha art, the enthusiasm of Pakeha and Maori for portraiture and recreations of ancient life; the trade in Maori curios; and the international exhibition of this colonial culture. The culture of Maoriland was a Pakeha creation. This book shows that Maori too had a stake in this process of romanticism".
My favourite part of the book are the portraits by Gottfried Lindauer.
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| You can find this book in the Maori Collection at 704.03994 BLA on the first floor of the library, and on the 2nd floor in the reference Maori Collection |
Why Dance? / by Sir Jon Trimmer & Roger Booth
I had the pleasure of seeing renowned ballet dancer Sir Jon Trimmer perform as Captain Cook in the Royal New Zealand Ballet production of Peter Pan. A role that he includes in his top 12 character roles listed in his autobiography Why Dance?
The first part of the book is a journey through his ballet career, including his teen years dancing with Poul Gnatt and Russell Keer; his training at the London Royal Ballet School; and his international career with Sadler's Wells, Australian Ballet, and Royal Danish Ballet.
In the second part of Why Dance? Trimmer offers advice and tips for new and older dancers. He covers a variety of topics including career opportunities; visualisation, focus and breathing techniques; handling feedback; keeping fit and uninjured; applying make-up; character portrayal; art of mime in ballet; and working with children and young people.
The book is co-written by former Kapiti Coast Deputy Mayor Roger Booth, who worked with Trimmer at the New Zealand Qualifications Authority developing unit standards and qualifications for the Visual and Performing Arts National Standards Body. Booth has also written a book on Bruno Lawrence, and has co-authored an autobiography with Ray Woolf.
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| This book can be found on the 1st Floor at 792.8 TRI NZ in the New Zealand History/ Travel section, and on the 2nd Floor in the NZ Heritage reference collection |
This book review was written by Graeme.
