Ngā Pātaka Kōrero - Auckland Libraries

It's an honour to present to you Librarian Raniera Kingi (Poukōkiri Rangahau Māori) in conversation with the author and educator Hēmi Kelly. Hēmi (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Tahu, Ngāti Whāoa) is a lecturer in te reo Māori at AUT. He is the author of ‘A Māori Word a Day,’ ‘A Māori Phrase a Day,’ translator of Te ruānuku / The Alchemist for the Kōtahi Rau Pukapuka project; and runs Everyday Māori on Fa...

In this track Bruce Ralston talks us through an entry into family history writing. Bruce is editor of The New Zealand Genealogist and Chair of the Ted Gilberd Literary Trust that supports writing of family history. With a long career in libraries and archives, together with a half century of genealogical research, he is conscious of the struggle many have converting their research into formats tha...

It’s another lockdown Literary Lounge with Alison and Ineka. So, grab a cuppa and make yourself comfy as we highlight the hilarious, the forbidden and the confessional corridors of our collections.

It’s pouffes at 20 paces again because Alison and Ineka are in literary lockdown. As well as more chat about the Booker’s Dozen, you’ll find out what they’ve been reading and get some great tips about making the most of your library membership during Level 4 for all your reading, watching and listening requirements.

"Craigavon is the western-most reserve at Blockhouse Bay. So far west, that at some points during its story, the folks at Green Bay saw fit to lay a bit of a claim to it, at least in spirit". In this episode of the Whau Heritage Stories series, Lisa Truttman delivers a history of the land and people associated with the area currently known as Craigavon Park and the associated Motu Moana camp site....

The St Andrews Church Hall on Margan Ave in New Lynn has one odd chapter to its history: it was the scene of a theft, a crime for which no perpetrators were ever found …. and that theft involved a Vickers machine-gun and ammunition. Seems rather at odds with the rest of the building’s story!" In this episode Lisa Truttman shares a Whau Heritage Story from New Lynn that gripped that nation. Recorde...

"Motu means island, and Mānawa means, among other things, mangrove. The mangrove is Avicennia marina australasica, a native species to New Zealand for the past millions of years. Motu Mānawa is known also as Pollen Island, and the island obscured today by a motorway, Motu Te Kou, means fish hook. It is known also as Traherne Island..." In this episode Lisa Truttman shares a Whau Heritage Story tha...

If you look back far enough, you’ll come across a rather intriguing plan which dates from 1859 for the two townships of Whau North and South (today’s Blockhouse Bay). What was behind all those names slapped across the plan of the landscape from the Manukau Harbour to the Whau Creek back in 1859? Where’d they come from? In this episode Lisa Truttman shares a Whau Heritage Story from Blockhouse Bay...

"It can and should be remembered that one of the places where the legendary Māori Battalion began was a small semi-rural backwater in Auckland called Avondale". In this episode Lisa Truttman shares a Whau Heritage Story linking a wider history of the Māori Battalion to Avondale’s racecourse which was the chosen site of the training camp, named “Waiatarua". Recorded live on 24st April, 2021 at Avon...

"One summer’s day, in December 1881, two days before Christmas, Lawrence Teirney got off his horse bus outside the Whau Hotel on the Great North Road, took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and offered....an expression of the art of fisticuffs in the otherwise quiet rural surroundings. There was a fair bit that led to that moment, and a fair bit after it an’ all" In this episode Lisa Truttman...

Part 2: In this second part of an interview with Theia, she talks about her love of Carole King, and why she chose the album Tapestry from our collection. We also talk about the band for the Te Kaahu project, and how that came together. References: Tapestry (CD) – Carole King (1971) https://discover.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/search/card?id=93dab30b-4a2b-4ed9-9ab3-0b4a2b4ed927&entityType=FormatGrou...

Part 1: In this episode Dedee chats to Theia about three of her music videos – one of them filmed in L.A. just before the city went into lockdown. We talk about her Te Kaahu project, where she writes and performs songs all in te reo Maori. Theia shares what it was like being forced to come home early due to Covid, but getting to perform online at ‘cyber concerts’, and how this can break down barri...

Alison and Ineka present the second part of their preview of the Booker's dozen - the thirteen titles that have made the 2021 Booker Prize Longlist. Listen along and discover some additional read-alike titles to devour while you are waiting to get hold of those mouth-watering Booker books.

In this talk, keen genealogist and MyHeritage representative Elena Fowler explains how MyHeritage can help you learn more about your family history and genealogy. Find out what MyHeritage contains and how to navigate the website. Access to MyHeritage is available through the Auckland Libraries website. Music: When it all falls by Ketsa

Alison and Ineka talk about some recent reads before dipping into the just-announced Booker’s dozen – the thirteen titles that have made this year’s Booker Prize Longlist. They even have some suggestions for books to read while you are waiting to get hold of those mouth-watering Booker titles.

In this talk Principal Oral History advisor Sue Berman takes the listener on an engaging tour of the oral histories and sound recordings available in the Auckland Libraries oral history heritage collection. Check out the oral history collection here: https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/oralhistory Music: When it falls by Ketsa

Alison and Ineka discuss fictional lives worth writing and reading about. Books mentioned in this show can be requested and borrowed by members via Auckland Libraries' catalogue, and are often available in multiple formats: Unsheltered / Clare Moleta / 2021 / Adult Fiction: bit.ly/3Jufk3m Sorrow and bliss / Meg Mason / 2020 / Adult Fiction - NZ: bit.ly/3KRLEgb Before you knew my name / Jacqueline...

In this episode we turn our attention to the Frank Reed Dumas Collection held in the Heritage collections of Auckland Libraries. This most significant Dumas collection outside of France was put together by Frank Reed from Whangarei. It's an extraordinary achievement and fascinating story. In this track Haunui Royal is joined by Kate de Courcy who spent many years arranging and working with the Ree...

Not many people are aware that the greatest collection of books and manuscripts of the celebrated French novelist and playwright Alexandre Dumas outside of Paris is housed at the Auckland Central Library as part of Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections. Dumas’s most recognized works include The Three Musketeers; The Man with the Iron Mask; and, The Count of Monte Cristo and his works are still e...

For this second instalment, Dedee chats to Yolanda and Harriet from Na Noise, about their debut album Waiting For You, which won the Junior Taite Prize (also known as the “Baby Taite”) this year. We chat a bit about their writing process, being asked to cover a Reb Fountain song at the Taite Awards, and playing their first Level 2 seated gig at Whammy bar after the first Covid lockdown. We also di...

Last year linguist Susan Verran and historian David Verran transcribed the journals of Isaac Rhodes Cooper, which he wrote in the 1850s. In this talk, Susan and David describe the challenges of transcribing the young British officer’s journals and what they learned about Cooper's several excursions around the upper north island (from Taupō to the Bay of Islands). The original journals(NZMS 56a)are...

During her 32 years at the helm, publishing doyenne, Jean Wishart, transformed the Woman’s Weekly into a highly successful magazine – one that reflected the real lives and interests of its female readership. In this talk, Jenny Lynch, former Weekly editor and author, tells the personal story behind this remarkable woman. 'Under the covers: the secrets of a magazine editor' https://discover.aucklan...

This week our reading has taken us from Roman times all the way through to the year 2024. Join Alison and Ineka on the Literary Lounge time-travellator to find out more. Books mentioned in this show can be requested and borrowed by members via Auckland Libraries' catalogue: Last one at the party / Bethany Clift / 2021 / Adult Fiction: https://bit.ly/3PpbHxU Exciting times / Naoise Dolan / 2020 / A...

Award winning writer Greg McGee, best known for his play Foreskin’s Lament, came to Going West in 2015 to talk on writing, rugby, toxic masculinity, female pseudonyms, life in Italy and his novel The Antipodeans - an intergenerational tale of love, blood and betrayal. For this conversation, he is joined by well-known and well-read journalist David Larsen. McGee, an almost All Black, is known for w...

Working class heroes and poets Serie Barford and Glenn Colquhoun celebrate their working class roots as part of the Going West Oblivion Express as it steams to Helensville Station. Passengers along for the ride were entertained and charmed by this witty pairing of two of New Zealand’s finest performance poets. It is pure working class gold, sprinkled with a West Auckland flavour, as they celebrate...