Ngā Pātaka Kōrero - Auckland Libraries

Welcome to ' That’s so last Century – What we wore 1950s – 1990s'. In this track we hear from Jay Khatri, a Mumbai born tailor who migrated to NZ in the late 1980s. He worked at clothing manufactures Street Wise and then Cambridge Clothing Company before opening his own tailoring business- Island Style (Jay's Clothing Ltd) in Henderson. This interview was conducted in 2015 by Julia Barron as part...

Welcome to ' That’s so last Century – What we wore 1950s – 1990s'. In 2019, Auckland Libraries hosted a Fashion Week talk on the theme of sustainable fashion. In this clip, we hear from Wayne Siu, retro fashion man about town, on why vintage fashion is important in the context of climate change. https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/news/2019/08/breathing-new-life-into-old-clothes/ Voices ha...

Welcome to ' That’s so last Century – What we wore 1950s – 1990s'. In this track, jazz singer and follower of fashion, Wendy Moore provides her lived experience of post-war hair, makeup and clothing fashions. This was a time of poring over pattern books, searching out new fabrics, and home sewing. Recorded in 2017 with Sue Berman for the Rykenberg Oral History Collection. Voices have been drawn fr...

Welcome to ' That’s so last Century – What we wore 1950s – 1990s'. In this track we hear from Wendie Wright. Wendie worked with, and later married, well-known street and studio photographer John Rykenberg. In this clip, Wendie briefly recalls her mother sewing her dresses from pictures in 17 magazine. This is followed by a description of the late 1950s and early 1960s Rykenberg Street Photography....

This excerpt features Ellie Lim interviewed by Toni Duder. Ellie shares knowing her identity from a young age, her relationship with her queer relatives in Singapore, and coming out to her ex-partner. Ellie recollects coming out to her parents, the challenges at school, Catholicism, and her relationship with God. To listen to the complete interview, click on this link https://bit.ly/4brEDjW and su...

Luis Claudio Troccoli de Meirellis was interviewed here by Toni Duder. Luis talks about moving to New Zealand and coming to terms with his sexuality, the work he has been doing for the queer community, and his perspective on the differences between New Zealand and Brazil for a member of the rainbow community. To listen to the complete interview, click on this link https://bit.ly/42p6ptu and submit...

This excerpt features the coming-out story of Shaun Hawthorne. The interview was conducted by Luis Meirelles and Toni Duder. Shaun talks about life in the ’80s, discovering more about himself in secondary school, coming out to his family and friends, being involved in the peace movements, moving into activism for gay rights and gender, and much more. To listen to the complete interview, click on t...

This excerpt features Calvin Hona interviewed by Luis Meirellis. Calvin recollects the experience at Waikato University, the uncertainty faced when leaving home and coming out, and the story of meeting his partner. To listen to the complete interview, click on this link https://bit.ly/497lsuw and submit a request using the Comments box on this page Image: Rainbow Youth Services Poster. Auckland Li...

This excerpt features Toni Duder’s story recorded by Smita Biswas. Toni recollects the relationships with friends and family, discrimination at the boarding school, and the challenges faced while coming out. To listen to the complete interview, click on this link https://bit.ly/4946Ls6 and submit a request using the Comments box on this page Image: Rainbow Youth Services Poster. Auckland Libraries...

Duncan Matthews was interviewed by Toni Duder. Duncan speaks about the challenges faced when coming out, how the decision to tell the family occurred, and relationships with the extended family. To listen to the complete interview, click on this link https://bit.ly/49gE5w9 and submit a request using the Comments box on this page. Image: Rainbow Youth Services Poster. Auckland Libraries Heritage Co...

Happy Pride! Alison is joined in the studio by two special guests, Rhi and Sebastian, who talk about some of their favourite queer reads. Celebrate Pride year-round and embrace your rainbow joy by exploring the huge and diverse range of books and resources at Auckland Libraries. Books mentioned on the show can be requested from the Auckland Libraries catalogue using the links below. Most titles ar...

In this episode, we’re tuning in to the music making of early colonial New Zealand. We meet music librarian and curator Marilyn Portman to look at a collection of early music albums which were brought amongst personal possessions to Aotearoa, to become the soundtrack of life in the colony. To bring the soundtrack to life, we meet up with musician Polly Sussex who demonstrates music making on a squ...

In this episode, we make a connection with poetry, poets, and the Auckland Central City Library. Research Librarian Elspeth Orwin takes us on a journey beyond the poetry book collection by sharing the voices of poets who interestingly also have a strong association with Libraries. We also meet and talk with poet and artist Ta Ilui who is both a regular Auckland Libraries user and who has contribut...

In this episode, we view a unique poster printed in Rarotonga in 1849. Liam Koka'ua talks us through how this poster, Pepa 9, helped to introduce the people of Rarotonga to the Sámi people, who are indigenous to the far north of Scandinavia. Rare Book specialist Jane Wild adds to the story with an additional exploration into the research, the origins and the context of the poster printed in Raroto...

In this episode, we read Beauty and the Beast through four centuries of storytelling. Rare Book specialist Jane Wild describes the look and feel of the different stories in their time, how the style of writing and illustrative formats changed, and unfolds some exquisite paper engineering. Children’s librarian Clare Cudmore-Neame adds to the story by sharing her insights and experience of the role...

In this episode, we take a trip back in time to the Victorian craze for fern collecting and how Fernmania was documented. Rare Book curator Renée Orr describes the work of Herbert Dobbie and Eric Craig who collected and documented ferns of Aotearoa in the last part of the nineteenth century. We are also joined by a contemporary print artist and book maker Makyla Curtis who shares her inspiration a...

In this episode, we look at old sporting magazines from 'the stack' with Heritage Collections curator Andrew Henry and gain insights into how New Zealand sport was written about by journalists in the mid-20th century. We talk also with history student Katia Kennedy who shares her findings on the sports being played at that time, how these were viewed, and the culture around men's and women's sport...

In this episode, we explore the world of Ava through a printed text of Samoan solo and the experience of library specialists Nia Vavao and Pamata Toleafoa. We visit Anau and Todd at the Four Shells Kava Lounge and learn how Kava is integral to life across Te Moana-nui-ā-Kiwa and valued and enjoyed here in Tāmaki Makaurau. See a list of references for this episode below or get in touch with us by e...

In this episode, we find meaning and history in the Auckland Tramping Club’s newsletter Wanderlust. Archivist Sharon Smith shares her insights gleaned from reading the Wanderlust magazine in the period of publication during the Second World War. We are joined by current Auckland Tramping Club members, Ian, Anna and Dennis, on the Club’s programme of tramps and their preparation for the upcoming Cl...

A plaque in Devonport marks where in October 1847, Lieutenant Snow and his family were murdered in their beds. One of the perpetrators was subsequently hung on the same site. Who would commit such a crime? Māori Rebels hoping to incite a war, or was it the result of a botched robbery or an argument? Join author and journalist Sarah Ell as she shares her research on this murder and how it sheds lig...

Doctors With Instruments from the acclaimed ensemble Pohadka launch the Spring series with a stunning programme contrasting icy and mystical Scandinavian music with warm and upbeat Jewish tunes. The Trio will explore lesser known pieces by Nordic composers Emil Hartmann and Peter Heise. These will be contrasted with the exuberant Klezmer style championed by the Trio with the tunes from Hungarian c...

The Kaha Trio brings us the Winter Wanderer -  a journey through two piano trios from Felix Mendelssohn and Joseph Haydn.  Haydn’s Trio in G major, is also nicknamed the ‘Gypsy’ trio . As a lover of folk music, Haydn incorporated the tunes from the Verbunko dances performed by Austrian soldiers which can be especially heard in the rondo movement of this work.  Felix Mendelssohn wrote his second Pi...

In collaboration with the University of Auckland, Catherine and Jesse bring us an exciting programme which comprises four-hand piano works and solo performances, ranging from the mid-eighteenth century to the twentieth century.  As a duet, they present Mozart’s Sonata in D major K.381. Composed in the Galant style, it features elegant melodies, simplicity, and clarity. They will also play Mendelss...

Kotuku Quintet Simon Ansell (violin), John Seager (violin), Judith Gust (viola), Sally-Anne Brown (cello), Louise Webster (piano). The Kotuku Quintet returns with the Piano quintet in F minor, op. 34 by Johannes Brahms. Described as his greatest piece of chamber music it is probably the most frequently performed of his chamber works. Brahms was a demanding self-critic, and the quintet went through...

Martin Griffiths and Polly Sussex (cellos) and Sherry Grant (piano) combine their substantial literary knowledge with musical interpretations of depth and intrigue in celebration of Katherine Mansfield's Centenary year. In 1908 Garnet Trowell, an aspiring violinist from Wellington, became the lover of Katherine Mansfield, who studied cello with his twin brother Arnold Trowell. Together they played...