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Going Viral: Polio and the Iron Lung New Zealand has a long history of epidemics and pandemics - from the influenza epidemic that was reported by Māori in Foveaux Strait in 1817-20, to today’s COVID-19 pandemic. Protocols such as social distancing and the closure of schools and public venues has previously been seen in New Zealand’s history, affecting Kiwis throughout the early 20th Century due to a reoccurring epidemic - the Polio (poliomyelitis) virus.
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Looking after Auckland Harbour Bridge Painting the bridge was a constant job...
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The Flying Kiwi: A Photo Essay The Walsh Memorial Library currently has a selection of objects and archival material on display to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Cliff Tait’s round the world flight in New Zealand manufactured, AESL Airtourer 115 “Miss Jacy.” The Library cares for the extensive photographic collection compiled by Cliff during this flight, which saw him away from his family from May — August 1969, something we’re all learned to grapple with during the COVID pandemic.
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Redressing the Balance – A Brief History of Letter Balances and the Penny Post During my recent research of MOTAT’s Weights and Measures Collection, the letter balances, or postal scales, stood out – when did they first become popular and how are they relevant to New Zealand’s history?
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Preserving Time During the unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic, a trend that re-emerged was the appreciation of a more slow-paced life. This resulted from having more time at home due to people’s movements being restricted to their neighbourhoods. People had more time to spend in the garden and exercise through, walks, running, biking and/or scooter rides within their bubbles. With the lack of takeaway options, home cooked meals and baking became more common;, this also included the act of preserving food.
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Leo White: The Man Behind The Whites Aviation Collection The Whites Aviation Collection spans some 70 years of history with categories covering the early aero clubs, trans-Tasman flights, the formation of the early airlines in New Zealand and other aviation events up to the 1970's.
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The Human Story of an Adana Press <p>Researching the MOTAT collection often uncovers the story behind the object. A small printing press currently on display in MOTAT&rsquo;s Print Shop, has an interesting gem of a narrative connected to it via its donor. The press was used during the donor&rsquo;s notable career, which happened in the context of events in national and world history.</p>
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Harold Piper — What’s in an Aviator’s Logs? The Walsh Memorial Library hold eight logbooks of Banks Peninsula-born pilot Harold Lord Piper (1899–1965). Log books are an invaluable record for any pilot — tracing the different aircraft types flown, distances and conditions they flew in.
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‘A Long Day in a Tin Can’ New Zealand Railways hostesses recall working the main trunk line in the 1970’s and 80's.
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‘I Am the Last Tram’ In December 1956 Graham Voitre was asked to paint ‘I Am the Last Tram’ on the side of tram number 242.
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A New Topdressing Aircraft The Walsh Memorial Library hold eight logbooks of Banks Peninsula-born pilot Harold Lord Piper (1899–1965). Log books are an invaluable record for any pilot — tracing the different aircraft types flown, distances and conditions they flew in.
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A Platform for the Future: Auckland Rapid Transit The plan for Auckland’s electric metro rail that included an underground CBD loop from 50 years ago.
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Christening the Collection An important aspect of the Registry team’s role is reviewing the Collection. Here is what we have discovered about our assortment of christening gowns…
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Open access: Glass plate & lantern slide collection As we are all adjusting to increasingly ‘virtual’ means of learning, exploring and engaging with the world’s heritage, we’d like to highlight a collection recently digitised by the Walsh Memorial Library’s Assistant Librarian for Digitisation, Andrew Pettengell. This recent project is part of MOTAT’s continuous process to improve the access information available on Collections Online. We’ve recently uploaded copyright terms for over 7,000 photographic records now in the public domain. Over 3,000 of these have images attached, including ones from the rich glass plate and lantern slide collections cared for by the Walsh Memorial Library. Read on to uncover the process to catalogue, digitise & preserve this rich collection and showcase some of the various subject highlights.
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Amateur Radio Operations Aid the 1933 Tasman Crossing by the Southern Cross Aviation tours captured the imagination of the New Zealand public, with Tasman crossings increasingly carried out in the 1930s after the first successful crossing in 1928 by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. In January 1933 Kingsford Smith made another crossing, flying between Sydney and New Plymouth in Fokker F.VII ‘Southern Cross’ with co-pilot Patrick Gordon Taylor and radio operator John Stannage.
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The Arrival of a MOTAT Icon As part of the Registry team's Collection Review we delve into researching the MOTAT Collection. Here is some research I have been undertaking.
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Morris’s Marquetry Masterpiece — The Story of MOTAT’s Half-Tester Bed One of the Registry team’s major projects for the year has been Collection Review. This is an ongoing process which assesses MOTAT’s Collection for its significance and relevance to the Mission and Strategy. My research focus was on the Furniture and Fittings Department. A stand out object from my research was James Morris’ Half Tester Bed (1967.437). The bed was donated to MOTAT in 1967 by a descendant of Morris.
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Time Flies When Having Fun During an exploration of timepieces within MOTAT’s Collection, we rediscovered several unique and kooky clocks. Here’s what author Emily Hames found…
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First Contact: Eugene Hirst and New Zealand’s Innovative History of Contact Lens Production Located at number 9 High Street in Auckland is the flagship store of Mortimer Hirst, an eyewear company associated with a rich history of contact lens innovation in New Zealand. The company is result of a partnership set up between optometrist Douglas Mortimer (1918–2005) and dental technician Eugene Hirst (1911–1989) in 1949, joint directors of both Mortimer Hirst and Hirst Contact Lens Limited.
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The Magic of Cinema With cinemas opening up their digital doors to share the classics, Walsh Memorial Library's pictorial collection gives a look back at the glitz and glam of Auckland’s cinema in the early-mid 20th century.
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