Post researched and written by David Murray, Archivist Cookie Bear is back! Many were disappointed when, in April last year, Griffin’s announced he would no longer feature on Chockie Chippie and Hundreds & Thousands biscuit wrappers. Last week the company posted on social media: ‘We heard you, New Zealand. Thank you for sharing your stories, […]

Post researched and written by David Murray, Archivist   Several years ago, Hocken collected a large quantity of archives from the old Cadbury factory in Dunedin. We are pleased to share the news that these are now catalogued and available for viewing in our reading room. We are also in the process of putting selected […]

Post researched and written by David Murray, Archivist Last month, a wind storm saw the dramatic toppling of two of the big old elm trees next to our building on Anzac Avenue. Fortunately nobody was hurt, and our building was undamaged, but we were sad to lose the trees. It seems timely to look at […]

Post researched and written by David Murray, Archivist The suitcases made by Disabled Servicemens Products were popular luggage items for many years, and occasionally still turn up in secondhand shops. Sometimes made from leather, but more usually from a type of fibreboard called Vulcanite, examples can often be identified by a red and gold label […]

Post researched and written by David Murray, Archivist Zooming in on the detail of a newly-digitised photo, I noticed first-floor signage reading ‘City Private Detective Agency’, ‘Macrae’. The photo shows a building that still stands in Princes Street, Dunedin. It was built in 1915 for Whitcombe & Tombs, the large firm of booksellers, stationers, and […]

Post researched and written by David Murray, Archivist There are many photographs of sombre-faced Victorians in the Hocken Collections, but few first-hand accounts of the circumstances and experiences surrounding their creation. A photo titled ‘Joes Cabin’ comes with a description that might change first impressions. Taken at Silverstream Valley near Dunedin on 28 December 1886, […]

Post researched and written by David Murray, Archivist With many students settling into their University of Otago colleges, here are some flashbacks to colleges and halls of residence back in the day. Many were captured for the university’s marketing and publicity purposes, others were formal records.      

Post researched and written by Amanda Mills, Curator Music and AV Collections October 2022 marked 50 years since the formation of Split Enz, one of the most significant bands to emerge from New Zealand, and one which launched the careers of Tim and Neil Finn, Phil Judd, Noel Crombie, and Eddie Rayner. Before the ‘Enz’, […]

Blog post researched and written by Kate Guthrie, Collections Assistant – Archives Remember autograph books? For those of us old enough to have had one back in the day, they were the Facebook of the pre-internet age; a little album to collect the thoughts and witticisms of your friends, family and occasionally even the famous. […]

Post researched and written by Christopher Meech, Head Curator Publications, Hocken Collections Every now and then a find quite unexpected and novel comes through the doors at Hocken. A small book titled Original Poetry, by Mrs C. Fulton, to which are added a few Poems by her Father Mr James Dods[1], is such a remarkable find. This modest publication has […]