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 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 […]

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 prepared by HUMS 301 Intern Rebecca White To commemorate the end of Dunedin Pride Month 2022 I thought it was fitting to highlight some of our LGBTQ+ holdings here at the Hocken and discuss past and present issues surrounding collection and availability of such archival materials. At the Hocken Archives we hold […]

Post researched and written by Jen Jeffery, Collections Assistant – Archives Mirko (Michael) Trumic was born in Yugoslavia in 1928 and moved to Dunedin as a refugee in 1950 post-war. Trumic commented that Dunedin was ‘Not quite the tropical Gauginesque milieu [he] had imagined.’[1] Trumic had spent two years prior as a medical student before […]

Post researched and written by HUMS intern, Ceri Spivey Amongst the business records held here at the Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hākena, are those from the eminent local and national department store chain, the Drapery and General Importing Company of New Zealand (lovingly known as the D.I.C.). Established in 1884 by prominent businessman Bendix […]

Currently there is world-wide interest in the song “Soon May The Wellerman Come”. Social media is simply heaving with shanty mania. There is of course a Dunedin connection and a recent article in the Otago Daily Times explains the history of the Weller Brothers shore whaling station at Ōtākou and a little bit of background […]

Post researched and written by HUMS 301 intern Kayli Taylor. How power (im)balances mean minorities are not adequately represented, including in archives. Gordon Spittle’s Beat Groups and courtyard parties provides a broad snapshot of the underground culture of the Ōtepoti Dunedin music scene in the 1960s. The book offers a raw depiction of collectives of […]

On this blog we last met Marianne Bielschowsky (nee Angermann) as the author of a delicious cake recipe in this post by Ali Clarke. On the day that the cake was made and served to Hocken staff I was unfortunately a little late to morning tea and missed out, all I could do was scrape […]