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 […]

Post written by Collections Assistant – Publications, Gini Jory  ‘The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.’ In this 1920s retelling of Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet, a blood feud between two rival gangs that has been going on for generations has swept Shanghai into chaos. The Scarlets, with their newly […]

Post cooked up by Jen Anderson, Collections Assistant – Publications People who work with heritage material often find themselves compelled to demonstrate its relevance to contemporary society. Some connections are obvious, and some require a little more lateral thinking. Initially I intended to justify this carrot-themed post via the Easter bunny, but having tasted the […]

Post researched and written by Eilish McHugh-Smith, Collections Assistant – Publications Welcome back to the Book Review Corner of the Hocken Blog! Today we delve into the world of photography with a review of Self-Portrait by Marti Friedlander in conjunction with Hugo Manson.  The first thing that attracted me to Self-Portrait was its physicality. A […]

Post written by General Assistant, Gini Jory Welcome to a new segment for the Hocken blog, where our staff review books we hold in our collections. Whether these be novels, poetry, non-fiction, books helpful for research or genealogy- hopefully we will cover it all in our new Book Review Corner! Today we start with a […]

Post researched and written by General Assistant Gini Jory Radical writers are often thought of as a cornerstone of New Zealand literature. Whether it be poetry, short stories, novels, commentaries or screenplays, these writers have cried out against the status quo, speaking out on issues such as racism, social injustice and numerous other political concerns. […]

Post researched and written by Jennie Henderson, Hocken Collections Assistant  – Publications In 1866, a gang of four goldfield criminals murdered five men (and their horse) on the Maungatapu track near Nelson. The subsequent search for the bodies, trial, and execution of some of the murderers seized the attention of the nation. Newspapers were full […]

Post researched and written by David Murray, Archivist One of the cutest Christmas messages in the Hocken Collections is found on a postcard in the papers of Dunedin poet and editor Charles Brasch. The front of the postcard shows the picturesque St John’s Anglican Church, Waikouaiti. The message on the reverse reads: Mr Father Christmas […]

Post prepared by Jacinta Beckwith, Kaitiaki Mātauranga Māori  Each of us is an epitome of the past, a compendium of evidence from which the labours of the comparative anatomist have reconstructed the wonderful story of human evolution. We are ourselves the past in the present.                                                            H.D. Skinner, The Past and the Present This year’s inaugural […]

Post by Dr Ali Clarke, Library Assistant – Reference We’re always pleased to see images from our collections featuring on the cover of new books! Each year we put together a list of published items – from books to theses, blogs to journals, television series to exhibitions – which have made use of Hocken resources. […]