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’, […]

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 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 […]

Post researched and written by Amanda Mills, Curator Music and AV Every year when World Audiovisual Heritage day comes around, we are always struck with the wonderful, intriguing recordings that are made available for the public to hear a little bit of a forgotten past. This year, to celebrate World AV Heritage Day at Hocken, […]

Post researched and written by Amanda Mills, Curator Music and Audiovisual Collections The Verlaines have been a keystone band in the Dunedin music scene since their inception in 1980, and fully-fledged beginnings in 1981, when they were found regularly playing gigs in Dunedin’s Empire Tavern’s third floor concert venue. The band has undergone a number […]

Blog post researched and written by Emma Scott, Hocken Collections Assistant. Two weeks ago we were kindly donated “The Home Circle: an Instructive & Entertaining Magazine for the Family  & Fireside”. This was the first time any of the Publications Collections Assistants had seen this particular periodical before, so it was a very special discovery. […]

Post written by Amanda Mills, Hocken Liaison Librarian, Curator Music and AV September is the month of the APRA (Australasian Performing Rights Association) Silver Scroll Awards, an event celebrating New Zealand songwriters and composers. A number of awards are presented during this ceremony: the prestigious Silver Scroll award, recognising “outstanding achievement in the craft of songwriting,” […]

To celebrate Music Month in 2017, here’s a brief look at a collection of papers relating to a local Dunedin label. Post by Amanda Mills, Hocken Liaison Librarian, Curator Music and AV Xpressway Records began life as a cassette-only label in late 1987/early 1988, run out of Bruce Russell‘s home in Port Chalmers. Russell – […]

Post by Amanda Mills, Liaison Librarian – Audio Visual and Music This annual day (October 27th) is run by UNESCO to celebrate audiovisual heritage, and to raise awareness that this vulnerable material is in danger of being lost through neglect, decay, destruction, and lack of resourcing. World Audiovisual Heritage Day has a different theme every […]

Post researched and written by Amanda Mills – Liaison Librarian Audio-Visual and Music August was inaugural Māori music month, a celebration of Māori music around the country of all genres. The first music recorded in New Zealand was indeed Māori, when Ana Hato and Deane Waretini were recorded singing a number of songs, including Hine […]