A hard life in the Gorge
Life doesn’t get much harder than it was in the Ōtaki Gorge at the start of last century. The land
Read more
Sound
Archiving precious World War Two recordings
Imagine it’s the early 1940s and an Army truck crosses the sands of Northern Africa, comes to a halt and
Read more
The earliest ‘Blue Smoke’ recording
Research in the Sound Archives at Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision during New Zealand Music Month has confirmed a recording
Read more
Music Month and the Guitar Parade
The lights go down and the crowd grows quiet. On stage are dozens of children and young people with guitars,
Read more
‘Hostilities will cease…’ – Memories of the end of World War 1
Sarah Johnston has selected some recordings from the sound archive in which New Zealanders recall the end of World War One in November 1918.
Read more
Te Anakura: a place of treasures
Access project developer Emma Richardson takes a look into the history of Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision’s Wellington building, Te Anakura, and its place within Te Aro.
Read more
Ngā taringa hou – New ears for old voices
Wellington may have enjoyed an unusually-splendid summer this year, but three Victoria University Māori Studies students have not seen a lot of the sun. They spent their break from late November until late February in the Taranaki Street offices of Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. With headphones fixed to their heads they passed the summer listening to the voices of tūpuna, recorded many decades before they were born.
Read more
Waitangi Kōrero During Sesqui 1990
Waitangi Day has often been a time for powerful oratory. Here’s an example from New Zealand’s 150th Anniversary celebrations in 1990, made on Waitangi Day by Bishop Whakahuihui Vercoe, with a little scene-setting commentary by Hēnare Te Ua.
Read more
Recording the Return of the Māori Battalion – Te Hokinga Mai o Te Rōpū Rua Tekau mā Waru
The sound recordings made at pōwhiri in January 1946 to welcome home the men of the (28) Māori Battalion, are the focus of a new online exhibition launched this week by Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, Te Hokinga Mai o Te Rōpū Rua Tekau mā Waru.
Read more
A Most Unusual Christmas
Experiences of Christmas in New Zealand differ hugely throughout the years. Where you were, and sometimes who you were meant you might not always have the classic Kiwi barbecue! Sound archivist Sarah Johnston has picked out a few of the more unusual Christmases recorded in our archives.
Read more