Woman sitting cross-legged with large book on her lap.

Ngā Kōrero Stories

Explore posts by Ngā Taonga staff and guest writers about Aotearoa New Zealand’s audiovisual history, archiving, taonga Māori and more.

Film

24 January 2023

Norman Blackie was a keen amateur filmmaker, who arrived in Tauranga with his wife Odine in 1942.

8 December 2022

In 1934 Ōtaki was the site of a major commemoration – the Diamond Jubilee of Archbishop Francis Redwood. The occasion is beautifully captured in a newsreel.
Archbishop Francis William Redwood.

2 November 2022

An intern discusses the project to create a database and finding aid for the archived works of Dame Gaylene Preston.
Photo of Dame Gaylene Preston sitting in a house.

3 October 2022

We asked a few questions for Annabel Cooper about the portrayal of the New Zealand Wars in Utu and The Te Kooti Trail.
Cast and crew photo from the set of The Te Kooti Trail

19 July 2022

Read about footage captured by W. Franklyn Barrett in 1909 of Aotearoa New Zealand's stunning natural landscapes.
Tourists aboard boats at Milford Sound.

14 June 2022

Learn about this recently digitised collection of WWII films and photographs.
Image of musicians performing.

Television

22 March 2022

A look at some quirky retro television adverts for New Zealand meat products.
Man holding Christmas turkey in pan.

13 April 2021

What makes a good jingle? Is it more than just ‘catchy and clever’? Maybe instantly memorable, inane or frustrating.
Loxene Hair Cream

23 March 2021

We wanted to take a look at some advertising jingles that, even in a small way, have soundtracked parts of our lives.

5 May 2019

Television has captured the life and culture of New Zealand in a way few other media have.
A wooden shelf unit displays many televisions. On one of the screens Jacinda Ardern can be seen speaking in parliament.

23 January 2019

Part of a wider “Different Faces” series, ads promote Gregg’s Coffee, which present an idyllic picture of a NZ, characterised by racial and generational diversity.
Still from Gregg's Coffee TV advert - people on the beach at Oriental Parade.

12 January 2017

Happy new year. Ngā mihi o te tau hou. We hope you are having a summer full of colour!
A young woman in a red dress is riding a bicycle with Levene branded paint tins loaded on the front.

Sound

17 April 2023

Part two of a two-part blog.
A group of men in heavy coats pose beside a truck in the desert

17 October 2022

A famed hotel with a war-era connection for a lucky few Kiwi soldiers.
Exterior view of Shepheard's Hotel in Cairo

6 July 2022

Sound history researcher Sarah Johnston examines life onboard the troop ship on which the Broadcasting Unit was travelling during WWII.
Shaved man being pushed into water with spectators aboard ship.

10 May 2022

A quick history of New Zealand music charts, from the 1950s to 1990s.
Part of a national sales chart.

19 April 2022

Recordings made by mobile unit during WWII tell the story of a Kiwi gun operator who fought and was wounded in battle.
Illustration of a WWII battlefield.

New Zealand History

29 May 2023

A look at collection items relating to Hillary, Tenzing and Mt Everest on the 70th anniversary of their famous climb.
Hillary and Tenzing shaking hands. Courtesy Horowhenua Historical Society Inc.

3 February 2023

Around 10,000 people gathered at Te Tii Marae in 1934 for the first official commemoration of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Still from 'Reflecting on Waitangi' - Groups of people standing outside at Waitangi in 1934.

14 December 2022

14 December 2022 marks 100 years since the crew of the HMS Chatham presented the Chatham Cup to the New Zealand Football Association.
Eight men are pictured playing a game of football

2 August 2022

A spotlight on some of the animated items in the collection, and where they fit in the history of animation in Aotearoa.

23 June 2022

Every year Ngā Taonga celebrates Matariki with a short video loop featuring items from the collections.
Matariki night sky

14 June 2022

The late Norman J. Hatch was a World War II combat cameraman who witnessed and filmed some of the most bitter fighting in the Pacific War.
Norm Hatch dancing with a young Māori woman in 1941.

Preservation

26 August 2022

Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho is a five-part online series about the practice of archiving taonga Māori.
Mai and Khali select a videotape from the vault.

20 July 2021

We all have a role to play in keeping this language alive through discovery and adoption.
A silver microphone against a background of Māori carvings.

30 March 2021

Each year the nitrate film collection of Ngā Taonga is ‘wound through’ as an essential part of its safe keeping.

9 June 2020

Moving out of their long-term premises proved to both a logistical and emotional challenge for Ngā Taonga staff – and that’s without including the COVID-19 pandemic.
Empty shelving at Ngā Taonga on level two at Taranaki Street.

1 June 2020

Our Kaupapa Māori Gareth Seymour was the recipient of the 2019 Paul Reynolds 'No Numpties' Grant.
The indigenous cataloguing team at CBC in Yellowknife.

19 May 2020

What do you do when you’re working on a special archiving project in another country and a pandemic hits?
Cook Island Archivists, Kate Ngatokorua & Susan Love, with Ngā Taonga's Chief Executive, Honiana Love (left).