Ngā Kōrero – Stories
Explore posts by Ngā Taonga staff and guest writers about Aotearoa New Zealand’s audiovisual history, archiving, taonga Māori and more.
I tēnei whārangi On this page
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.
2 November 2022
An intern discusses the project to create a database and finding aid for the archived works of Dame Gaylene Preston.
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.
19 July 2022
Read about footage captured by W. Franklyn Barrett in 1909 of Aotearoa New Zealand's stunning natural landscapes.
14 June 2022
Learn about this recently digitised collection of WWII films and photographs.
Television
22 March 2022
A look at some quirky retro television adverts for New Zealand meat products.
13 April 2021
What makes a good jingle? Is it more than just ‘catchy and clever’? Maybe instantly memorable, inane or frustrating.
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.
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.
12 January 2017
Happy new year. Ngā mihi o te tau hou. We hope you are having a summer full of colour!
Sound
17 April 2023
Part one of a two-part blog.
17 October 2022
A famed hotel with a war-era connection for a lucky few Kiwi soldiers.
6 July 2022
Sound history researcher Sarah Johnston examines life onboard the troop ship on which the Broadcasting Unit was travelling during WWII.
10 May 2022
A quick history of New Zealand music charts, from the 1950s to 1990s.
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.
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.
3 February 2023
Around 10,000 people gathered at Te Tii Marae in 1934 for the first official commemoration of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
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.
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.
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.
Preservation
26 August 2022
Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho is a five-part online series about the practice of archiving taonga Māori.
20 July 2021
We all have a role to play in keeping this language alive through discovery and adoption.
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.
1 June 2020
Our Kaupapa Māori Gareth Seymour was the recipient of the 2019 Paul Reynolds 'No Numpties' Grant.
19 May 2020
What do you do when you’re working on a special archiving project in another country and a pandemic hits?
