tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44664038785768375792012-01-31T17:40:59.538+13:00Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.comBlogger14431100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-16531475316653150852012-01-27T08:43:00.000+13:002012-01-29T12:44:05.178+13:00

    Detail from "Waitemata", 1840-1841, NZ Map 3566, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. Updated 29 January 2012. There’s an island in the Upper Waitemata which I’ve often wondered about. Seeing an article about a now-vanished small cinema of all things, I decided to look into the records.  Right from 1840, the island between Hobsonville and Greenhithe on the

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-26556994851325019782012-01-22T10:02:00.000+13:002012-01-23T11:13:49.853+13:00

 I asked Rendell McIntosh, Parnell Heritage founder and member, head of the team at Alberton, and a good friend of many years standing, if he would mind popping down to his Judges Bay to take snaps of the new Auckland Council-installed heritage interpretation panels there. Here are his images, and text from the email I received this morning. Cheers, Rendell!     As part of the Auckland

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-89244684787577480332012-01-21T08:21:00.001+13:002012-01-21T08:21:44.530+13:00

I had cause to visit the post office in the Bledisloe Building in the city a few days ago -- and realised, from this view, how things had changed over time. Even since the 1980s, when I first worked in the central city. 16 October 1927. "Looking south west from Queen Street showing Old Market Square (foreground), Elliott Street now Bledisloe Street (left to right across centre),

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-323916625476425132012-01-15T13:24:00.000+13:002012-01-15T13:32:57.154+13:00

A photograph of Glenmore Lodge, possibly from the late 1950s. MAC 026, ID 115013, Auckland Council Archives, by kind permission. Some years ago, a friend came across the name “Glenmore” in Wises Directories of the 1920s and 1930s, referring to a patch of the New North Road landscape between Kingsland and the rise towards Eden Terrace and Upper Symonds Street. Basically, as I’ve explained

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-18019342034205774162012-01-08T14:48:00.000+13:002012-01-08T14:48:33.254+13:00

It's been a bit of a journey, involving both the old Avondale Community Board and the newer Whau Local Board, stretching back to 2004 in one case, but -- now officially two of the local reserves have been renamed. The saga of Gittos Domain (formerly Avondale South Domain) began when after informal discussions between Avondale-Waterview Historical Society and Blockhouse Bay Historical

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-86366926104662745792012-01-07T13:09:00.003+13:002012-01-08T10:19:57.993+13:00

In 1876, Thomas Jefcoate Harbutt and his familyarrived in Auckland via the Hero. An ironmonger by trade, he was born in 1830, in North Shields, Northumberland. By his first wife, Elizabeth Leslie, he had two sons and two daughters. Elizabeth died in 1864, however; Thomas remarried, this time to Annabelle Jennings in 1867, and the family then moved to the island of Jersey. Three more sons were

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-1471482136937847652012-01-05T15:01:00.001+13:002012-01-06T06:23:45.089+13:00

 Detail from DP 16277, LINZ records, crown copyright The road predated its naming by at least 25 years. On a scrappy remnant of a survey plan dating from the late 1840s to early 1850s (SO 833) the end of the line of the road, where it juts off from what we know today as Carrington Road, can be seen. It swung past Allotment 60, described as “Excellent volcanic soil on scoria”, 84½ acres of

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-91895845117613322672011-12-31T13:51:00.003+13:002011-12-31T13:51:52.649+13:00

This is the result of a small SLIPs (small local improvement project) application to have an interpretive sign placed beside the earliest grave at St Ninian's Cemetery in Avondale, that of Rev David Hamilton from 1873. The Whau Local Board approved the project, which involved the inclusion of the words that are carved on the stone faces of the obelisk on the sign. Time and weather are

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-20778115329676772682011-12-31T13:35:00.003+13:002011-12-31T13:35:23.148+13:00

Like so many other interests I let myself get involved in, the story of Henderson's origins in the 19th century just hasn't come to full fruition. Yet. But -- I like to share what I find (which is why Timespanner is here). So -- here, on Scribd, is the result of two years of going utterly bonkers gathering up information on Henderson's roots. This, though, is not all of it, and I'll be adding

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-6183664496086304302011-12-31T11:28:00.001+13:002011-12-31T11:28:27.848+13:00

Animals at J J Boyd's Aramoho Zoo, Wanganui. Weekly News, 27 July 1911, ref. AWNS-19110727-11-1, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Council Libraries I've updated and revised the Aramoho Zoo chapter from The Zoo War, adjusting a typo a reader spotted, and adding additional information from the Wanganui Chronicle on the zoo. You'll find the update here on Scribd.

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-84163244609576071302011-12-30T15:37:00.002+13:002011-12-30T15:37:58.960+13:00

In early February this year, when I heard the former Aotea Chapel was going to be demolished on Queen Street, I took the following shots. These date from 8 February. Next door, the 1950s MLC Building, now recently renovated as a hotel, is probably what could be described as faux Art Deco, if the true period pretty well dwindled out during World War II. This was definitely after that

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-6159045718907484582011-12-30T13:22:00.002+13:002011-12-30T13:22:44.114+13:00

"Pulman's Register Map of the City of Auckland, 1863", NZ Map 4475-1, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Council Libraries This map is often overlooked, in favour of the slightly later 1866-1867 Vercoe and Harding map of our city, mainly because while this does show the allotments and sub-lots ...  the military barracks, a proposed Ponsonby Park which never came to be ...

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-45918430694841847222011-12-30T11:09:00.001+13:002011-12-30T11:09:09.922+13:00

Back in May 2010, in a post about a stroll through part of Henderson, I referred to Miss Newey's cottage. Newey's reserve is at the corner of Edmonton and Great North Roads. Almost in the picture above, taken from one of the interpretive signs there.  I mentioned in the post that I wasn't sure how the cottage, given with the land to Henderson Borough Council in 1987, came to end up at

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-6283285919793078262011-12-29T13:15:00.000+13:002011-12-29T13:15:13.294+13:00

Terry Foenander, who runs a site on US Civil War Navies, is an indefatiguable researcher into the stories behind the names of those who were involved in the mid 19th century conflict -- and who drifted down to Australasia to settle, and in many cases die here. Over recent days, he's sent through a number of emails involving queries of men who were involved at somed point with the war, came here

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-865312123664277862011-12-29T12:07:00.003+13:002011-12-29T12:07:50.281+13:00

Rangitoto by moonlight, c.1910. Ref 35-R50, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Council Libraries. My eye was caught the other night by a notice placed in the Auckland Star of 11 February 1878.  My interest was piqued especially when the matters of the rescue were described by the newspaper. Sinel, with a young man named Alfred Beetson, had headed out on a fishing trip in

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-26904472581459320212011-12-28T10:06:00.001+13:002011-12-28T10:09:18.037+13:00

(left) Robert Graham, from the Observer, 21 January 1882 From 1848 through the 1850s, Robert Graham bought up a patchwork of landholdings, and created a farm called Ellerslie (approximately named after a boyhood home back in the old country). At the beginning, he intended for the massive farm to simply be a sheep run, but on returning from a trip to California in 1853, he decided to turn it

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-34743404402514155512011-12-28T08:13:00.001+13:002011-12-28T08:13:04.357+13:00

Another site I came across recently -- Lost Property. ‘Lost Property’ is a rediscovery of unique houses, stories and pieces of history – a site for researchers, students and anyone who wants to know about lost and ‘at risk’ iconic houses, people, paintings and stories from our recent past. Combining historical imagery and in-depth research, ‘Lost Property’ connects the art and the writer

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-66522367778480808892011-12-28T07:57:00.002+13:002011-12-28T07:57:23.992+13:00

I've made a reference to The Hocken Blog before now, when posting about a rather musically inspired mural at Pt Chevalier -- but I think the blog deserves a post all its own. Worth having a browse through -- and it's a reminder to me that, someday, I must go down there. Probably for several days ...

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-12240071126253544112011-12-27T18:22:00.000+13:002011-12-27T18:22:37.030+13:00

Another contribution from Paul Hafner (sent in late November -- thanks, Paul!): his photo of the AMC sign still clearly marked out in tiles, Devonport. "I know that you like relics of signage. The other day (evening, rather) when I was in Devonport, I noticed these tiles at a shop now called Abigails (corner Rattray and Victoria Roads). I think there were quite a few of these shops at

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-90132322514429414042011-12-27T11:41:00.000+13:002011-12-27T11:41:12.612+13:00

Photos taken from when I was part of a group guided around the Auckland Town Hall, 15 December. See also my previous post on the Town Hall's centenary. Plaques extolling the work of former city councillors are everywhere in the vestibule areas of the Town Hall. If your name ends up in bronze or marble -- and it isn't in a cemetery -- you've made it in the world. But

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-55748469856207293462011-12-27T08:31:00.000+13:002011-12-27T08:31:40.625+13:00

A sequel in a way to Street Stories 18, about Henderson's Lincoln Road. A reader this morning drew my attention to John Davenport's book on Auckland street names (and, when I checked, the library's street's database as well) which suggests that Lincoln Street in Ponsonby was named (or probably named) after the Earl of Lincoln (pictured, from Wikipedia) who was, for a time, Secretary of

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-5116853757708655862011-12-25T10:03:00.003+13:002011-12-26T07:49:48.324+13:00

 Detail from DP 670, originally dated 1888, LINZ records (crown copyright) The question, "Why Lincoln Road?" came up when a reader of the Avondale Historical Journal contacted me recently asking about the origins of the name. What we now know as Lincoln Road, the long drive from Henderson township up towards either the North-Western motorway, SH16, or the turnoffs towards Massey and Ranui,

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-32398574683240174312011-12-24T18:58:00.000+13:002011-12-25T07:39:22.150+13:00

Paul Hafner sent these images of his to me for the blog's "relics collection", back on December 8, saying that many years ago, he'd often walk past this building on his way to work, "Always a healthy selection of nuts and stuff... I have no idea when they ceased their retail operations." Picking this out of my "received and must do something about it when I have the chance" inbox today, I

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-44523117438949847772011-12-23T16:58:00.000+13:002011-12-23T16:58:15.817+13:00

The grand old dame of Auckland's CBD, the Town Hall, was recently open to guided tours led by George Farrant, Auckland Council's heritage advisor (and the expert when it comes to the 1994-1997 restoration), plus an open day, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the building's official opening on 14 December 1911. The apex of land at the junction of Greys Avenue and Queen Street on which the

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-81808085207833764352011-12-23T11:15:00.001+13:002011-12-23T11:15:42.102+13:00

Caricature of Felton Mathew, Sarah's husband, and first surveyor general of New Zealand, from Sarah's scrapbook, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, ref. no. NZMS 81. The Sir George Grey Special Collections at Auckland Libraries have digitised the scrapbook of Sarah Mathew. It seems that Sarah, baptised in 1805, kept the scrapbook for most of her long life (she died in

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-68955836425515963722011-12-23T10:46:00.001+13:002011-12-23T10:46:46.241+13:00

Further to A Matter of Convenience -- earlier post on the endangered Rosebank Road loos at Avondale which date from 1942. It's a bit early to celebrate just yet, but the Whau Local Board decided on 13 December to look into upgrading the building, getting rid of the public toilet facilities at the front, putting a new frontage on, and converting the building's shell into a community facility.

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-73431318673836358422011-12-22T14:05:00.001+13:002011-12-22T16:36:46.117+13:00

Back on 29 November, I was invited to the launch of Evolving Auckland: The City's Engineering Heritage at the Auckland Library. So often there are disappointments when it comes to professionally-produced books about Auckland's local or other history just lately -- but not with this book. Be under no misapprehension that I've been paid to include good words on this book here on the blog -- I

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-75462987945639525472011-12-22T09:44:00.000+13:002011-12-22T14:21:43.766+13:00

When I see the word corbel, I think of these -- scroll-decorated, garlanded bits of masonry jutting out from the face of buildings. Auckland has, however, a set of very precious corbels, cast away from their original home by demolition in the mid 1930s, and still on somewhat of an odyssey in the city even today. The first time I saw them was some years ago while visiting the Auckland War

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-60388186083980543422011-12-16T17:46:00.002+13:002011-12-16T17:46:56.846+13:00

Gas works at Miramar, Wellington, 1920s. The words `Wellington Gas Co Ltd' are upon the gates in the foreground. Photograph taken by Sydney Charles Smith. Ref. 1/1-024844-G, Alexander Turnbull Library. Andrew sent a link through earlier this month to a great well-illustrated and fact-chocked webpage by Steve Cook on the Miramar Gasworks Tramway in Wellington. Worth checking out.

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-47105292621827589152011-12-16T09:54:00.000+13:002011-12-16T09:54:28.225+13:00

Looking east from Albert Park towards Princes Street, showing part of the gardens and the fountain (right); photographer Henry Winkelmann, 6 January 1921, ref. 1-W1710, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Council Libraries. Looking at the mown lawns and laid-out gardens, with what statuary has survived the cruel indignities of vandalism over the decades, it is at times difficult to

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-339077704066998212011-12-15T17:09:00.002+13:002011-12-16T09:55:20.251+13:00

My good friends Bill and Barbara Ellis have done me a great favour by sending through these shots of a traffic control box I keep meaning to photograph myself -- at the base of Albert Park in the city, just at the top of Victoria Street, and close to the (now) sealed off entrance to the WWII Albert Park tunnels. Thanks, folks!

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-48747003939010741582011-12-13T12:54:00.001+13:002011-12-14T09:28:34.854+13:00

Detail from SO 4, crown copyright, LINZ records I was looking for early things regarding Parnell recently, and a mis-cataloguing by Land Information New Zealand and their Landonline service led me to a Survey Office plan which wasn't about Parnell at all. Sometime in the very early 1860s, someone (perhaps Charles Heaphy) prepared what was to become SO 4, showing detail to a few bits of land

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-4415024864762576012011-11-29T10:07:00.001+13:002011-11-29T10:37:01.976+13:00

CSS Alabama, from Wikipedia. Cemetery historian Matthew Gray in his latest column to appear in the Western Leader today, appears to have fallen foul of, primarily, newspaper space requirements for most of the anomalies in his piece on Juan (John) Ocho and Andrew Andrews St John. Firstly, regarding John Ocho, who was according to Gray, "captured ... when his own ship was sunk during a

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-55190625273899704572011-11-29T04:22:00.001+13:002011-11-29T06:23:40.469+13:00

"Looking up Khyber Pass Road from Broadway showing the Carlton Club Hotel, left, and the premises of George Kent and Sons and the Royal Cord Service Station in the Premier Buildings," ref 4-1886, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Council Libraries. The building on the left of the image above, taken 19 September 1929, was then known as the Carlton Club Hotel. It had been

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-70614742583343821002011-11-23T02:58:00.001+13:002011-11-23T03:27:39.741+13:00

It's already been featured on a local real estate agent's blog, and pressures of commitments at the moment meant I didn't post this back on 16 November when I took the shots. But here it is, better late than never: the St Michaels Ave, Pt Chevalier, telly mural: God Defend New Zealand. A media mural used as a backdrop for a TV3 production which screened in October here, regarding the story

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-70958341625487499132011-11-13T20:45:00.001+13:002011-11-13T20:50:13.952+13:00

Spotted this last Friday at MOTAT, just opposite the Pioneer Victorian Village.

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-22091191167787982472011-11-13T12:24:00.001+13:002011-11-13T20:39:30.539+13:00

Image ref 4-2235, Sir George Grey Special Collections. Almost like something caught out the corner of an eye, a reader named Lilli spotted where she lived in an image from one of the City Library photos I use on the blog, from the post on the Edinburgh Castle: Hi Lisa, I have just discovered your blog and I am really enjoying reading all the posts you have made on the upper Symonds

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-77630630611817855852011-11-13T12:11:00.001+13:002011-11-13T12:22:58.208+13:00

This might be a case where, whoever the artist was who did this mural, didn't do enough research. I came upon it in its formative stages some weeks back, and then spotted that it had been completed, so took a photograph last Friday. This is situated on Great North Road, close to the Housing Corp flats at Tuarangi Road corner, and is quite near to Stadium Road, the access to Western

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-62366706490841558892011-11-07T03:31:00.004+13:002011-11-07T03:31:46.614+13:00

In the relative dimness of the Maori Court in the Auckland War Memorial Museum, where a projected image of a silver fern flutters on the floor, and tourists either stand around perplexedly searching for the exit, or pose smilingly beside ancient artifacts for the camera – there you will find a great waka taua, Te Toki a Tapiri, the Adze (or axe) of Tapiri. One of the greatest

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-13847138130849732972011-11-01T12:27:00.001+13:002011-11-01T15:21:02.652+13:00

Image: Observer, 2 January 1897 Cemetery historian Matthew Gray, in his “Tales from the Crypt” column published today in the Western Leader, wrote about the dismissal from the police force in 1897 of one Sergeant Richard Gamble of the Auckland Police Station. “Burly Irish police sergeant Richard Gamble was in charge at the Auckland central station late one night in 1897 when a constable

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-7177302095689694822011-10-31T05:05:00.000+13:002011-11-16T18:02:21.910+13:00

 I've visited Papatoetoe before now. Well, the old Papatoetoe, near the Town Hall, where the annual rock and mineral show is held each October. But this mural was a bit of a surprise. According to the Papatoetoe Historical Society, though, it was down for restoration for a bit in 2009, so that's probably why I hadn't chanced upon it before now. Painted by Merv Appleton,  this has to be

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-43103484612347910552011-10-26T23:21:00.000+13:002011-10-26T23:21:35.603+13:00

Passing by, minding my own business along Totara Ave in New Lynn today, I realised I was passing by colourful background. The 1925 Oag's Building, the facade long grey and darkened by time, has a splash of hues on its street frontage. Next to the chippie are a couple of different roller doors. Well done to whoever painted these, especially the "shop" one (above), lending the

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-46886800579759392952011-10-24T11:44:00.001+13:002011-10-24T11:46:54.638+13:00

View of Auckland, looking toward Rangitoto Island, from atop the windmill, 1901. Reference 1-W207, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. This post is a follow-on from Part One. The 20th century story of the windmill on Symonds Street is one of lost opportunities to act to preserve the historical relic of days gone by. However from out of the public's realisation --

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-90864575188025881312011-10-24T11:44:00.000+13:002011-10-24T11:45:46.011+13:00

"Partington's flour mill, houses and a ship in the harbour with fenced graveyards in the cemetery in the foreground," sketch by E Goring Corbet, January 1859, A-128-002, Alexander Turnbull Library. "Ask of me if you would know  Stories of the long ago;  I, the watcher on the hill,"  Softly sighs the old windmill. "Roslyn", 1902 An email came in from a reader named Peter Grierson back

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-7555518424849606592011-10-17T14:43:00.000+13:002011-10-17T14:43:13.263+13:00

 Image courtesy Birkenhead Historical Society The following appeared in the August/September newsletter of the Birkenhead Historical Society. They've very kindly given permission for both the text, and the image above, to appear here on Timespanner. In the days before mechanisation and automation to unload bulk sugar, sugar came to the Chelsea Refinery in 280 lb. sacks. These were packed like

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-67006594074029313632011-10-14T03:38:00.000+13:002011-10-14T03:38:39.885+13:00

Sad to see a sign I've grown up with deteriorating like this. The laurel leaves which formed a wreath around it are gone -- I doubt the neon works anymore for the torch's flame. Haven't been down at the bottom of Racecourse Parade at night to see if it does. This is part of the former HQ of the Suburbs Rugby Football Club, before they moved to New Lynn and a headquarters at Sister Rene Shadbolt

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-62237023896010887932011-10-12T23:06:00.000+13:002011-10-12T23:06:14.660+13:00

 I visit Totara Avenue regularly, mainly because the Whau Local Board have their offices there, and I attend the monthly meetings to keep abreast of what's happening in the area. I forged through the Somme-like environment of trenches and temporary bridges over clay mud that was the avenue while the construction of the new "shared space" went ahead earlier this year. This week, with daylight

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-85886857327838354332011-10-12T10:06:00.000+13:002011-10-12T10:06:59.630+13:00

From Wikipedia. Phil Hanson, a previous guest post author here on Timespanner, has given me the heads up this morning on this -- the debate going on in Whakatane as to whether a recognised architectural work of functional art should be greatly modified or even completely replaced in line with plans to redevelop Whakatane Airport. See the 3rd Level New Zealand blog's post, and accompanying

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-32539942230161627162011-10-12T07:34:00.001+13:002011-10-14T08:34:35.711+13:00

I visited Wynyard Quarter only last August. Now, according to the NZ Herald and central Auckland business association Heart of the City, there are proposals to do away with open spaces such as those around Wind Tree and the kiddies' playground -- for tower blocks. "The children's playground at the hugely popular Wynyard Quarter is set to be replaced by a towerblock, says the Heart of the City

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-73069826189407579312011-10-11T15:32:00.002+13:002011-10-12T11:26:53.304+13:00

I posted about the Queen's Head Tavern façade, at the corner of Mayoral Drive and Queen Street, back in late December 2009. Since then, I have a bit more info on the hotel, thanks to Papers Past, and a booklet called Toast the Ghosts, put together by Garth Houltham in 1990. Henry Hopper Adams started the first Queen's Head hotel in Victoria Street. I've found one reference dating from 1863, but

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-25474379348621410972011-10-10T15:53:00.000+13:002011-10-10T15:53:08.375+13:00

On a slightly murky day (it fined up later in the afternoon) at Mt Roskill Shops, intersection of Dominion and Mt Albert Roads, I spotted something as I was waiting at traffic lights. "What are you taking a photo of?" asked an intrigued member of the public. "The old Farmers store sign on the building, over there by the chicken," says I, pointing vaguely. Semi-obscured, but visible at the

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-49391111647887364122011-10-10T15:16:00.000+13:002011-10-10T15:16:49.972+13:00

 Between a car park and Dominion Road, at Mt Roskill shops, a walkway is adorned by a colourful mural, called "Time Machine", by artist Adrian Jackman. "Artist Adrian Jackman designed the 28m-long artwork called Time Machine with input from Dominion Road School. Time Machine pays tribute to local icons such as local legend Arthur Lydiard and a Dominion Road tram. The mural creates a focal

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-87559445378581918132011-10-10T14:49:00.002+13:002011-10-10T14:49:33.923+13:00

"Looking south from the foreshore of Mechanics Bay showing the Maori Hostelry (right), Gittos Street (left to right centre), Maori canoes in foreground," c.1860, ref 4-2740, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries Back in the 1840s and 1850s, commerce and trading links with Maori was a vital factor in the survival of early Auckland. It was at Mechanics Bay that trading took

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-49810250765281637802011-10-04T21:54:00.001+13:002011-10-05T19:06:06.140+13:00

Edward Ashworth's "Mechanic's Bay", c.1843. Ref A-208-109, Alexander Turnbull Library Third in a series. The first two are here and here. Richard Simpson's presentation, both at his talk on 25th September and online, is in error when it comes to using the above simple sketch of Mechanic's Bay to illustrate the path of the Waipapa. The lowest reaches of the stream in the early days were more or

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-36568180707691840522011-10-03T19:15:00.002+13:002011-10-03T19:26:19.934+13:00

Okay, for any of my readers out there who missed the last identifiable photo of yours truly, namely regarding the old Rosebank Road toilets in Avondale .... I'm online again, via this article from out of the Aucklander. This year has been weird; my name went up on a wall in Pt Chevalier, I think I've been photographed for the the Aucklander twice (there was also the Avondale Train Station thing),

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-91003682773456350462011-10-02T20:22:00.001+13:002011-10-07T21:27:49.920+13:00

 Image from Wikipedia. From "The Waipapa Stream" by Richard Simpson: [The Auckland Acclimatisation Society] was founded in the Auckland Domain in 1861 with the intention of introducing a variety of fish, bird, animal and plant species into NZ. In 1867 fish breeding ponds were built on the Domain bank of the Waipapa Stream. Acclimatisation society established New Zealand's first trout hatchery

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-25163223805584410152011-10-02T15:47:00.001+13:002011-10-04T08:16:09.104+13:00

 I attended Richard Simpson's talk during Heritage Festival on the story of the Waipapa Stream (illustrated above, the x marks weaving around the line of railway), the eastern-most of the waterways associated with the story of Auckland's Domain, and the one that defines most of the eastern boundary. There were a few things during the talk which had me taking notes for further investigation, and

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-45232128628930952332011-09-29T07:28:00.000+13:002011-09-29T07:28:10.555+13:00

Darian Zam in a comment here drew my attention to a blog called Cast in Stone by Big Dog Talking of Dunedin. Great to see some more NZ history amongst the blogs!

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-10529940950899088432011-09-26T20:25:00.001+13:002011-09-26T20:25:47.489+13:00

A short time ago, I was contacted by an arts student named Ayesha who said she had an interest in an old fountain on Princes Street, and wondered if I had any information on it. I hadn't, and I agreed to meet her in the city to start the hunt for the story. The site of the fountain in question is that of a block of old residences on Princes Street known as the Merchant Houses. There were once

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-8782004512854435672011-09-26T09:34:00.000+13:002011-09-26T09:34:43.481+13:00

The ship Port Bowen aground, Wanganui, 22 July 1929. Shows the tugs  Terawhiti (far right), and Kahanui (foreground). Unidentified lighters  are taking off the cargo. The two other boats are  unidentified. Evening  Post (newspaper) photograph. Photographer unidentified. Reference 1/4-048929-G, Alexander Turnbull Library My friend Tony Goodwin happened to mention to me last week that a wreck

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-42511205733602164552011-09-24T08:31:00.001+12:002011-09-26T12:18:53.480+13:00

"Showing the pipeline at the Nihotupu Reservoir," James D Richardson, 1919, Sir George Grey Special Collections, ref. 4-1669, Auckland Libraries A bit of a sequel to my Waitakere Dam Tramline visit. Last Thursday, thanks to my friend and fellow AWHS member Tony Goodwin, I got a chance to visit the Rainforest Express, a passenger tramline running from Jacobson's Depot to the Upper Nihotupu

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-69600175201992846832011-09-23T20:13:00.000+12:002011-09-23T20:13:24.137+12:00

Spotted this today on Federal Street -- a digital mural by Osmand Signs. "The building’s owner loves it so much he’s asked them to leave it up, and Osmand Signs have already had enquiries from other landlords in the area looking to jazz up their old bricks," according to the website link. Originally, it was only meant to be a temporary piece of colour for a Samsung commercial. I think it

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-6240855614801984332011-09-13T20:20:00.000+12:002011-09-13T20:20:42.925+12:00

I've just put a report on the toilets at 50A Rosebank Road on Scribd -- A Matter of Convenience.

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-36374245264141525902011-09-13T09:46:00.000+12:002011-09-13T09:46:44.315+12:00

The Writer of the Purple Sage popped across on the clacks today with these images: Out with camera on Sunday last, I shot this cute building at 366 Gt. South Road, Greenlane, just beside the Green Lane East intersection. No sign to tell me what it was, nor anything in the masonery to say what it had once been... Saw on the door that it is the registered office of Lloyd's Shipping! I thought,

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-85452372804444347632011-09-12T16:20:00.003+12:002011-09-12T16:24:10.464+12:00

In 2015, the old (second) Mangere Bridge turns 100. Could anyone in the Auckland Council please consider taking up the idea of an interpretive plaque -- even if just a bit of board tacked to a fence so we can still save rates monies in this time of belt-tightening -- to commemorate how important this was to Mangere and Onehunga? Mangere Bridge No. 1 (1875-1915)COMPLETION OF MANGERE BRIDGE. ...

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-38654183949335623562011-09-12T15:58:00.000+12:002011-09-12T15:58:29.453+12:00

  Aerial photo 2006, Auckland Council website. Overlay is approximate layout of Fort Ligar, based on "Rediscovering Fort Ligar: Archaeology at R11/1656, Auckland", Ian Smith, Internal Report No. 40, Department of Conservation, 1989. You've heard of the phrase about "giving them bread and circuses", or thereabouts? In the panic immediately after the sack of Kororareka in Northland in 1845, it was

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-26710902063434754112011-09-11T13:16:00.000+12:002011-09-11T13:16:56.775+12:00

2008 aerial photo. Auckland Council website. A commenter, Neil under this post,  asked: " ...if you want to try something else, could you do an article on what was happening in Blockhouse Bay around Whitney/Terry Sts in the early days!!" Okay -- I take it the question was something to do with why on earth we have a crazy intersection at the joining of Terry and Whitney Streets? (If not, get

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-43079882498139539672011-09-11T10:35:00.000+12:002011-09-11T10:35:00.779+12:00

Detail from "The isthmus of Auckland with its extinct volcanoes by Dr Ferdinand von Hochstetter 1859", pub. 1865, reference NZ Map 5694b, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries This was one of those journeys where I had started off aiming for one destination/goal -- obtaining a good shot of the Onehunga Sea Scout Hall on Orpheus Drive without getting myself tangled up in the

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-14188725525950667792011-09-10T13:08:00.000+12:002011-09-10T13:08:56.027+12:00

The Pt Chevalier Community Art Project 2011 was, well, not exactly unveiled today, but it was certainly celebrated at the local community centre on a gorgeous September morning today. This replaced the old mural, featured in an earlier post.   The work achieved by artist Zoë Nash was, quoting the first interpretive panel: "a series of digitally-made panels reminiscent of the shape of

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-66330791523049869362011-09-09T18:37:00.001+12:002011-09-09T18:37:51.401+12:00

The Aucklander published this article yesterday (with a slight correction in the online version -- the print version had me as President of Blockhouse Bay Historical Society, where I'm really north of the border here in Avondale-Waterview ...) Thought this might be of interest. "I didn't think it would take this long to change a sign. I realised that there would be some delay with the

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-78775572355755420262011-09-09T18:07:00.000+12:002011-09-09T18:07:13.887+12:00

One of today's discoveries for me -- what appears to be another Daniel Tippett long mural, this time in the walkers/cyclists' underpass, at the bottom of Onehunga.  Blog readers may recall my images of his Kingsland work on Sandringham Road -- now, sadly, obliterated. This one, in such a dark place, hardly somewhere you'd be inclined to stop and admire beauty such as this, is simply

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-84750868927919791862011-09-07T18:33:00.000+12:002011-09-07T18:33:17.446+12:00

St James' Church, Mangere, c.1860s, on the top of a rise in the middle distance, with a body of water in the right foreground. Reference E-572-003, Alexander Turnbull Library. Along Church Road in Mangere Bridge, there is a remnant of the Land Wars which coloured three decades of Auckland's history, from the mid 1840s through to the 1860s -- the stone church of St James, along with its

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-40132774568518564552011-09-06T10:32:00.000+12:002011-09-06T10:32:01.779+12:00

This was written in 2009, with the intent of putting it together in a print publication. I might still do that, but -- time stands still for no man, and my research never quite seemed to find the light of day. And more on the old drill halls is still coming in. So -- I'll publish what I have here for now. The inspiration was a chance meeting with Peter Cooke around that time at Archives New

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-18545999213505487552011-09-04T20:01:00.000+12:002011-09-04T20:01:24.891+12:00

Darian from the Long White Kid blog emailed this to me today: Ohinemuri Gazette 21 December 1898 But, this exhibition was not what today's reader may think it was, at first sight. Artemus Ward was the invention and nom de plume of American humorist Charles Farrar Browne (1834-1867). For brief-lived entertainer who has been dead for 144 years, he's left a litter of references all over

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-115978780367962772011-09-04T12:35:00.000+12:002011-09-04T12:35:05.826+12:00

Siverdale & Districts Historical Society is a long-time favourite of mine -- so I'm delighted to assist them in promoting their event during the upcoming Auckland Heritage Festival. "We are taking part in the second week of the Auckland Heritage Festival and the Pioneer Village will be open every day from Saturday 24 September to Sunday 2 October from 10.00a.m. to 3.00 p.m. "We are

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-14053945613315372812011-09-04T07:48:00.000+12:002011-09-04T07:48:10.825+12:00

The creator of a new blog on Auckland stuff commented at the Seddon's Memorials post this morning -- so take a look at Auckland Musings, which has kicked off with the change of seasons to spring with great posts on the new Auckland Art Gallery, and -- how the Auckland Town Hall might have looked if the other choices got more votes ...

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-28646861854080384382011-09-03T18:52:00.001+12:002011-09-03T18:52:49.577+12:00

Portrait of Richard John Seddon, Reference Number: 1/2-005255-F, Alexander Turnbull Library. New Zealand is in tears today. From Sydney comes the news that. Mr Seddon died yesterday white on his return to New Zealand. It has long been common knowledge that Mr Seddon's health was unsatisfactory. Some years ago, indeed, it created the gravest anxiety among his friends, and it rendered it

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-9571270882671926772011-09-03T04:37:00.001+12:002011-09-03T04:37:47.811+12:00

We'll start with a loo -- "De Loo", to be precise, a wrought-iron artwork dandifying what is otherwise just another Auckland Council public convenience of the modern age. The artist is Dave Vazey, and the ironwork was installed in 2002. St Peters Anglican Church has been at the corner of Church Street and Onehunga Mall since 1848, although not with the appearance it has today. A

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-82691182376541214042011-08-31T10:41:00.000+12:002011-08-31T10:41:12.959+12:00

"The Auckland Museum and Institute on the corner of Princes Street and Eden Crescent, Auckland Central,"  reference 4 -RIC99, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. “Public institutions,” according to the Auckland Star in 1895, “appear to be so seldom made the subject of robberies and burglaries, at any rate in this colony, that they are not uncommonly looked upon as enjoying an

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-65391688528741922332011-08-31T08:39:00.001+12:002011-08-31T08:45:50.369+12:00

Someone came up to me earlier this month, just after a talk I gave at the Central Library, about the McVay family tannery at Freeman's Bay. I see on the blog statistics that someone recently has been doing a bit of a search into tanneries there in the old bay -- so here's what I know to date. George and John McVay are recorded as carpenters in the 1842 Jury List for Auckland....The large

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-39066979311435067132011-08-30T19:12:00.000+12:002011-08-30T19:12:41.231+12:00

Of the Eden Terrace pubs of old, there's the Edinburgh Castle of 1864 (still existing today), the Eden Vine of 1866 (first building gone, second building now retail) -- and third the Queens Hotel of 1867. Of the three, this is one whose traces are completely wiped out. The original wooden Queens Hotel, at the northern corner of Symonds Street and Khyber Pass, was completed in May 1867 for Peter

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-17405582129787555692011-08-29T07:51:00.001+12:002011-09-07T08:37:35.703+12:00

Mangere Bridge township is a pleasant single-level shopping strip, once accessed directly by through-traffic from off the second (old) Mangere Bridge from Onehunga, but in the past few years, with traffic diverted via State Highway 20 and the two newer bridges, it is now a place to get slightly off the beaten track, stop, and relax for a bit over a coffee.   Seeing a bit of street art

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-83114798126944682462011-08-28T17:09:00.000+12:002011-08-28T17:09:37.507+12:00

I was at Mangere Bridge today, attending an NZ Federation of Historical Societies meeting.  Afterwards, Val Payne from the Mangere Historical Society, our hosts, took us on a bit of a tour of site around the area. One of the places was the Villa Maria Estate. There -- a group of painted sheep (very large sheep, so large they seemed more like cows, but Liz at Mad Bush Farm has rightly corrected

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-51043754504793652272011-08-28T07:13:00.000+12:002011-08-28T07:13:18.494+12:00

While being shown some of Mangere's sights, this was pointed out -- a half-scale replica cannon based  on the guns taken from the HMS Orpheus. It was unveiled 6 February 2007. The following comes from an article provided by the Mangere Historical Society, for New Zealands Legacy, Vol 19 No. 2 2007, p. 23. 6 February 2007 “… was the day a half-sized replica cannon was fired, one based on that

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-26511414851422860572011-08-25T22:01:00.001+12:002011-08-30T10:45:00.922+12:00

The tram shelter in 1922. Reference 1-W1825, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. This was demolished during my lifetime, but I was too young to remember it, probably. At the point where Wellesley Street intersects with Symonds Street, beside St Pauls Church, there used to be a tram shelter, built by the parish as a war memorial in 1919, completed and opened in 1920. A

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-89453205228603394132011-08-25T17:05:00.000+12:002011-08-25T17:05:32.049+12:00

For the first time, the Heritage Festival started by Auckland City (and the North Shore's own festival which used to run just a little after Auckland's) has now expanded with the Super City to encompass the whole of the region. Over 200 events are advertised. I'm taking part in five of them (and a sixth just outside the period). The total list of events can be found here. Or, if you're real

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-80166906859061408422011-08-25T15:03:00.000+12:002011-08-25T15:03:08.992+12:00

Flight Trainer for Albatross is one of the best names I've come across for a public artwork. This 2004 sculpture by Greer Twiss  was donated by the Auckland City Sculpture Trust, and unveiled 9 August 2004 on Quay Street, by the harbour. From here: The sculpture comprises three large albatross being supported in a flight frame and one at ground level. It is constructed of stainless steel and

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-50941552444598933822011-08-24T11:08:00.002+12:002011-08-24T11:08:39.563+12:00

While heading toward the Wynyard Quarter earlier this month, I stopped to take some photos of the waterfront between Albert Street and Te Wero. The Red Fence walk (.pdf file at link) is an interesting heritage walk in the area, for a bit of a taste of the history of Auckland's Waitemata dockland. I also photographed the Auckland Harbour Board's war memorial beacon. I knew already that this

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-85553229582807460122011-08-23T10:17:00.000+12:002011-08-23T10:17:52.225+12:00

One of the regular commenters here, Phil from Titirangi, has sent through by email today a link to an aviation blog, 3rd Level New Zealand. Another to add to the list ... as an example, check out A Tale of Two Airfields.

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-42510819079888071822011-08-22T00:18:00.000+12:002011-08-22T00:18:30.533+12:00

I saw in Sunday's NZ Herald that Dame Christine Cole Catley has passed away, aged 88. In the obituary prepared and distributed by NZPA, however, a myth disproved late last year (and discussed by email with Dame Christine at the time) is still perpetuated. Why, I'm not sure. She had a wonderful career covering the real facts in her life, rather than this: In 1961, while working as an advertising

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-75573419940154418942011-08-21T10:28:00.000+12:002011-08-21T10:28:31.438+12:00

In 1903, the Whau Canal tour stopped off at Mr. Keane’s brickworks – Keane or Cain being one of the names which keep cropping up in the Whau River bricks story, as perennial as the grass. The 1903 party from the Waitemata-Manukau Canal Promotion Scheme, alighting from the steamer at Keane's Brickworks, during the 1903 inspection of the proposed canal route. From The New Zealand Graphic, 25

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-90812662458414115362011-08-20T16:33:00.002+12:002011-09-15T08:27:51.919+12:00

I must say that Lorne Street, between the Central Library and the back of the old cinema complex, is looking very swish now. All credit to Auckland Council (and the legacy Auckland City Council) for a project that has certainly improved the looks of the entry to one of my favourite haunts. I noticed that the council, as is the fashion these days, has installed some heritage inscriptions in the

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-86202084590111566692011-08-20T15:15:00.000+12:002011-08-20T15:15:43.612+12:00

One of the most tragic level crossing accidents in Auckland of recent years occurred on the St. Jude's Street crossing, Avondale, at 9.35 yesterday morning. Mr William Bramley was killed instantaneously when his truck was struck by a Swanson-bound passenger train and carried a distance of fifty yards along the line, ending as is shown in this striking picture. The engine of the train was

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-81847509562674020102011-08-14T19:21:00.000+12:002011-08-14T19:21:55.332+12:00

Rationalist House at 64 Symond Street is another of those landmarks along a bus journey into the city which I've often wondered about. Originally part of a crown grant to Thomas Outhwaite, by 1871 it had become part of three allotments totalling just over 11 acres owned by 19th century business tycoon Thomas Russell. The area of his property included Whittaker and Cintra Place. Russell

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-74595662302418099512011-08-13T14:20:00.000+12:002011-08-13T14:20:12.250+12:00

This mural on the power box on Orchard Street, just outside the George Maxwell Memorial Cemetery,  is new this year, and looks wonderful. The main theme it features is that of kiwifruit -- with Hayward Wright's former land close by on Avondale Road, the choice doesn't surprise me -- but I wonder if the sheep is connected with the ovine legend in the cemetery? Once, so the stories go, last

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-20095404873492935712011-08-13T09:16:00.000+12:002011-08-13T09:16:36.826+12:00

I visited the Mt Roskill War Memorial Park at the May Road end on 31 July, attending the first meeting of the Mt Roskill Historical Society . While there, I took photos of the war memorial -- then went looking for information on it in the usual places. Couldn't find a skerrit on the memorial I photographed -- just the hall. On 29 October 1955, Mt Roskill mayor Keith Hay formally opened the War

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-84055570221930233312011-08-12T19:58:00.002+12:002011-10-12T07:21:40.381+13:00

Wynyard Quarter, on one of Auckland's 20th century reclamations, was officially opened to the public on 6 August this year. I was at a meeting in Avondale that day so couldn't go -- but I knew I'd get a bit of a chance later on. Well, that chance was today. First thing you see from the end of Quay Street (it's advertised as a five minute walk from Britomart. Expect it to be 10 minutes if no

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-64229077200143757022011-08-11T23:19:00.000+12:002011-08-11T23:19:19.405+12:00

This is a bit of a departure from the usual heritage theme around here -- but I've always said that history isn't just something behind us and in the past, it is also in the here and now. Putting together The Zoo War back just before Timespanner kicked off in 2008 led me to explore not just how menageries became zoos here in New Zealand, but also the fate (in many cases sad and avoidable) of the

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-52998563943240695942011-08-11T14:41:00.002+12:002011-12-23T10:48:14.187+13:00

We might be about to lose another part of our past and the landscape of memory, if Auckland Council sell off the small toilets and rooms at 50A Rosebank Road. Avondale considered a public toilet was both a necessity and a convenience by 1916. The only facility of its kind at that time seems to have been connected with the Post Office of the time, the old Avondale Hotel building on the

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4466403878576837579.post-79731947146630576562011-08-07T15:38:00.000+12:002011-08-07T15:38:54.165+12:00

Another new heritage blog, this one from the Chinese New Zealand Oral History Foundation (which I proudly support). It's still in the process of set-up, but worth taking a look.

Timespannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11990716041045862669noreply@blogger.com1