NZHPT – High Street Precinct project

To assist with retaining cultural memory of the city the New Zealand Historic Places Trust are developing an interactive website focusing on the social and built history of Christchurch’s High Street Precinct.   The website will bring together a collective memory of the area through images and stories of specific buildings, eras and areas of the precinct.  There will be about 30 audio stories ranging from the history of the market gardens, to the rag trade, to the prostitution scene to the record stores and band scene of the 1960s – as well of course the architectural and social history of the area.  Icons on a map of the area will allow listeners to select the story they wish to listen to – most of the stories will be accompanied by images and appear like mini-documentaries.  A number of the icons will have other information like archaeological reports and newspaper items able to be downloaded.

We are currently in conversation with HitLab (Human Interface Technology Lab) who are looking at producing an App for the website which will make the sound maps geo-located with an Augmented Reality function.  AR allows the viewer to see images of pre-earthquake buildings and streetscapes by holding up their smart device (phone or tablet) and viewing them like a portal into the past.  Geo-tagged audio stories will pop up aurally and / or visually on the AR application.

Please show your support for the High Street Precinct and this exciting online heritage project by ‘liking us’, posting your own images and your experiences of the area.  NZHPT post information daily about the stories that will feature on the site.  We’d love to have your input.

Zoë Roland
New Zealand Historic Places Trust – Pouhere Taonga
Area Co-ordinator Canterbury / West Coast

Chch High Street Precinct Project on Facebook

Thanks to Vodafone’s Christchurch Earthquake Appeal, Internet New Zealand and CEISMIC for making the site possible.

High Street, City Mall, 1980s

From the Christchurch City Archives collection, courtesy Eva.

Southern provinces almanac

The Almanac was published annually from 1853 to 1892. Christchurch City Libraries has a set covering the years 1863 to 1892. Originally the Almanac covered a number of provinces, but from 1865 the Almanac concentrated on Canterbury.

Christchurch City Libraries will be digitising their set [1863 to 1892] over the next few years.

For now you can access

• Southern Provinces Almanac, 1864
• Southern Provinces Almanac, 1865
• Southern Provinces Almanac, 1866
• Southern Provinces Almanac, 1868

The Almanac includes a review and commentary on the events of the preceding year. It contains listings of businesses, associations, central and provincial government officials and departments; and a trades and occupations directory. As well as Christchurch and Lyttelton other Canterbury towns are listed. Includes postal, port, customs and other regulations; army lists; details of religious bodies, charitable organisations and various societies.

Heritage Week Photo Competition

Christchurch City Libraries invites the people of Christchurch to enter a photo competition designed to uncover Christchurch photos of the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s.

Photos can be entered under the following themes:

• Fashion
• Transport
• Buildings and Streets
• Sport and Recreation
• Occupations
• Events
• Everyday Life

The photos will be displayed in the Central Library and on the library Flick pages. The winners of each decade and the overall winner will be announced on Tuesday 28 October after Heritage Week has finished, and presented with some great prizes.

More information at Christchurch City Libraries

Archives New Zealand Christchurch Gallery

The Christchurch office of Archives New Zealand was an early adopter of online exhibitions of some compelling material, of treasures from their collection around the themes of

• Hagley Park
• Past Caring
• The Fabric of Christchurch 1850 – 1880

They have recently added a new bunch of material in their Christchurch Gallery.

They describe it

has been developed to showcase a fraction of the almost 12 kilometres of records held in the Christchurch repository of Archives New Zealand. The Farrago Gallery contains a random miscellany of images and themes, from maps and plans of Godley Head Defence Area to the Surgeon’s Report from the voyage of the Lady Nugent in 1850. It will be added to regularly, so it pays to check back often.

Further galleries will be opened over the coming months, as new themes, topics and items are chosen, digitised and made available.

Currently they have

• Kā puna kōrero o Kāi Tahu
  images of selected public archives held by the Christchurch office of Archives New Zealand relating to Ngāi Tahu communities in Canterbury and Westland.

• Farrago
  This is a gallery of the weird, wonderful or generally interesting items held in the Christchurch repository Includes material relating to the Erebus disaster and inquiry

• The Early Ships
  Documents relating to the early Canterbury Association voyages to Canterbury, New Zealand. 1850-51
  This gallery will eventually contain the extant Canterbury Association papers relating to the first four emigrant ship voyages to the Canterbury Settlement in 1850 – 1851.

Oh and there is a Dunedin office gallery as well, which has a fantastic collection of posters from Railway stations.

My favourite piece of digital work that Archives New Zealand has digitised is the War Art collection – and its not just because you can tag entries but there is something very strong and evocotive about this imagery.