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In this edition we mark 60 years since The Beatles toured New Zealand. We also mark a Wellington railway anniversary, look back at the eruption of Mt Tarawera, and share our Matariki compilation.

60^th anniversary of The Beatles NZ tour

On June 22, 1964, The Beatles arrived in New Zealand. The biggest rock and roll band in the world touched down in Wellington and played two sold-out shows before traveling to Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch.

In the online collection, an amateur film captures excitable crowds awaiting The Beatles’ arrival at Wellington Airport, followed by scenes outside the St George hotel on Willis Street, where the band stayed – and where they were famously photographed greeting fans from the balcony.

Eruption of Tarawera

He hokinga mahara atu ki te rā i pahū ai te maunga o Tarawera i te tau 1886 i te 10 o ngā rā o Hune. The 10th of June marked 138 years since the eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886.

To commemorate and reflect on this destructive moment in history, through archival collection material, we look back on a blog by one of our Te Arawa staff members Paora Sweeney. Paora retraces stories of his iwi and how the devastating eruption of Mt Tarawera affected his people.

Wellington railway anniversary

On this day in 1938 the electrified rail line between central Wellington and Johnsonville opened. Earlier in June, a large ceremony had been held for the official opening of the Wellington Railway Station on Bunny Street. In attendance were the Governor-General, Wellington Mayor, and acting Prime Minister.

In the online collection, you can listen to over one hour’s worth of radio coverage of the ceremony.

Our Matariki programme

In case you missed it, in June we released Hauhake tū, ka tō Matariki, a very special compilation of audiovisual taonga from our collection to celebrate Matariki 2024. The programme this year was inspired by the whakataukī (proverb) "Hauhake tū, ka tō Matariki" – the harvest ends when Matariki sets – and the consideration of food during the Matariki period.

News briefs

• Te Ao Māori News recently published an article about Te Pūranga wānanga – an annual iwi archivist symposium that Ngā Taonga is a part of. It provides iwi and hapū hands-on training in collection care and management to enhance the safe-keeping and preservation of their taonga.
• LGBTQIA+ Pride Month has just concluded. For this, Summer Jones-Young, Collections Archivist at Ngā Taonga, wrote a story for The Post that highlights an autobiographical documentary we hold in the online collection about Carmen Rupe.
• To celebrate Aotearoa’s first Queer History Month, Pūmahara Ia Te Wā, the National Library is hosting a special speaker panel on Tuesday 9 July. Hear from queer researchers, historians and activists about the importance of preserving and sharing Aotearoa’s iconic, fragile and undershared queer histories.
• We were happy to supply collection material to support The Spinoff’s ongoing podcast Juggernaut: The Story of the Fourth Labour Government.

All images from the collections of Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, except where noted:

1) Screengrab from PERSONAL RECORD. HIGGS, DENNIS. [CROWD WAITING FOR THE BEATLES AT ST. GEORGE HOTEL WELLINGTON]. Collection ref. F41999.

2) A drawing depicting the eruption of Mount Tarawera. Courtesy Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 4-3658.

3) Electrification opening day, Johnsonville Railway Station. Graham Radcliffe collection of railways images. Wellington City Council Archives, OS002-36.

4) Ngā Taonga Matariki 2024 campfire promo image.

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